by Gerard Coulombe

Created on: August 23, 2009

"Tips on building a soapbox car," sounds almost prehistoric. Building a soapbox racer is a kids thing that takes me back over 60 years.

With the possible exception of those living in rural America where to make a run down an unpaved hill on any town road is about as safe as crossing an abandoned rolling pasture at a run, there is no place around my town to role down a hill safely.

The soapbox is a throwback to a nostalgic era when speed was the essence for kids, and there were two ways to obtain it in those days, already long ago. One was the bobsled run down Pike Street and the other was a soapbox run down the same street in our neighborhood. Pike street in winter was too steep for a car to ascend or descend and it was usually clear on summer weekends when everyone else got out of town on the train, bus or trolley for Old Orchard Beach.

A soapbox is just as good as its undercarriage. The rest is purely convenience, a place to put one's fanny on, a bar for the feet to help steer, and a lever to break with without failing. There was no airbag to cushion the blow of a crash although a feather pillow in our laps might have come in handy.

Believe it or not the steering mechanism was a piece of rope passing through the eyes of two eye bolts attached to a two by four to which the front wheel set off a baby carriage was attached. The larger, back wheels were set with the shaft over a 2x4 with u-bolts all along the shaft drilled into the 2x4 over the shaft to hold the shaft in place.

The following tips on how to construct a soapbox car are few in number and easy to remember. This car may get you into a local derby, but then again, it may not because All American Soap Box Derby has rules, many of them. AASBD is big business and big challenges with big rewards for successful contestants. Like many games meant for kids, it is very big for many adults as well.

These are tips for a boy or girl who just might be interested and who possibly knows where to test-drive his car safely.

Tip # 1: Don't plan on spending very much money.

Tip # 2: Use found materials as much as possible.

Tip # 3: Draw your own plans, and, through trial and error, try to solve problems yourself as they develop.

Tip #4: Don't abandon your project; see it through to completion and testing.

The last is the best thing about woodworking. It is not all wonderful and nice. What's wonderful is the persistence that helps one solve problems and guide one through to completion

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