I've always wanted a detriot iron powered sports car from the 50s. Something like a Devin. I had one Devin in my shop 10 years ago or so. I'd like to build a bird cage type frame. I guess you have to start with the wheel base and tread width. I'm wondering if anyone makes a fibergl*** body that resembles the Devin? I suppose I could carve out a foam plug to make a mold from. I think an aluminum body is out of my price range. What about front and rear suspension? Being cheap, an 8" Ford for the rear would work. Ford I beam for the front? 51 Chevy/53 Corvette? Ideally I'd like an early Cadillac hooked up to some kind of 5 speed with over drive. I'm thinking the early Caddy motor would wind up higher than other engines of that period. But in reality I'd probably have to use the 56 265 Power pack Chevy. that I already have. I want a high winding motor with a low rear end ratio so I can play in the lower gears and still not endanger the citizenry. Probably a waste of money. Can't enter it in any sanctioned races. I just think it would be fun to drive. Has anybody else had pipe dreams like this? Has anybody else thought about a similar concept with any ideas? suggestions?
Too much fun. Devin made three wheel base bodies to fit, one the VW, two was a Triumph, three was the Chevy. The bodies are still out there and not too much $. I have a 57 fibergl*** body sports car called the Turner, and it is way too much fun! Start looking at the vintage club sports car mags in the "for sale" section, you will be surprised at the price of a project Devin. Have fun! Sandman Barons So.Texas
There were quite a few of them gl*** bodied cars around in the 50s. Devin, Victress and some others. All seemed to look kinda like Kaiser Darrins. Don't think it would be all that hard to find a body, as many were sold and few finished. "Sports Cars" were the rage then. I saw several on a car lot in SoCal around 1955, along with some Allards and one nice track-T. Start searchin I'm sure the're out there..........OLDBEET
The Devin was a tasteful design. A couple of years ago, when the designer of the Devin died, his Web site went away. I'm not aware of any sites that are related to Devins, although there likely are some. If you're looking for inspiration, one place to start surfing is on my site's Vintage Racing page, and then looking under Vintage Sports Car Racing, at http://www.roadsters.com/vintage/ As for suspension choices, that's all up to you, your abilities and the tools that you have access to, and what you want to end up with. Don't rule out buying an old race car. There's a lot of them out there, and they're not all too expensive to consider. You could still be creative in its reconstruction, but you could race it too. This reminds me that one of the nicest cars I've ever seen on the street belonged to a man in North Vancouver, BC, who was sometimes seen driving his full-race British Racing Green Jaguar XK-120 roadster with taped-up headlights, numbers on the doors and hood, a roll bar, and the windshield folded down. Beautiful car. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
tommy, that same thought hits me now and then!!! Cool little cars. With all the twisting roads here in the hills, one would be a blast!
Dave, those Halibrand wheels that my brother HAD went to a good home. He sold them to my son K-Member, front spindle mounts and big window rears,with slicks===$100.00. He likes K-Member.............OLDBEET
The Devin web site is still up. I believe he was selling copies of the body right up to the end, so the molds may still exist. http://www.devinsportscars.com/
In 1960 my first job other than a paper route was as an apprentice trimmer in an auto upholstery shop here in South California. One thing we made was the "factory" interiors for Bill Devin. Wayno
Tommy- I have had the same longings for a home built "sports car"...I have the makings...I am terribly lagging in progress though.......... I have a fiberglas shell body -['59 Vette-one peice]....and lots of daydreams!I will post a pic tomorrow of the body I have no intention of building an original style car. I see so many similarities between the Devin you show and the Cobra bodies still available....imagine cutting back the front end[ofcobra] and restyling to resemble the Devin?????????see?
A lot of these early sports cars were swoopy body's on a production ch***is. I am pretty sure the Devin got its body shape by taking a mold of a Stanguelini ( Sp). ( A hand built Aluminum Italian Race Special on a Fiat Topolino Ch***is, Stanguelini has built Formula Juniors as well...) The Devin I had in my backjard for a while had been on a Triumph Tr3 ch***is at one point. ( At the time I did not have the $300 it took to buy it, so I p***ed the deal to a buddy, he resold it to somebody else who modified it to where it does not even resemble a Devin anymore ) So you dont have to go crazy with the ch***is if you dont want to. You can find some pretty cool projects on Ebay every once in a while ( you have seen the Special I found, and a couple of weeks ago there was a unmounted gl*** body that went for $400 or $600) Back in the day there were a number of cars built like Mickey Thomson's "Cavallo", made out of production parts ( like a '36 Ford Frame and a '48 Chevy hood, turned backwards as a boattail ) If you want it a little less homely looking, there is a guy selling Cheetah Body's again... I like all that stuff, but you probably knew that by now...
Thanks for the links. I learned alot from them. I want to build my own ch***is. That much I can handle. The body (it has to have the "look") will be the hard part. I was under the impression that the vintage racing had driven the original cars through the roof. The last Kellison I saw at Carlisle was in the 16,000$ range and needed a complete restoration. it was pretty rough. I ordered the ***embly manual for a Kellison coupe while guarding the beach in South Viet Nam. I actually had one for a while after I got out, but my skills needed more developing at the time. A long came a 39 Willys sedan with 396 4sp and an Olds rear. The Kellison had to go! I still can't get it out of my system. I see they are still available. I'm just about $890,000.00 short.
I thought 16 grand was high. It makes Boyds cars look like a bargain!! I couldn't even carry on a conversation about a 900 thousand dollar car. I shouldn't even mention it here. I'm so unworthy!
Always liked those things. Thought you'd like this link. http://www.1950sspecials.com/home.htm Mostly brits...dunno how they MISSED the Devin tho!
The blue car is 1958 Echidna #66, the "Larson" car, and behind it a 1957 Victress. The Echidna is a Devin bodied special, one of three, built in Hibbing, MN in 1958. It has a 56 Chevrolet p***enger car frame shortened and narrowed to a 92 inch wheelbase, engine, trans and rear end moved to the right to balance the weight of the driver, fuel injected (Rochester Corvette) small block, Borg Warner 4-speed, Chevy P case posi in back. Suspension in front is stock 56 chevy A arms and coils, in rear, coilovers with a watts link. Drum brakes on all four corners. The builders were backyard guys who believed you could build a car with readily available American parts and beat the expensive foreign stuf. In 1959 Echidnas finished first and third in the SCCA B Modified Championship points. Fast, strong and reliable. It's a blast to drive, 450 HP and 2200 Lbs. Big slider. The Victress sits on a factory Mameco frame and is powered by a warmed-up 57 Dodge 325 with a Tremec 5-speed. It's licensed and will be a regular driver. It's being upholstered now. The pictures were taken at McKee Engineering in Lake Zurich, IL.
how about a 1959 Falcon Shells Caribbean mk111 coupe fibergl*** sports car, i just found one(unbuilt ) , just laying out plans for the build.
At the HAMB the threads never go away <G>. Started well over 10 years ago and dormant for nearly 5 and it has come back to life. Roo
Now that the Wildfire has gone down the road, my new project is a Devin. I found a "new", unused body on the web, have an E Type front suspension, a Chev race motor from an old race car, Muncie 4 speed, probably a 9 inch rear, all held together with a tube frame. Stay tuned for the build thread as it starts to go together.... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
My heart yearns for a Kurtis 500. Small block Chevy (to help with weight bias), straight axles, torsion bars, cowl steering, and Brookstone wind screens.
This is Wildfire I just sold - started as a vintage race project, but turned into a restoration. Devin replaced it as the race car project- but I have since retired from racing- so the Devin will never see the track- at least with me...... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here is a body with real hot rod roots - Bill Burke and Micky Thompson! http://autoweek.com/article/cl***ic-cars/isnt-barn-find-cisitalia-202-its-something-even-rarer I owned the one that they talk about that originally had half a Duesy engine - but was flat head powered when I got it circa 1985. I sold it in 2006 along with a 392 and a 354 hemi, Donovan heads, Halibrand wheels etc. The new owner is working on the ch***is, which was much too weak for either of the big engines. Rails were made from WW2 surplus elliptical tubing, suspension looks like Kurtis T-bars, rear banjo Ford made into a swing axle like early VW. First built for a Bonneville car, converted to street by mid-1950s.
Old threads never seem to die being as Tommy started it March 28, 2004 and it was revived again in 2009 to lay dormant until 5W35 got really bored yesterday. I traded a truck for a raw Devin body in around 1980 but sold the body to a friend who still has it. He put it on an early Datsun pickup frame from what I remember and after talking to him a few months ago it is about ready to finally hit the street.
In about 60' my school buddy built one for a guy and he put in a 57' 270 283 chevy, he just had to see how it ran So on a week day about 3 pm we made a blast down a main street with school kids etc, had no exhaust - interior just milk crates to set on - no lights - no tags or plates if we got stopped we would still be in jail 100 mph in that un safe thing , boy talk about dumb but at 20 ' just what guys do standing on the gas G Don
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