Who remembers soap box derby racing? I recall seeing it on 1960s TV shows, but that was about it. It started with a group of kids in the 1930s who cobbled together some miniature race cars out of wood and the trend/fad was underway. Akron, Ohio became the capital of this sport in the 1950s and some events were known to have 70,000 folks in the audience. Here are two examples of soap box derby cars that were built in the 1940s, though little is known about them and they’re no longer functional without axles and wheels. But $500 OBO takes the pair home here on craigslist from Belchertown, Maryland.
This is still a viable sport, where the events at Derby Downs in Ohio are known to attract 500 entrants from all over the country and abroad. Typical rules require that the driver build his/her own car out of wood, aluminum sheet metal is allowed for trim, and no motors are permitted. They are built close to the ground, the total length of the vehicle is between six and seven feet, and the loaded weight limit is 250 lbs.
Little is known about these two former racers. One was sponsored by Bearfoot Sole Clinic and the other by Jaycees of Hagerstown, Maryland, which is where we assume these were once raced. The estimated period of construction was postwar, either in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Since most of their hardware is missing, these would probably best serve as display pieces today. The red one looks to be in better shape. There are no titles.
Both of these racers were built from layers of formed oak strips and/or glued pine strips. Supposedly the budget limit on these cars was $10. The seller wants them sold as a pair and, certainly, the asking price isn’t crazy money. If you bought this duo what would you do with them?
We never made anything this refined as kids – we would use a wooden ironing board and mount axles along with whatever wheels we could scrounge up. You steered the darn thing with a loop of clothesline. We’d stage races down the nearest decent-sized hill and how we got by without killing ourselves I’ll never know.
(Brakes, you ask? You dragged your feet on the ground!)
Bombing hills on a Big Wheel (the vehicle that taught Generation X how to drift a front-wheel-drive) was interesting since those were fixed gear, had to hold your feet clear of the pedals which would turn into something like a blender!
Our Big Wheels actually wore out parts from drifting. We had a few spares in our “bone yard” that my dad used to keep our dailies on the road. Lol.
Yes very cool, but unless you are close by shipping could kill the deal.
A few years ago, there was a complete one at a flea market for $600. ” I’ll come back in a few hours when the seller is ready to negotiate” You know the rest of the the story. This listing just resurrected that now remorseful thought process and day. Thanks a lot!
Wow! What a piece of history we have here! Seeing these cars makes
you wonder about the young people
who built them and how they fared on
Derby Day. If it were possible, I’d restore them both to racing spec and
maybe have a young person race them in the vintage class at a derby
meet near me. One thing’s for sure,
it’s gonna cost more than ten bucks
to get the job done these days.
Being a natural born motorhead, I always thought the soap box derby was the lamest thing. Like BMX, for kids whose parents wouldn’t let them have a motorized vehicle. Now before you jump all over me or “report” my comment, as a kid, our city block had the luxury of a hill in the alley. Most motorheads got their 1st rush of speed with a piece of plywood, 2x4s, rope steering and those old buggy wheels. Brakes? Like Todd says, we went through a lot of PF Flyers. We quickly found out, a motor would enhance the experience, and not just downhills anymore.
I’m not a total grump, even though I appear as such here, good old fun started for many with these. Even though, the kid was probably the “beer getter” and dad did most the work, it taught valuable lessons for later in life. Not sure those same “lessons” apply today, however. I couldn’t imagine actually being serious about it, though. Thanks again to Russ for the variety, and please, no “what’s this doing here” comments.
Oh, does this evoke a memory! The one and only time our local Jaycees hosted the Soapbox Derby, the actual race site was a newly opened four-lane highway cut through a major hillside in my little town on the Ohio River. The kid I raced against lost his brake (a slab of old tire bolted to a pedal deployed with foot action) and coasted more than a mile. I recall top speeds were something over 30 mph. It’s ride I’ll never forget! Still have the set of wheels off my old racer, and it’s been fifty plus years.
We had a dedicated soap box derby track in my town and I considered building one until I read the rules- too restrictive for all my ideas. The Derby lost it’s shine one year when the National Champ was caught cheating- he and dad had concealed an electromagnet in the nose of the car which engaged the metal bar that held the cars at the start of the race. When the bar flipped down it pulled his car forward and gave him a big jump start.
GM was the sponsor for this event. The local Chevy dealer would sell you the rules, specs, and a set of official axles and wheels and turn you and your imagination loose!
The red one would probably be from the late ’60’s or early ’70’s as its a recumbent or lay back style cockpit. The yellow job would be early 60’s I’m guessing. My best friend at the time, early 60’s, won the Washington DC race and placed 11th overall in derby town.
I was born and raised in Akron and when I saw these it brought back memories of a 12 year old having just completing his first real father son project, that didn’t involve yard work. I won 2 rounds in the local Akron derby and had a blast going down the purpose built hill at Derby Downs. Very few of these were built exclusive of “help” from a few dads in the hood. My neighbor was a good body man who was a fiberglass master. The top finishers were mostly the sons of Goodyear aerospace engineers. We all mounted Briggs and Stratton horizontal shaft engines on the rear axle, and hooned them till they looked like these.
My cousin built one of these back in the early70s, we were 12yrs old? Pearl River NY. Had a very long and gradual Central Ave. When you won you moved on to championship derby at State level. Shame kids don’t do this anymore…. Thanks for the post, Jerry from NY
There were some nice bodies on some of the racers back in the day and the officials needed to give some of those youngsters a bit more credit. I remember when I was 11 I got into a soapbox derby. It was a major requirement that us kids were the ones doing the work. My Dad supervised while I did what I was told. I remember until then all I’d seen for steering was a rope tied to the outsides of the front axle. It was Dad who mentioned automotive steering. I told him about an article that had recently come out in Mechanix Illustrated where a guy had built a “Sidewalk Classic,” a pint-sized Model T, for his 4-year old grandson. Now, while the actual kiddie car wasn’t at all suitable for a soapbox racer, it had automotive steering so we based our front axle on that. To finish off the car, we soaked a thin piece of veneer and arced it over the front to form the hood. A little paint and the car was ready to go. Well, we got up to Cherry Hill and I was immediately disqualified because there was NO WAY that a 5th-Grader could POSSIBLY build a car with automotive steering. The officals DID let me run in the open class where I took 1st, out of 10. I was quite disappointed that they wouldn’t believe me, or my Dad. But that was my only day in soapbox racing…
Cherry Hill, you say? Hmm, seem to remember a Mary Hill, apparently hung out there, ’till way after dark?
See, here’s the thing. Some may have shook their heads at my negative post, and let me clarify, this is GOOD fun. Fun I had to make myself. I was unfortunate to have an old man that thought anything with wheels was evil( I showed him, drove a vehicle with EIGHTEEN OF THEM,,sorry) so I never had that guidance, despite him being an expert carpenter, and could have easily made a sleek car. Our front axle was a piece of 2×4, bolted to the “floor” in the middle, with a rope on each end,,,hey, it worked!
Sorry it was late 60s
Neat old derby cars! I worked on my buddies down the street with him when I was about 9 or 10 in ’57’. We did a pretty good job and his dad corrected things we did wrong.
It was really hot the day we went to that long hill near Denison avenue in Cleveland that race day. No he didn’t win, but we all had fun.
I later in life made parts for soapbox derby kits when I started my machine shop. I met up with a guy when out looking for jobs to quote – at a company, and he asked me to quote parts for derby car kits.( He was a local chairman/organizer. I quouted and got an order for multiple parts. Not so lame as some people say…but then he says that kind of thing a lot. Thanks to my Dad and Mom for helping me get my shop started – I left my college degree behind and took on metal chips and long hours of apprentice stuff with my Dad.
Cherry Hill got to be a popular place. It was the steepest hill in town unless you had the cars run down the coulee banks into the river. I don’t think anyone even calls it Cherry Hill anymore; probably because a lot of cherries were compromised at the parking lot at the top.
We had a car that was so new the paint wasn’t even dry. It was clocked at 60 mph when it skidded into a fire hydrant. This was in Walkerton Ontario. There were no bales or any protection although the crash was the result of a design flaw in our brakes.
After that the cars got lame with restrictions on wheels and the hills were little more than knolls
We killed the sport.
It was not intentional, but I can still see that car blowing up into matchwood and canvas.
In 1951, Chevrolet dealers sponsored the Soap Box Derby. You could build them at a dealership or at home. With all the tools at home I decide dthat was where I wanted to build it. All the work had to be done by me,a 11 year old.
I started out with 4×8 piece of 3/4 in. plywood. I labored for hours with a handsaw cutting the floor pan. Finally my Dad came with a Skil Saw and cut it to my design. I built the frames for the hood, had a local shop make a steering wheel on a 1″ rod around which cable was wound then to pullies to the front axle for steering, a wood foot petal , again with cable to the rear of the car for a drag brake. We did not have fiberglas so we covered the body with sheet metal. I car was totally built by the kid.
A Chevrolet salesman took us from Santa Barbara where the cars were inspected for safety. A permanent tract was built in Pasadena where we raced 3 at a time down hill. I came in second.
In 1952 I decided to make my car more aerodynamic and lowered the body by a couple of inches. I raced again and again came in second. Still pretty good.
By that time I put the car in my families 1 acre garden and a neighbor kid swiped it. My Dad asked if I still wanted it and I said the kid could have it , minus the axles.
So today I still have in my attic the original axles and wheels which were provide by the Dealer. Thes 2 cars look like they need the axles and wheels. Let me know if someone can use them.
Have fun racing kids!
I raced in that year at Derby Downs. I represented York Pa. It was the greatest time of my life. That was the last great year of the sport due to cheating. All 255 champions from all over the US were sent to the dream camp for 5 days before the big race on Saturday. I met Wilt Chamberlain (basketball star), The million air on Gilligan’s Island, Warren Green from Bonanza the western TV show, Bobby Unser and more.The automotive museum near Harrisburg PA. has my derby car trophies pictures and the globe award from Chevrolet. My sister’s car is also there. The cars you see there in the picture here is from late 60s to middle 70s. Every time I run across cars like this it brings me back to such a simpler time of my life. Sorry this was so long. Please everyone take care. Glenn
Hey Roy, I raced in Pasadena in ’51. Lane 3, that lane freaked me out don’t know why but I went down anyway. I got up to 30 mph. on my bike going down Manhattan bch bl. which ends at the pier. Thought that was fast but, on the day of the race in that car I was in a rocket. The next thing I remember is some guy yelling ” push the brake pedal” to which I replied I am as I went through the first hey bail the second one did stop me. The heedle nose was not so pointy anymore and the front axel was broken never did find one of the front wheels. when I finally stopped, I just sat there when a girl ran over and kissed me on the cheek and asked “are you ok” seemed like it took an eternity to think of an answer, said yes, thank you for asking. The guy that was in the lane next to me said “you’ll never get that fixed in time” To which I said well if I don’t I have a date for the Saturday Matinee, turns out she lived in Hermosa bch. about 7 miles away.
Hello Steven,
What a good feedback of what happened when we were 11 years old racing cars with no brakes other than a drag brake in Pasadena. A lot of the kids went into the bales. I was cautious so I only came in second. (still drive the same way on a freeway.
I really have to compliment the Chevrolet dealers at the time. They went out of their way to teach us kids how to build. Unfortunately the Soap Box Derby has now gone to prebuilt cars. It was the building of our cars that got us to want race.