How to Design a Soap Box Car
After all these years, racing soap box cars down hills is still a favorite pastime of kids and adults alike. While most organized soap box derbies offer model kits so that each car will conform to certain safety and performance standards, it is still possible to design your own soap box car by racing in the Master, or Scotty, class or by making small modifications in the Super Stock class.
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Instructions
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1
Decide which soap box car class you wish to compete in. While the Stock class doesn't allow for many variations to the basic kit, the Super Stock class will let you to experiment with some modifications. The Master class, on the other hand, is for the advanced hobbyist who wants to design a soap box car from the ground up.
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Review all of the rules, requirements and regulations for the design of soap box cars for the contest you wish to enter. Strict adherence to these restrictions helps to make the contest dependent upon the skills of the driver, as well as on the design used.
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3
Draw your soap box car design using a pencil and some grid paper. Make sure the cockpit is big enough for the driver by measuring shoulder width, hip width, height, weight and foot size before you begin the shell design.
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Start with the front view of the car. Decide whether you will use a more rounded, bubble-like design or one that is flatter and lower to the ground. Much of this will depend upon the preferences of the driver, and what feels most comfortable to him.
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Proceed to the top view of the car, and decide how wide the nose needs to be to accommodate the driver. Determine if the rear of the racer, which usually narrows to a point, will be cusped, convex or straight in its shape.
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Move to the side view of the car design. Your main consideration should be allowing for a proper line of sight for the driver. Most electric eyes used to start the race are less than 1 foot above the ground.
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Make sure that the front, top and side designs are consistent to each other by measuring various cross sections of the car using the grid. Once the dimensions match in all three views, you will be able to build this specific shell.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't focus on one design. Play around with various ideas, and soon your design will gravitate toward the one you really want.
