The Offering:

We are pleased to offer 1958 Devin SS s/n SR4-1, a race-proven and extremely-well-documented racer from the late 1950s and early 1960s; the “Golden Era” of sports car racing in America; a time when ingenious, well-equipped privateers such as Bill Devin, Bill Thomas and Carroll Shelby, (all based in Southern California), 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 chassis builder Malcolm MacGregor, used an Irish built chassis featuring an independent front suspension and a De-Dion rear suspension to build a successful racer. The only major component borrowed was the engine and trans, a Chevy small-block V8 backed by a 4-speed, giving the Devin SS the power and reliability to match its sleek, lightweight body, delivering 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, 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 race car specification into a state-of-the-art design. That included an independent, equal-length “A” arm front suspension and a De-Dion tube setup in the rear with a Devin cast aluminum diff housing and four wheel Girling disc brakes with inboard rear brakes. Steering was through a rack-and-pinion unit and twelve-inch Girling disc brakes provided ample stopping power, while the Dunlop wire wheels put the power to the ground. For those deep into automotive trivia, the SS in the Devin’s nomenclature stands for Super Shillelagh, named after both the chassis’s Irish heritage and after a Shillelagh, an Irish walking stick and, if needed, a handy club! See the reprinted article from Road & Track magazine, April 1959 in the photos. Around fifteen SS chassis were sent to Devin who finished them with 283 cid Chevrolet V8 power, a Borg Warner T-10 trans, 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, ($5,950), and the Chevy small block and T-10 trans was bullet-proof, easy to maintain and affordable to replace or upgrade

The Early Race History:

In 1958 Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was sold by Evans Industries, the exclusive distributor for Devin cars, to Dr. Phil Kondratief of Orange County, CA. In competition, Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was an immediate success with Pete Woods driving this car to the 1959 Sports Car Club of America C-modified Regional Championship. In April, 1960, Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was raced at the LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside, again driven by Pete Woods with race # 170. In June 1961, Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was raced at the Laguna Seca Invitational, driven by Lew Spencer with race # 45. Later, in Oct., 1961, Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was raced at the LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside, again driven by Lew Spencer, with race # 45. In 1962 Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was sold to Ken Force and modified for drag racing, eventually becoming yet another old 1950s race car in storage in southern California. In 1979 Devin SS s/n SR4-1 was sold to Sam Grasso, a Ventura County Orange Grove farmer and was partially restored by Hill & Vaughn with Bill Devin consulting, before being put into storage because of a dispute with Mrs Grasso over the restoration costs.

Lots of Documents:

We love documentation and Devin SS s/n SR4-1 comes with not one, not two, but three loose leaf binders. There is a large binder filled with original Devin sales docs, notes on the long term history, very rare 1950s and early 1960s race programs (or copies of race programs) from the Del Mar Road races , 02-03 May, 1959; the 1st Kiwanis Grand Prix at Riverside, 18-19 July, 1959; the United States Grand at Riverside, 10-11 Oct., 1959; the Herald-Express Grand Prix at Riverside, 2-3 April, 1960; the Laguna Seca Invitational, 10-11 June, 1961; the Grand Prix for Sports Cars at Riverside, 13-14 Oct., 1961; plus dozens of pages of articles and reports on Bill Devin and Devin race cars. The two smaller binders are filled with more current pre-race check lists; lap times; qualifying sheets; suspension setup sheets and multiple Dyno sheets that show a stump-pulling 458 ft lbs at 5,300 rpm and 500 hp at 5,900 rpm climbing to 545 hp at 7,300 rpm!