I'm in charge of the craft program for a local church camp. I also go up for the week of July 4. I used to go as a counselor, but I'm getting too old to keep up with the kids, so now I just go up to help them do wood working and leather craft. The week I go up is a boys week for ages 4th grade through 7th grade, and the pinewood cars are among the most popular crafts we sell. In the first 15 years I'd been in charge of the program, we went through 3 pinewood derby race tracks because there is no place at camp to get them out of the snow. About 5 years ago I was going to need to build yet another race track so I decided to build something weather proof. I built the track out of aluminum sheets with aluminum angle extrusions for bracing and 3/8" square aluminum for lane dividers. The problem was that I had to spec the track by length and size of the shapes I needed, but aluminum is sold by the pound. I had no clue what the cost would be until all of the pieces I ordered came in and were weighed. The price came to $1100.00. Fortunately the money was available in the craft account. but it sure cleaned out the account! Good move though, 5 years later the track is in the same condition it was in when I built it. Eventually, the screws I put it together with will rust out, but then I'll just replace them. Nice looking car. I try to build a car in my spare time up there as well as take cars I've built in the past to show the boys what they can do beyond a block of wood with four wheels and paint. Over the years I built a fenderless MG TD buying an extra wheel to mount on the slab tank as a spare. I built a midget racer complete with quick change rear end. I built a prowler which is on display in the craft shack, and I built my all time favorite rod the "Kniecamp" (spelling?), winner of the first America's Most Beautiful Roadster award in 1950 at the Oakland Roadster Show. It is a channeled 29 Ford roadster with a midget racer grill, the hood blending the grille into the cowl and a full belly pan.