Dyno Don: The Cars and Career of Dyno Don Nicholson. Doug Boyce
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Название: Dyno Don: The Cars and Career of Dyno Don Nicholson
Автор: Doug Boyce
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Сделай Сам
isbn: 9781613256336
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“It took us a while to catch on. That’s why Proffitt’s Bel Air car ran so good. Bill Thomas helped build that car. It was a frame-off. They cut up the dashboard, cut out the bottoms of the ashtrays, and whatever to get the weight out. I couldn’t believe the NHRA allowed them to get away with that [aluminum] dash. [Stock] those things are heavy with that big pot metal casting.”
Earl Wade and Dyno Don have reason to be all smiles as they pose proudly with the Bel Air at Vineland, New Jersey, in June 1962. The Chevy was rarely beaten. It was torn down because of official protest 18 different times in 1962; each time it was found to be legal. (Photo Courtesy Nicholson Family Collection)
Hubert Platt left Nalley at the end of 1962, quitting to become a full-time drag racer. Before doing so, he hauled Dyno’s 1962 Bel Air down to Tampa on November 22 for an eight-car Super Stock show and proceeded to clean house, defeating Dave Heath in Dyno’s old 1961 Chevy and Don Garlits, who made a rare appearance in his new 1963 Dodge, among others. It was Garlits who fell to Platt in the final as the Dodge proved to be no match for the well-tuned, bored, and stroked Chevy that recorded an 11.77. Jerry Jardine recalled a little trick that Dyno had performed on the match-race engine; he left the two front cylinders of the 409 at stock bore and stroke while all of the other cylinders were enlarged.
Even with the aluminum front clip dropping approximately 125 pounds, and without frills such as heater or radio, the 409 Impala still weighed in at close to 3,400 pounds. Reportedly, 18 to 20 of these “lightweights” were built; only two are known to remain. Backing the 409-hp mill was a Hurst-equipped BorgWarner 4-speed. (Photo ©TEN: The Enthusiast Network. All Rights Reserved.)
“We built headers so that the way they were plumbed, it was nearly impossible to access the plugs for P & G measurement.” Topping the big-cubic-inch match-race mill were the late-season Z11 parts. In addition, the Bel Air received lightweight aluminum front-end panels. Ed Schartman, who came to work for Don in 1963, raced the Bel Air as late as the spring of 1964. Eventually, the well-worn and stripped car ran 10-second times.
The B/FX class final boiled down to the two fastest-running Chevy Impalas in the nation: Dyno Don’s and the Old Reliable III of Dave Strickler. Don took a slight holeshot lead and hammered through the 4-speed to take the win with a 12.39. (Photo ©TEN: The Enthusiast Network. All Rights Reserved.)
Under darkening Indiana skies, the B/FX class final gets under way. While Strickler’s Impala carried Ermine White paint, Don’s Impala appears to wear GM Golden Yellow. Note the OEM steel wheels; aftermarket wheels were just coming into vogue in 1962 and still weren’t class legal. (Photo Courtesy Mike Strickler)
After the Nationals, Hubert Platt took over the controls of the Impala. Working alongside Don at Nalley, Platt had stated that “sometimes we’d drive each other’s cars.” Platt raced the Impala through the remainder of 1962 as the Bounty Hunter before getting a 1963 Z11 Chevy and striking out on his own. The 1962 was sold to a wealthy businessman in Atlanta, and its whereabouts today is unknown. (Photo ©TEN: The Enthusiast Network. All Rights Reserved.)
Those Mopars back East had nothing on Don’s Chevy. Dyno’s move East in 1962 was based on economics. The West Coast–tracks were paying $25 war bonds (worth $17 according to Don) to the Stockers. In the East and the South, he could make $600 and up for a match race. Great money, considering maintenance on the car was next to nil. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)
At the NHRA Nationals in 1963, the aluminum front clip and Z11 engine parts put the Bel Air in B/FX. This photo was shot at the 500 Shopping Center in Indianapolis, where pre-race inspection was carried out. Cut rear coils and stiffer springs up front gave the Chevy its stance. Don used a stiffer coil spring on the left rear to help load the right side upon acceleration. (Photo Courtesy Jack Bleil)
Ken Simpson became the new owner of the Bel Air when Don finally parted with the car sometime in 1965. The historic piece was wrecked by its third owner in Alabama and was scrapped around 1974. The Chevy II wagon was sold and raced out of Florida for a couple season’s before disappearing. What became of the Chevy II sedan is still unknown.
Ken Simpson became the second owner of Don’s Bel Air, seen here in 1965. All indications are that Don last drove the car at the Nationals in 1963. By its third owner, the Chevy was wrecked; it was finally scrapped in 1974. (Author’s Collection)
Ed Schartman is caught coming hard off the line at Cecil County where, in the spring of 1964, the Chevy was competing in A/Modified Production. At this point, the Chevy was running Z11 parts and aluminum front body panels. Note the body relocation, long traction arm, added hood blister, and aluminum 1963 front bumper. (Photo Courtesy John Durand)
1963
Between December 1962 and January 1963, Chevrolet produced in the neighborhood of 57 lightweight Z11 Impalas. Built specifically for drag racing, the heart of the $1,240 Z11 package was the 427-ci engine. Conservatively rated at 430 hp, the 427 was a stroked 409 fitted with large-port heads, 13:5.1 compression, and a camshaft featuring .556 lift. A two-piece aluminum intake manifold mounted twin Carter carburetors that drew fresh air plumbed in from an opening in the cowl. To save weight, the Z11 cars were produced with aluminum parts, 149 in total, including front-end panels and front and rear bumpers. In addition, the cars were delivered without the front sway bar, heater, radio, sound deadener, and sealant. Backing the 427 was a BorgWarner 4-speed transmission, and even though it was delivered with 4:11 rear gears, Don ran 4:56 or 4:88s. With Nalley Chevrolet’s close ties to the factory, it’s believed Dyno received the first Z11 Impala produced. Originally running A/FX, by the end of January 1963 Chevrolet had produced the required number of Z11 Impalas, thus allowing the car to run NHRA Super Stock.
This (yellow) Biscayne was campaigned by Hubert Platt, an employee of Nalley Chevrolet in 1962. Hubert’s son Allen believes that Don may have initially campaigned the car. What’s known for sure is that Don did drive the car at least on occasion. The 409 helped push the no-frills Biscayne (no radio, heater, or rear seat) to low-12 times. (Photo Courtesy Tom Schiltz)
By 1963, Don was СКАЧАТЬ