Smoke in the Wires April 2016

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Featured Car 1957 Devin-Triumph “The Gary Special” Words and Photos by Marc Cherry US-born racer and manufacturer Bill Devin got his racing start with a tiny Crossley Hot Shot and a hot cam in the early 1950s. He travelled to Italy with the intention of purchasing obsolete Ferraris from the previous race season and importing them into the US with new bodies. Once Ferrari caught word of this scheme, the factory closed the door on this scheme. Enzo Ferrari famously remarked the, ‘Ferrari doesn’t sell used cars.” Even so, Bill was able to obtain a couple of Ferraris and race them briefly stateside before selling them on. As the door at Ferrari closed, another opened as a Panhard dealership needed to move several complete but unbodied chassis. Devin’s relationship with Panhard produced effective race cars and led to Devin’s most significant innovation, the belt-driven overhead camshaft. Starting with a Panhard crank case, Devin attached Norton motorcycle heads to the case then devised a method to drive their overhead cams. Using a cogged transmission belt, he made the arrangement work so well that a Devin- Panhard won a 1956 SCCA championship. These successes launched Devin as a manufacturer. Smoke in the Wires April 2016 Page 20
Devin Cars initially produced fiberglass bodies for their own chassis. The SS model initially had a UK-built frame, but the challenges of Britain’s labor market forced Devin to move production stateside. In the end, the top model Devin SS became an unprofitable venture. Concurrent to the SS, Devin produced the Devin-D (Deutsche) using a simplified frame and using Volkswagen components to complete the car. The D was a commercial success and drove Devin to Americanize it as the Devin-C (Corvair) using the more powerful air-cooled Chevrolet engine. These cars proved to be formidable track cars capable of turning faster laps that much more exotic equipment. Smoke in the Wires April 2016 Page 21
Page 2 and 3: Front Cover: Denis Bigioni’s Talb
Page 4 and 5: T-shirt sales, door prizes and the
Page 6 and 7: April The British Line submission f
Page 8 and 9: At the opposite end of the spectrum
Page 10 and 11: they brought me on as working all a
Page 12 and 13: Despite few buyers seeking driving
Page 14 and 15: Tenth Annual Pensacola-Atmore Road
Page 16 and 17: engines which are operating at full
Page 18 and 19: Production: Tom Schmitz, Curt Derby
Page 22 and 23: Bill Devin also offered the Devin-F
Page 24 and 25: emarkably similar. Before acting on
Page 26 and 27: PANHANDLE BRITISH CAR ASSN. Pensaco
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Smoke in the Wires April 2016

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