Toller wrote:
I was with you up to here. Anything other than graphite is cheating. Your
choice, but just what is it that you want your son to learn here?

Some packs have very loose rules. Our pack had no written rules except
those that came in the kit. Other packs have very tight rules to try
to level the playing field. It doesn't work though. The axles are so
horrible out of the box that any improvement at all will create much
faster cars than those with no improvements.

Our group stopped running the derby. Every car was built by the father and
all the winners were cheating. We just decided it wasn't a proper scouting
event.

Everybody knows that the younger scouts can't build their own cars.
But they can take part in the building and they can certainly apply
some paint. At that age, the boy is convinced he did it all himself.
By the time he got into Weblos, I was telling my boy, "You build the
car, and I'll help you make it fast." And we did. His later cars
didn't always look as good as his earlier ones, because the boy did
more of the work. But he learned a lot, and we had fun.

DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom
that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down
on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid
again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold
one anymore." - Mark Twain