Enzo Pine Wood Derby machining project

[Icekid84]

thats one of the best things about it is the grain IMO

[jhancock]

So I basically ran out of time due to business, and had to quickly paint the car. I wasn't able to cut the side vents under the door and add some other features that were programmed.

Now for the real frustration. We arrived at the weigh-in with two cars, the enzo and a car that my son designed and cut. We were initially allowed to compete and then they said the wheels on the enzo weren't correct after a whispered discussion. I had used after market wheels from www.pinecar.com and was assured they were the same except for the boy scouts logo. Well, that didn't go over. So they gave me wheels to swap and since the axles were super glued in, I broke part of the rear wheel well getting the old ones off. Then they said the wheel base of the enzo gave us an advantage and pulled another rule out that said we had to use the original block of wood from the pine car derby kit. This was debated at length by me and several other parents that were supporting us, including a very prominent corporate attorney, but we were overruled. The rules clearly didn't state the block of wood issue. By this time my wife had had enough of me and the car and stomped out to sit in the car, taking the boys with her. On top of this embarassment, our church minister had accompanied us to the weigh-in, not in an official capacity, but he has a boy the same age as my kids. He seemed more upset than me about the rule since he is also a corporate attorney.

So both cars were disqualified and move to the open class. We don't have a prayer since we conformed to the regulation weight limit of 5 ounces and in open class you can run a brick.

So, I spent about 300 hours on the car over 18 months. It took about 10 trys to dial-in the cutter programs, each taking about 4 hours to run, breaking about $100 in cutters and other machine tools. The final paint detracts from the fine detail visible in the final car but again, time constraints took over.

So I am already working on a car for next year. This time it will be a ferrari F1 2003 that will use their block of wood. I expect the detail to be exceptional compared to the Enzo.

I'll check in as time goes by.

Your's truly,

Crying in Sausalito...

[clix101]

looks amazing, cant wait till next year

[Silent][Moebius]

that's a really sad story accompanied with such great craftsmanship... i hope you will kick ass next year but still big props for the model! looks stunning

Edit: hehe the enzo looks really dragster style with those phat slicks haha

[sarN]

talk about assholes man. thats really stupid. the wheel base gives it an advantage?! come on. they just didnt want to race a ferrari, and i guarantee they were jealous that they didnt have such a badass pine car. its sad when its all about winning and not having fun. i mean, this is more for the kids, and then they go and ruin it because someone went the extra mile to have fun with their child

[DrumBoPing]

ah man that sucks ....but duuuude......atleast it looks bad ass

[Icekid84]

Wow that really is a shame, I'm sorry about that. I'm also sad that the pine grain got covered up due to time. I still remember when you came on and first posted this topic. LOTS of devotion went into this car that is definitely for sure. Anyhow please keep us updated on your next pine car. You really have a lot of integrity and will power to do it all again even after this fiasco and there "crooked judgment".

[evilhoodlem]

dude I just got my eagle scout....let me tell you ppl are really strick when they have steep competition...much like cheerleading.. that suck still.

[ronaro]

its a sad tale... but look at it this way.. u have achieved something which a lot of us couldnt even contemplate.. props to ya... and congratulations on such a beautiful piece of art.. u should be proud...