Dyno Don: The Cars and Career of Dyno Don Nicholson. Doug Boyce

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       Could Dyno’s Winternationals-winning 409 Bel Air be the car that inspired the Beach Boys to pen their April 1962 hit song “409”? There is no doubt that it had to have been a contributing factor. After winning the NHRA winter meet, Don was runner-up to Bill “Maverick” Golden at the AHRA Winter Nationals, turning a best of 12.87 at 112.50 mph. (Photo ©TEN: The Enthusiast Network. All Rights Reserved.)

      In the shadow of Don’s Mr. Stock Eliminator winning Bel Air were a pair of fuel-injected, 327-powered Chevy II’s. Both cars were plain 100 series models in Ermine White. There was little difference between the new for 1962 Factory Experimental category and 1961’s Optional Super Stock category, it was still meant as a place for the Detroit manufacturers to showcase their limited-production high-performance cars and parts. This category consisted of classes A, B, and C, and each class was based upon a weight to cubic-inch factor. A/FX consisted of cars weighing 8 pounds or less for every cubic inch. B/FX consisted of cars weighing between 9.00 and 12.99 pounds, and C/FX cars that weighed more than 13 pounds per cubic inch. Don won class with the wagon, turning a 12.55 at 108.96 mph. Although it wasn’t until late 1964 that Chevrolet released the V-8 Chevy II option to the general public, by early 1962 it did offer over-the-counter kits for the do-it-yourselfer. Don completed the swap on his Chevy II’s with the help of Bill Thomas, whose factory ties helped him procure parts before their general release. Don’s Chevy IIs were showroom models pulled directly from the dealer’s lot. The Corvette mill was factory rated at 360 hp and featured a .060 overbore, Jardine fenderwell headers, and was backed by a Borg-Warner transmission. Single-leaf rear springs with track bars harnessed the power. Because the 100 series wagon (with the 327) weighed nearly bang-on to the B/FX minimum, there was no need to remove excess weight. As an example, the wagon retained the rear seat, windshield wiper motor, and heater but the coolant hoses weren’t plumbed. All indications are that the sedan was built in the same manner.

       Even more rare than Don’s Chevy II wagon was his A/FX Chevy II sedan, captured here at Motor City Dragway in Michigan. Don hauled all three of his 1962 cars to Atlanta when he relocated there in April 1962. Like the wagon, power came by way of a fuel-injected 327. A 1961 “SS” emblem is on the lower fender. It’s unknown what became of this car. (Photo Courtesy John Marsh)

       A 360-hp Corvette mill propelled Don’s Chevy II wagon to B/FX honors at the Winternationals in 1962. Don Steves supplied the car, which was built with over-the-counter GM parts. Don’s Top Stock–winning Bel Air is on the left. (Photo Courtesy Nicholson Family Collection)

      Earl Wade was showing success of his own at the winter meet. Previously, Wade had pulled wrenches for John Mazmanian, helping him win AA/MSP at the 1961 Winternationals with his Corvette. Mazmanian had bought the Corvette new at Porter Chevrolet in Pasadena and the first thing he did was drive it over to Service Chevrolet and let Wade and Nicholson have at it. At the 1962 Winternationals, Wade himself won Street Eliminator while driving the A/SP injected Corvette of Mike Lenke. In total, there were eight class winners at the 1962 meet that had visited the dyno at Service Chevrolet. At a huge Super Stock meet at Fontana late in February, Don defeated Hugh “Putzel” Osterman, driving the Grassman-Osterman-Wade-Nicholson (as the records show) Corvette. Dyno, exhibiting skills that would take him far, read the track and flagman to perfection, and he cleaned Osterman’s clock with a 12.87 at 112.35 mph to a trailing 13.24 at 109.22.

       There was no way that the Chevy II’s original 8.2 rear end would hold up to the injected 327, so in went a full-size housing carrying 4:56 gears. Note the class-required exhaust system. Present but difficult to see here are the metallic brake linings, a coil-over shock on the right side only, and a long traction arm. Rear wheels were 15 inches while the fronts were the original 13-inch wheels. (Photo © TEN: The Enthusiast Network. All Rights Reserved.)

       Don’s dyno tuning helped at least eight class winners at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals. One was this fuelie Corvette owned by Brendan Grassman. Hugh Osterman drove the B/Sport Production class winner to a best of 12.70 at the Winternationals and took class with a 13.23 at 106 mph. Here, Osterman faces the 421 Tempest owned by Mickey Thompson and driven by Hayden Proffitt. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

      Within a couple of months of winning the Winternationals, Don took up a job offer from Nalley Chevrolet in Atlanta, Georgia, to run its dyno and the dealer’s speed shop. The move was a bit of a no-brainer for Don, as he looked to make a living drag racing and there was no better place than in the southeast, home of the big-dollar match races. The added bonus was that Nalley was headquarters for the Southern Engineering and Development Company (SEDCO), a front for Chevrolet’s clandestine racing program. Don’s wife and daughter waited until the end of the school year, when Cindy finished kindergarten, before joining him for the summer.

      In July 1962, Chevrolet celebrated its 50th year in production. To commemorate the special occasion, it produced a limited run of 20 409-powered aluminum-nose Impalas via the Central Office Production Order (COPO). Don received one to race at the NHRA Nationals. It’s believed that either Don or Dave Strickler received the first car produced. Powering the Impalas was the late-season 409 with the good Z11 parts. Due to its limited production numbers and heavier weight, the car fell into B/FX. In the class final, Don’s yellow Impala defeated Dave Strickler’s Old Reliable III with a 12.93 to a 12.96. It’s questionable as to whether Don drove the car at all after the Nationals, instead focusing his attention on the lighter and quicker Bel Air. Fellow racer Hubert Platt, who worked alongside Don at Nalley, is known to have driven the car after the Nationals, match racing it through the end of the season.

       Dyno Don’s reputation only grew greater when he moved East in the spring of 1962 and took up residence at Nalley Chevrolet, Atlanta’s largest Chevrolet dealership. People came from hundreds of miles around to have Don dynotune their car. Nalley promised Don the run of the dealer’s speed shop/tune up shop as well as a race car, which came in the form of a Z11 Impala in 1963. (Author’s Collection)

      Don also drove the Bel Air at the Nationals but failed to repeat the previous year’s showing. Hayden Proffitt took Top Stock, defeating the Ramchargers’ Jim Thornton in the final. In a Robert Genat interview, Don states that Proffitt won that race because he was running at shipping weight rather than curb weight; the difference was 3,440 pounds versus 3,620 pounds.

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