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