| Palm Springs, CA - At Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage, Performance Allison Transmissions owner Dave Killackey regularly solves transmission problems for Jay and General Manager Bernard Juchli as they keep over 100 classic vehicles in roadworthy condition. On weekends, Dave can be found at the racetrack, helping Bernard prepare his Cosworth-engine racecar for another run at the checkered flag in the Vintage Auto Racing Association. They make quite a team—last year Bernard brought home the FA Class Champion trophy.
Dave is now something of a TV celebrity, thanks to OVERHAULIN' on TLC - The Learning Channel. If you haven't seen the series yet, the idea is that show hosts Chris Jacobs and Adrienne "AJ" Janic pretend to be car repossessors, tow-truck drivers, or other characters to lure the car keys away from an unsuspecting owner. Then auto design legend Chip Foose and his team of fabricators and engineers perform major surgery on the vehicle before returning it to the owner about a week later. By that time, the bucket of bolts has been transformed into a museum-quality mobile masterpiece that simply stuns the owner.
Jay, Chip, Chris, AJ, and Dave's son Dave, Jr. put together a plan to make off with Dave's 1956 Chevy Nomad station wagon and give it the OVERHAULIN' treatment. After most of the work was done in the HOT ROD Magazine garage, they had to use every trick in the book to keep Dave away from the Big Dog Garage, while they prepared for the surprise return of his car in front of the television cameras.
"How did you guys do this without me knowing?" a confused Dave asked when his now-beautiful car was returned to him.
"You're not the hardest guy to fool!" was Jay's reply.
The show that featured Dave's car was broadcast in February. By April, Dave was showing off his newly-rebuilt masterpiece at Cool Cruise 2006, a car show in La Verne, California. He was drawing a steady crowd in front of the La Verne Fire Department, where Dave, Jr. works as an auxiliary fireman.
CEO Alfred DiMora of DiMora Motorcar (www.dimoramotorcar.com), creators of the $2 million Natalia SLS 2 Sport Luxury Sedan, met with Dave at the firehouse. They continued their discussions of the challenges Dave faces in engineering a transmission to handle the 1200 horsepower erupting from the DiMora Volcano V16 engine and delivering it to Natalia's four steerable wheels. While there, Alfred got his first glimpse at the modified Nomad, commenting, "I see that the OVERHAULIN' crew had some transmission challenges of their own on your car and did a great job solving them. This is one tricked-out classic."
The stock Nomad originally had a 265 cubic inch V8. It now has quite a bit more power from the special order, 650 horsepower, 572 cubic inch GM Performance Engine ZZ572. Jay knew that Dave planned to let his wife Kimberly enjoy driving the car as well, and she prefers automatic transmissions. So they hitched the powerhouse to a 3-speed Turbo 400 automatic and put a Ford 9-inch differential in the back end.
The sound system presented a real challenge. In discussing what he planned to do to the car when he got around to it, Dave mentioned to Jay that he really liked everything about the vintage interior, and didn't want to cut up the dashboard to install a state-of-the-art sound system. So Chip brought in the team from Golden Customs to build a fantastic system that cannot be seen. The controls are hidden in the glove box, and the amplifiers are tucked away where the spare tire used to be. The speakers are also concealed, but turn up the volume a bit and the music will shake the fillings out of your molars.
After a lifetime of playing practical jokes on most of his friends, Dave figures it was time for someone the pull the wool over his eyes. And if you're going to be fooled, there aren't any pranksters better than Jay Leno and the OVERHAULIN' gang.
It could be said that Dave is the happiest guy in Southern California when he cruises the freeways and back roads in this unique car. And this August Dave and Kimberly will be the proudest parents as well when they drive this classic Chevy to the wedding of Dave, Jr. and the lovely Sandi Gaynor.
Dave Killackey.
Alfred DiMora and Dave Killackey discuss the Chip Foose-overhauled Chevy Nomad at the Cool Cruise 2006 car show in La Verne, California.
Chris Jacobs, Jay Leno, Chip Foose, and AJ Janik return the Chevy Nomad to Dave Killackey.
Jay Leno knew that Dave loved the original two-tone paint job, so Chip Foose made certain the showroom-floor look was maintained when the rust was removed. But the sparkling Foose wheels were definitely not a dealer option in 1956.
The 572 cubic inch GM Performance Engine ZZ572 puts out 650 horsepower.
Chip Foose removed the spare tire to make room for the amplifiers and other components installed by Golden Customs.
Can you see the 21st-century sound system? Neither can anybody else. You would need Superman's x-ray vision to find it in the glove box and behind the stock Chevy dashboard. The speedometer tops out at 110 mph.
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About DiMora Motorcar:
Based in Palm Springs, California, DiMora Motorcar crafts automobiles guided by three goals:
- Exceed expectations for safety, performance, technology, ecology, beauty, comfort, and luxury.
- Reveal the design, build, and test of vehicles via the Internet so people can learn from and interact with DiMora Motorcar.
- Reclaim America's automotive design and engineering leader.
DiMora Motorcar, Natalia, Volcano, and DiMora TV are marks of Alfred J. DiMora. Copyright 2005 Alfred J. DiMora, All Rights Reserved. DMC Press Room photographs are released for reproduction.
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