This a simple soap box cart that my son and I built for my 9year old daughter so she could enter the Trowbridge Carnival Soap Box derby

Step 1: Basic Frame

We used planed softwood, 2.1m x 74mm x 18mm for the frame and 2.1m x 50mm x 18mm for the front axle. The king pins for the steering will be M10 x 100mm bolts

The cross brace at the front is 400mm as is the the brace that forms the "radiator" whilst the rear is at 600mm

The wooden pole is from a beach wind break and is used to estimate where the driver will be sitting.

The body frame work is made using 25mm x 25mm softwood and its size was based on my 9yr old

Step 2: Bodywork

Cheap, fine plywood.
In order to minimise waste and keep costs down the frame was wrapped in craft paper. We used this to calculate how much ply was needed.
The paper also formed the templates for each panel

The wheels, again just as a guide

The grill, seat and floor are made from pieces of chipboard I had lying around in my shed, you might also notice that the dumb irons at have been shortened. I thought this improved the proportions of the cart.

Step 3: Steering

After much experimentation the steering system finally consists of:

1. Steering wheel from an old games console
2. Steering column made of tubular clothes rail
3. A bicycle front crank
4. two 15mm brass plumbing equal T pieces
and a couple of go-kart track rods bought from e-bay

In one picture you can see we used the bike chain to check we had the frame, king pins and steering square.

The tube was cut in half and a another piece found to fit snugly inside. the was clamped using U bolts so that we created a rudimentary collapsible steering column. One end bolted to the steering wheel and the other welded to the bike crank.
Ultimately the crank was drilled to allow the track rods to be fitted, creating in effect a Pitman arm.

Step 4: Finishing

Simple brakes were added the act directly on the rear wheels, some lights, a horn and some wings for the front wheels.

The whole thing then finished off with green and yellow paint. The racing numbers are created using white sticky back plastic and red insulating tape for the No 7.