In this video we took some highlights from making a derby enduro car. Below I’ve put some information about derby cars and how to make one.
Prepping the Best Demo Derby Car
The biggest challenge for most wannabe demo derby drivers is prepping their donor car to meet safety regulations and boost its chances of survival during the contest. This is where some mechanical know-how and some basic tools are a must, and enlisting suitably experienced friends (who can also serve as your pit crew on event day) may be vital.
Safety Items
Derbies require all glass to be removed from cars, for safety. Doors and trunk should be welded or wired shut. A driver seat belt and an approved safety helmet are also required.
Most derbies require the removal, or at least relocation, of the car’s gas tank. The original tank may be replaced with an approved metal gas tank/fuel cell or plastic marine tank, situated where the rear seat used to be. The tank must be mounted in front of the rear axle, but not directly behind the driver’s seat.
You’ll usually have to relocate the battery to the front passenger footwell. Strap it down securely and cover it well. Rubber from an old mud flap or tractor tire inner tube are ideal coverings.
Roll-over bars and safety cages are usually also required. Radiators are typically relocated to the rear seat space, or even removed altogether. Most engines can survive without for the duration of a typical derby heat. However, the latter approach is contentious within the derby community.
Intentional hits to opponents’ driver’s door are grounds for disqualification in demolition derbies. So driver’s doors must be painted in a contrasting color, for visibility. But such hits do happen, so it’s wise to reinforce your driver’s door with steel plate or pipe.
Some events additionally require the driver’s half of the windshield space and the driver’s door window to be covered with steel mesh. Wrapping window pillars in multiple layers of duct tape is also a popular, low-cost method.
Survival Mods
You should strip out all but the absolutely essential wiring from the vehicle. Once your car starts getting smashed, pinched or severed wires can end your contest embarrassingly early. So just run a wire to the starter; one to the coil; and a couple to the alternator.
Seek out used all-season tires, for the muddy conditions, with at least one-third tread-depth remaining.
On newer cars, remove the plastic bumpers. They provide no additional strength and are just one more thing to get snagged on other vehicles.
If your goal is to enter a demo derby just for the experience, you can stop there. But if you’re seriously setting out to win the thing, further mods are recommended. These could constitute a whole separate article, but include cutting away fenders (if rules allow) to minimize interference with tires, and removing shifter linkage from automatic transmissions (which will likely fall apart after a few impacts).
Decorating Your Demo Derby Car
Once all the above is done, it’s time to let rip with a rattle can on the exterior of your demo derby car. Driver’s doors aside, this might be pure decoration and/or may include the driver’s name, names of sponsors (local businesses which have helped out with the cost of the build and entry), related websites, slogans etc.
Traditionally, demolition derby cars have been painted in loud, garish colors and designs. But this is one area where you can get creative and have some fun. Such freedom of expression is one of the allures of demo derby.
With all of the above in mind, do you still want to enter a demolition derby? And what would be your further tips for finding and prepping a car for derby combat?