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Harold Pace's Devin SS |
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Hi Jon,
I bought my Devin SS in 1999. I had owned a Devin C a while before that,
and had talked to Bill Devin once before. I wrote an article on the
Devin C and D in Kit Car magazine and Bill read it and called to say he
liked it, and invited me to lunch the next time I was in California.
About two months later I got by his place in Yucaipa and he showed me
his treasure trove of cars and parts. He still had the body molds to the
SS, D, C and Jr (a go kart body). He also had frame jigs and many other
parts. He had a Devin D and two Cs, plus the only known Devin GT (a
hardtop C) in existence. And two SS models in partial states of resto.
We worked out an arrangement for me to buy one of the SSs, but I had to
sell a nice Ferrari 330GT (received in trade for my old Bocar). I got
the SS chassis, body, seats, gauges, suspension and most of the brakes.
I scrounged the rest and over the next 6 years rebuilt it to period race
condition. My car was built from whatever parts he had in stock and had
no prior history. I intended to set it up for vintage car racing with
the more strict clubs (no NASCAR parts, etc.). I installed a 283 that
had been sitting around for a while, and found a Devin intake manifold
in New Jersey. It cost a fortune and I had to buy a junk 390 cfm Holley
carb with it. I used a T-10 gearbox prepared by Tex Racing so it
wouldn't be fragile (worn T-10s tend to pop out of gear on overrun). I
serialized the buildup in Kit Car magazine over the years. I recently
finished the car and have driven it a few times, but I found the engine
is pretty weak and plan to build a little hotter one (301", about 350
hp) soon. Devins that were raced usually ran 283s, 301s or stroked 283s.
The biggest was a 401 that was installed in the "works" SS for the Times
Grand Prix. It was not a good combo, as the biggest you can bore a 283
is 4", so the stroke gets too long and the head can't flow enough air to
feed it. The 401 was a drag race combo with a stroker crank and Buick or
Cadillac rods. The 401" SS made 3 laps before the clutch let go (driver
was Roger Ward).
I had mine painted in black and red urethane because I didn't want a
clear coat finish (not period). I also used a headrest (optional). As
near as I can tell from talking to Bill before he passed away, he built
at least 23 chassis but only assigned about 18 chassis numbers (mine is
SS3/3).
Harold Pace
In a message dated 2/4/07 |
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Hi
Jon,
The Devin SSs used Austin-Healey Sprite Bugeye latches. I also
adapted a set for my old Bocar XP-5. You can also buy them new from
Moss or other sources. I don't know if the Mk.II Sprite/MG Midget
used the same latches or not.
Harold |
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Bill Devin & Jeff Moore |
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Ak Miller - 1958 Pikes
Peak winner - Chevy powered Devin SS
Ak Miller
had an Olds powered one too with a regular Devin body. He was also a
Devin Dealer. |
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Etceterini.com
Devin Page |
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Bill Devin |
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Richard Boone's Devin was tied to Dow
Chemical - a real stretch- Richard Boone was in a TV show called
Medic - one of the first Doctor Shows on TV - Dow sponsered it. My
Cousin was in the Dow west coast office back then. This car was
originally a 356 roadster that Dick rolled and Bill Devin re-bodied it.
When I worked in the Dow Art Department (1967) we had the old 16mm films
of the Medic show - It was a camp thing to do during lunch to watch
these old films. - what hokey acting! It was the Medic show that got
Richard Boone to an income level where he could buy the Porsche. |
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