Building the car of your dreams (or mine) can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. As a member of the Webnames.ca Canary Derby soapbox car and crew pit team, I’m here to help make it a little easier for you.
Before googling how to build your dream soapbox car, pick your winning team. An ideal team should consist of about 4-5 people. When a team has too many people decisions never get made and car pieces will lay around collecting dust as arguments ensue; when a team has too few people the chances of you running out of time increases significantly. Pick a team that has the skills you need, since this is a serious sporting event! Look for people with the right mindset (they have to want to work hard to play hard). Figure out who is the best suited to a specific task – can they weld? If they can’t, sorry, they aren’t touching the car.
Next up, choose your model. There are plenty of online stores from which you can choose your dream template (see below). Most car kits come as a white, giving you the freedom to decorate your new ride however you desire. My personal favorite is the Scottie Masters Car from SoapBoxRacing.com painted some kind of metallic, it looks speedy and probably has the ability to blind my competition come race day (fingers crossed for sun).
After you’ve placed the order, you’re going to need to create some space for your team to get to work. These things don’t come assembled, so you’re going to want to make sure you have the room to layout all of you’re new parts, not to mention assemble the vehicle and be able to move it from the room you built it in to the race. Make a plan for assembly and put somebody in charge of following the rules – the race officials probably won’t allow for the fireworks you saved from last Halloween to be attached to your vehicle, no matter how awesome it would look.
Set up a deadline for your car’s completion. Have a plan ready. Read the instructions first, and as many times as necessary to thoroughly understand them. Assign people responsibilities regarding the car’s assembly and the actual race day. Make sure that everyone on your team gets to take part in both the labour and the glory. A list needs to be made so nothing is forgotten – remember the lunch won’t make itself, nor will the beer chill itself.
Now that you are ready to get started, here are my top five things to keep in mind when trying to build a faster car:
- Keep your wheels and axis straight
Crooked axles will make your car to ride the center guide rail, or will cause the wheels to slide in addition to rolling, causing more friction, slowing you down. - Paint early and paint a lot
Paints and finishes that haven’t cured completely tend to be slightly tacky, and then stick to the wheels and slow the car down. - Weight Your Car Well
Heavier = Faster. Remember to weight the back- the front needs to be light and able to maneuver easily - Drop a Wheel (4 to 3)
Less is more. Meaning less friction means more speed. - Paint it Red
Not only is it the Webnames.ca colour of choice, but a red car is definitely more visible then a blue one going across the finish line
Here’s a few resources I’ve relied on in helping to make this years car run smoothly:
Tips and tricks for building a fast car
Where you can register for the Canary Derby in Vancouver, BC
