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Once Owned by “Dyno Don” Nicholson, This ’62 Chevrolet Bel Air Has Been Given an LS Swap by its Current Owner, Frankie Trutanic

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There is always an eclectic mix at the Holley LS Fest events with Chevy’s LS workhorse as the glue that ties it all together. Naturally, when you spot a car at one of these gatherings the assumption is that it’s LS motivated. When we spotted Frankie Trutanic’s ’62 Chevrolet Bel Air Bubbletop sitting there with a wicked stance, we figured that it had been the recipient of, what else, an LS swap. We were on the mark with our assumption, but what pulled us in even further was how deceptively dressed it was underhood. The part that really put it over the top was his assertion that it was once owned by “Dyno Don” Nicholson. That affirmation prompted a completely different set of questions, with the most obvious being, why do an LS swap on a car with that provenance? Frankie was very straightforward in explaining that: “I have always been a big fan of LS swaps, and I like to drive my cars.” He is no stranger to dropping an LS into what he owns, with a number of swaps under his belt, and a 1,200-horse LS-powered ’86 Buick T-Type as his most radical to date.