Читать книгу Dyno Don: The Cars and Career of Dyno Don Nicholson - Doug Boyce - Страница 12

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 one of the most feared racers in the nation; his Chevys were nearly untouchable. Dyno Don figured that if the Mercury deal hadn’t come along for 1964, he could have had another successful year with his Chevys. (Photo Courtesy Nicholson Family Collection)

Modifications that Don made to the Impala included a thorough blueprinting of the 427. Starting with the Carter carbs, the primary jets were drilled out from .101 to .104 while the secondary jets went from .068 to .073, or larger. On Don’s existing 409 Bel Air, jets were drilled to .104 and .067. The distributor was reworked giving 34 degrees total advance between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm. To prevent movement, the breaker plate was welded to the housing. The heads were resurfaced and Don reamed out the ports below the seats, per NHRA rules of the day, but no additional grinding was done. All valves were checked and seated to the same depth. As required, shims were placed under the valve springs to restore pressure. Replacing the factory Delco spark plugs were hotter, extended-tip Champion J61 Ys. The plug change was said to be worth 10 more horsepower on the dyno. As far as headers go, Don built his own Tri-Y fenderwells. As for the suspension, a half of a coil was cut from the rear springs and Don fabricated square tube track bars that ran from the rear end to a pivot point on the chassis ahead of the transmission crossmember. With 40 to 50 pounds of air in the front tires and as little as 20 in the rear, the Impala left the line at 3,000 to 3,500 rpm.

Caught on Detroit’s return road during a June 1963 match, Don’s 26-gauge aluminum-nose Impala is looking a little worse for wear. Note the high-low stance and 10-inch M&H slicks, standard wear for 1963. Don’s Chevy was one of the tops in the nation. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

This decal on the window warned competitors what they were up against. Nalley opened its Atlanta doors in 1955 and remained in business until 2004, when it was sold and renamed Airport Chevrolet. During the 1950s and 1960s, the dealer had a direct line to Chevrolet that included all of the rare and one-off performance goodies that the manufacturer had to offer. (Author’s Collection)

On May 12, Don took the Impala to Tampa, Florida, where he claimed the number-9 position on the Drag News Top Stock list by defeating Ed Garlits in a best-of-three match. Ed, brother of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, was a respected driver in his own right and was driving the Dodge sedan of Don’s on this day. Nicholson went on to win the Super Stock Eliminator the same day by beating the Z11 Impala of Bob Tucker in the final round, setting the track record in the process with an 11.96 at 119 mph.

The Drag News Top 10 Stock list was started in 1962, bringing some organization to the match-race scene and boosting racers’ status. The way the list worked was that anyone could challenge those in positions 2 through 10, but to challenge for the number-1 spot, you had to be in the top 10 already. Once he was challenged, the spot holder could shop for a venue, and then take the challenge to any drag strip he chose for the two-out-of-three match. Obviously, money mattered and the racers went to the track that paid the most. Don grabbed the number-1 spot on the list July 7 by defeating the Chevy of Frank Sanders in two at Ohio’s Dragway 42 during the Drag News Invitational. By this point in the year, Don’s Chevy had already been hitting 11.80 times. Prior to the race, Don was protested and, upon inspection, found to be legal. In the match against Sanders, Don ran quick enough to win: 12.33 at 115.53 mph and 12.23 at 116.42 to Sander’s best of 12.52 at 114.64. Dyno retained the top spot on the list for the next five months before losing it in December to the Pontiac of Arnie Beswick. Driving his 1962 Chevy, Dyno dropped the match to Beswick in three with a best of 11.83.

Don shows off some of the Impala’s winnings outside of the Nalley Dyno Shop he operated. The expansive shop was located at the rear of the dealership and featured not only a Clayton dyno but also a loaded machine shop. (Photo Courtesy Nicholson Family Collection)

In what seems amusing today but was not so much in 1963, Don was tossed at the NHRA Nationals after red lighting on a bye run. It was the first national event where the Christmas tree replaced the flagman start and the two B/FX favorites, Don in his 1962 Bel Air and Arnie Beswick in his Pontiac, were about to face off. Beswick had two cars at the race, a Tempest and a Swiss-cheese Catalina, and had just completed a run in the Tempest. While making the run, a crewman moved the Catalina up the staging lane, preparing for Beswick to take the wheel when he returned from his run. A little-known rule of the day stated that the person who moved the car through the staging lanes had to be the one to race the car. When the car pulled to the line, Beswick hopped in, and he was waved off. Sorry, Farmer, rules are rules and you’re disqualified! Don, all set, hit the loud pedal and ran the Bel Air through the quarter. The only problem was, Don failed to wait on the green. Not familiar with the bye run rules on the tree, he left the line after staging. Is it any surprise that when asked about the new start system at the time, he stated he hated it and preferred the flag start.

The Impala’s high-in-front, low-in-back stance came courtesy of spring spacers and cut coils. Back in the day, the going theory was that this helped weight transfer. Dyno’s relationship with Chevy was informal. Unlike the Ford and Chrysler racers, he had no paperwork or reporting to do. He was under no obligation to the manufacturer, which supplied necessary parts but never money. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

Detroit Dragway used to hold a big Stocker meet during the weekend prior to the NHRA Nationals. Drawing the biggest names in the nation, I guarantee there isn’t one racer noted on this flyer that Don, referred to here as “Mr. Chevrolet,” hadn’t beaten. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

In what seems amusing today but was not so much in 1963, Don was tossed at the NHRA Nationals after red lighting on a bye run. It was the first national event where the Christmas tree replaced the flagman start and the two B/FX favorites, Don in his 1962 Bel Air and Arnie Beswick in his Pontiac, were about to face off. Beswick had two cars at the race, a Tempest and a Swiss-cheese Catalina, and had just completed a run in the Tempest. While making the run, a crewman moved the Catalina up the staging lane, preparing for Beswick to take the wheel when he returned from his run. A little-known rule of the day stated that the person who moved the car through the staging lanes had to be the one to race the car. When the car pulled to the line, Beswick hopped in, and he was waved off. Sorry, Farmer, rules are rules and you’re disqualified! Don, all set, hit the loud pedal and ran the Bel Air through the quarter. The only problem was, Don failed to wait on the green. Not familiar with the bye run rules on the tree, he left the line after staging. Is it any surprise that when asked about the new start system at the time, he stated he hated it and preferred the flag start.

A nice shot of the Impala’s suspension at work as Don launches off the line at Detroit. Dyno set track records wherever he went. At Cecil County in June, he did the trick, turning an 11.83 while defeating Bud Faubel’s 1963 Plymouth in a best-of-five match race. His biggest win with the 1963 came at Daytona, where at the NASCAR Winternationals Don won overall Stock. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

Don stated the best combination he ever had was the 1962 Bel Air with all the Z11 parts. “It was 421-ci with a .060-over bore and step seal rings. The car was quicker than the 1963 Impala. With the aluminum front end, it was probably close to the same weight.” After the Nationals in 1963, Don went back to the Bel Air. He had lent the Bel Air to a gentleman who worked for him, Richard Broome, later of NASCAR, who was racing the car in North Carolina. “It definitely ran better than the ‘63 and I ran it for the rest of the year.” The Impala was sold and, sadly, rolled sometime in 1964. The owner was running the car on a loose, unsanctioned track outside of Atlanta when the incident happened.

“Sorry, Farmer, rules are rules and you’re disqualified„

At the end of June, NASCAR held its Dixie 400 race in Atlanta, and while attending Don met up with his old friend Troy Ruttman. Ruttman had won Indy back in 1952 and was in Atlanta making laps in his Mercury. It was through Ruttman that Don received word that the people at Mercury were interested in talking to him. Don made tracks for Detroit and by the end of the year he had a signed deal with the manufacturer.

Induction for the limited-run Z11 cars was based upon twin Carter AFB carbs on a two-piece aluminum intake manifold. The cowl induction was a great innovation that I’m sure worked better than the hood scoop that Dyno trialed. The Impala drew its fresh cool air from the voids in the inner headlight buckets. The distributor was an aftermarket Spalding Flame Thrower. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

By Don’s own admission, the 1963 wasn’t as quick as his 1962 Bel Air and accordingly wasn’t raced as frequently. After the 1963 Nationals, Don went back to driving the Bel Air. It’s believed that 57 of these Z11 Impalas were built; all were non-SS models. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

“Fast Eddie” Schartman

Fast Eddie Schartman recalls it was 1962 when he first met Don. “I was working as a line mechanic at Cleveland’s Jackshaw Chevrolet. They sponsored my ‘62 Chevy and they had a good connection with Chevrolet. Don came up from Atlanta to pick up parts and we became friends. Don offered me a job to come work for him in Atlanta and build engines for him.” Schartman moved down in 1963. When the Mercury deal came along in 1964, he started driving Dyno’s 1962 Chevy Bel Air. With Don’s blessing, Schartman tore into the Bel Air, pulling the body off the chassis and cutting weight from it. Schartman figures that he removed a total of 500 to 600 pounds from the car. With a Z11 427 for power, the Chevy terrorized the South, running 10-second times.

“I was racing three to four times a week earning up to 300 bucks a match, plus a couple hundred in appearance money. Don and I had a deal that we split the winnings fifty-fifty.” The Chevy retained Nicholson’s name on the flanks, which wasn’t appreciated by his new bosses at Mercury. “They wanted me out of the Chevy, so I told them, ‘Well then, give me a car.’”

When Nicholson received his Comet hardtop in the spring of 1964, Schartman got the wagon. “Then they wanted me out of the wagon because they weren’t selling 427-powered wagons.” Schartman won Mr. Stock Eliminator at the 1965 NASCAR winter meet, but he grew tired of working for someone else and handing over half of his winnings. He struck a deal with Mercury in 1965 that saw him driving Dyno’s Wedge-powered Comet.

Schartman moved back to Cleveland in 1965, and even though he butted heads regularly with Don on the track, they remained friends. When the flip-top Comets appeared in 1966, Schartman was the only one who could keep pace with Don. During 1968 and 1969, Schartman ran a pair of Cougar Funny Cars before turning to Pro Stock in 1970. By the mid-1970s, he had become disenchanted with the sport and retired.

Jackshaw Chevrolet in Cleveland sponsored Ed Schartman’s Z11-equipped Impala. It was while working there that Schartman and Don got to know each other. Don went to Cleveland to pick up parts that Chevrolet supplied. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)

Don lets loose with the 427 Impala at Detroit. If that wheelbase looks a little shuffled, it just may be. A common trick used by many back in the day was to slide the body as far back on the chassis mounts as they could to get as much weight on the narrow slicks as possible. (Photo Courtesy Robert Genat)