Fantasy Junction

Description

1958 Devin SS
s/n SR 1-3
Red with Black Interior

Bill Devin was a dedicated American racer who logged his first major victory arm wrestling a heavily modified Crosley Hot Shot to a first place finish in the 1949 Pebble Beach road race. With the early 1950s came a golden era for sports car racing in America, a time when ingenious, well-equipped privateers could successfully compete against the best that European and domestic automobile manufactures could offer. Devin was in the right place at the right time, and with the help of Irishman Malcolm MacGregor, produced a car that raced successfully in SCCA C-modified class against Ferraris, Listers, and Maseratis.

Devin had been producing attractive, durable, light weight fiberglass bodies, which were sold as a kit, and fitted to a variety of chassis by their owners. Towards the latter half of the 1950s, MacGregor, a very gifted engineer who later worked for Ford of Europe, produced a tubular chassis for Devin, very similar to those later used by Carroll Shelby on the legendary Cobra. These new chassis incorporated every desirable late 1950's racing car specification into a state of the art design. They included an independent suspension in the front and a De Dion tube setup in the rear. Steering was through a rack-and-pinion unit. 12 inch Girling disc brakes provided ample stopping power while the Dunlop wire wheels held the car firmly in place under heavy cornering. Around fifteen chassis were sent to Devin who finished them with 283cid Chevrolet V8 power, Borg Warner transmissions, and his very own lightweight bodies. These cars that had the style, sophistication, and performance of a Ferrari, but sold for less than half the price.

In competition, the Devin was an almost immediate success with Pete Woods driving his car to the Sports Car Club of America C-modified National Championship. Other owners converted their cars into aggressive street machines, blending European styling with American hot rod performance and reliability. Indeed, Sports Car Illustrated measured 0-60 in 4.8 seconds!

This particular comes with letters from James Bartlett, president of the Devin Club and Registry, outlining its history. The letters indicate that Echidna Racing Limited purchased the car from Bill Devin in 1993, after which it was restored by Chris Wickersham in Pasadena. The car was raced through the 90s, predominantly in SVRA events. Its next owner was a doctor in the Denver area, who raced it in RMVR events and also used it in the Colorado Grand. It then passed to an owner in California, who sold it to its current owner via Fantasy Junction. A mechanical restoration was completed in 2008 and the car proved to be extremely competitive in competition afterwards. It was raced at the Monterey Historics and Pre-Historics in 2014 plus various HMSA events over the years. It is approved for racing in CSRG, HMSA, and General Racing sanctioned events. The car consistently placed in the top four, beating heavy duty machinery including Maserati Birdcage/300S/450S, Listers, D-Types, and Aston DBR2. The motor was a 327 Chevy race prepped to 331 cubic inches and produced 476hp and 421 ft pounds of torque. The engine is included with the car, but is not currently installed. Instead it is currently fitted with a 283 cid engine which is much milder and is ideally suited to street use and tours.

The car makes a very nice cosmetic impression with high quality paint and bodywork, something that is not always true of fiberglass cars, particularly of this period. The body is straight and the paintwork was performed to high standards. It shows a few swirls and some light wear to front facing surfaces from normal use, plus a few touched in chips. The black wheels give the car a sinister and purposeful appearance and were recently refinished. The bright trim is very nice, as are the glazing and lights. The car is equipped with full lighting and is street legal.

The interior is sparsely finished but to high standards, with a small amount of carpeting and padded seats, which are in excellent shape and make the car a bit more habitable as a street car. The instruments are nicely restored and are vintage Stewart Warner items besides the Devin-specific speedometer and tachometer. The steering wheel is a nice wood-rimmed item in excellent shape.

The engine compartment is attractive and clean, being well-maintained and prepared to high standards with numerous competition features such as the closed cooling system, aluminum radiator, and aeroquip fittings. The footwells are heat shielded and the valve covers are period 7 fin Corvette items. The carburetor is a Holley with Devin intake manifold. The car comes with its race motor, as well as miscellaneous spares such as six extra wheels, carburetor, distributor, water pump, clutch, and several other items. This example retains is rare and beautiful Devin-specific finned rear-end housing, only found on SS models.

In its current configuration, the car is extremely streetable. The engine is docile and well-tuned, and the gearbox is a pleasure to use. The clutch is easy to modulate, and the brakes (discs all round) are effective. Considering the car’s extremely competitive nature with its race engine, it is shockingly easy to use.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a very rare car. One of approximately 15 examples built, this example has proven itself a giant killer on the race track, or in its current form, is an ideal street car for occasional drives or tours. Complete with a host of spares including a 475hp race motor, this is a turnkey car and a true dual-purpose sports car of the type that make 50s and 60s sports cars particularly memorable and desirable.

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608