[gearheadmex]

"The Orange Car - Part 2" …. After all those modifications , Daniel couldn't wait for Sunday to test out the new and improved Orange 1973 "NICKEY NOVA" at Oswego Dragway. Friday night arrived and he decided to take a cruise over to Ottawa to further test. Upon arrival and after a couple of hard launches, the Nova develops a severe vibration in the drivetrain and had to be limped back home. Saturday morning, the transmission was removed to find the clutch disc fragmented and nearly torn in half along with damage to the flywheel - and an even bigger surprise… a stock cast iron bellhousing!! Unbelievable! Definitely a good way to lose toes, feet, or even a leg in the event of a clutch or flywheel explosion, especially with the rpm this engine spins! So now, not only is a new clutch assembly and flywheel needed but a hydro-formed Lakewood safety bellhousing as well. This put a crunch on the trip to the "Big O" Sunday unless the turbo hydro automatic and the stock convertor was installed in place of the 4 speed. With no time to lose, the swap was completed, and as a test run, he decided to race the L-88 "Nickey Nova" against the tried and proven 12.70 E.T. "Hot Chocolate" '68 Chevelle. Dan and Steve Quickel headed out to one of their favorite spots, Kernan Road. They lined up side by side, and GO on the count of 3! The Chevelle would jump ahead of the Nova by 2 car lengths UNTIL the Nova hit high gear, and then the L-88 powered "Nickey" would go around "Hot Chocolate" like it was standing still. After racing 3 times with exactly the same results, they knew it was much faster than the Chevelle!
The following day, Sunday, the car was driven to Oswego, and in test runs , it ran a best of 12.46 at 126 mph, WOW, an incredible mph for the E.T. Although the first 50 feet seemed quite sluggish (almost to the point you could run faster), after that, you better be hanging on for dear life for the rest of the 1270 feet!! Quite impressive considering this was on street tires, full exhaust, 3.73 rear gear, 650 carb, and stock convertor, which doesn't work well with an engine that idled at 1500 rpm. The new plan was to step up to an 850 Holley carb , 10 inch convertor and full manual reverse valve body by Hydro Don Stanley , 4.88 Richmond gears, and a pair of Firestone Drag 500 slicks which should put the car in the 10.90 range!!
So the next weekend, it was back to Ottawa to give the boys over there a little taste of Nickey Medicine only now with the automatic transmission. Trolling around town a few times, they made a pit stop at the Silverfross root beer stand full of hotrodders with every make and model known to man! A paradise of muscle cars for sure. There was really only one guy that stepped up to the plate to race! Donny Boyle with his black '69 Plymouth GTX with a 440 c.i. power plant under the hood coupled to a torqueflight and giant N-50 Pro Trac tires protruding from the rear quarter panels. As they headed out to Terra Cotta Road followed by dozens of cars full of spectators ready to witness the outcome. Out comes the bleach poured generously in front of the tires. Smoke engulfed the back halves of both cars and burnouts were completed. As they slowly inched up to the line, the flag man set them in position, pointed to each, then dropped his arms. The mighty Mopar jumps the Nova by a car length, but that didn't bother Dan as he knew the "Nickey Nova" had a Top End Charge like a freight train that would surprise that big Plymouth. But what did bother Dan was the 2 police cars THAT JUST pulled crossways at the end of the quarter with their red lights flashing! Both drivers jammed the brake pedals and skidded to a stop. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later, Donny Boyle and Dan Crampton were booked in, fingerprinted, and handed a ticket with "DRAG RACING" written in big letters all the way across the ticket … just 3 weeks since he bought the car! The wise words of Steve Quickel were buzzing through his brain, "when you get a ticket, it's going to be a DOOZY!" Along with, "what did I tell you!" which he had told Dan dozens of times! Luckily, Dan had the money on him to get out of jail.
To make a long story short, the L-88 engine was pulled out of the "Nickey Nova", and the 454 big block from the "Hot Chocolate" was set in its place. Both those cars were sold, as his good judgment (or so he thought) told him to do… "get out of racing and especially STREET RACING! IM DONE! DONE! DONE!" But anybody who really knows Dan Crampton very well knows those statements were SHORT LIVED! 45 years later, he is still like a kid in a candy store! If he's not hanging out at Hot Rod Heaven, he is working on his stable of cars every day, and better yet, ENJOYS IT!