I had to look at this car also, and I would have concour. It does have a
Healey chassis (6 cyl. variety) which makes no sense when looking at the
time put into a tube cockpit perimeter cage and, although the photo isn't
that clear, what appears to be a corvette rear end hanging on the back end.
I would think if you were going to go to that effort you could come up
with an overall chassis design - made from tube - that would better
facillitate newer suspension bits, and create a better, stronger, more
performance worthy chassis. The Healey chassis, while a reasonable road
chassis in the fifties, isn't one I would want to turn into a
perfomance/race car after that period.
Huffaker's first special (1955) was derived from a Healey chassis with a
big difference. he connected the front suspension to an independent rear
suspension using tube between the two. His next special (the Devin Bodied
one shown in the Hot Rod photo) , was, again, made from tube with a more up
to date front end, and again had a similar rear end treatment, was corvette
powered, predated the Scarab and was very fast!.
This car (e-bay) looks like it may have been begun somewhat later than
the "vintage" it would have you believe. Had it ever been completed it most
certainly copuld not have been anywhere near competitive; considering what
it would have had to run with.
Bottom line to all this, from the vintage standpoint, is there are way
to many red flags waving their little hearts out.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: <AMQJR@aol.com>
To: <cdoerge@bellatlantic.net>; <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2001 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: Devin Car
> I looked at the project car photos and do not believe that Bill Devin ever
> built the car. He never discussed anything like it, and although many of
his
> kit bodies were used to make all sorts of specials, and he did indeed have
> sizes to fit a corvette as well as almost everything else, I do not know
of
> his building one himself. The ad says that it is a corvette chassis and
then
> it is a Healey! The Devin SS was listed as a Devin Corvette in the LA
Grand
> Prix and was the prototype with the Jaguar engine replaced with the Vette.
I
> am in the process of restoring the prototype. There are lots of specials
out
> there with Devin bodies and V8 engines, but only 12 or 15 real SS cars.
The
> wide bodied car that is referred to in the advert really has nothing to do
> with Devin except the fiberglass body. Alex Quattlebaum
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