Little Red Devin!
The Devin C has always been a favorite for us! The styling is reminiscent of an Italian sports car with just a hint of Corvette. There really aren’t many floating around, so it’s always a nice surprise when we spot one! This one is listed here on Hemmings and is a 1962 Devin C that has been garaged in Holmdel, New Jersey and priced at $15K or best offer. This example was built by the owner’s father and garaged for 53 years.
According to DevinSpecial.com these cars could be purchased either as a kit or as a turnkey car. Kits started at $2,750 and went up from there. Finished cars cost $4,595 and weighed in at just 1,300 pounds! Even with their low weight, they weren’t particularly fast, running a quarter mile in about 15 seconds. Of course, with a few upgrades they could be rather impressive. Rumor has it that one car was fitted with a Paxton Supercharger and pulled sub 12 second quarter mile times. Devin records show that just 60 of these were ever built and the registry only knows of 14 still in existence. Hopefully, there are a few more than that left!
This Devin C is powered by a Corvair Spyder engine mated to a 4 speed gearbox, with a custom intake manifold fitted to a new 4 barrel carburetor and has custom exhaust headers.
There is a wood dash with Stewart Warner gauges, and a Shelby Cobra steering wheel.
This appears to be the real deal. There is a short video of the car running included with the Hemmings ad. The owner needs to make room in the garage (don’t you hate when that happens?). When, if ever, will you ever find another original 1962 Devin C? Remember, this is one of the 14 known, so if you have the room and dollars it’s time to negotiate.
Motor-on
Robert
Comments
Original? No way. Someone has messed with this Devin big-time at one point (or several points) in its life. The dash, fender flares, ‘Vette taillights, extra box on the engine lid, monstro wheels/tires and front “grille” are not Devin’s. In fact, I’m not 100% certain the actual body is a Devin original.
There was a Paxton-blown “C.” If I remember right, it was put together in Andy Granatelli’s shop (he owned Paxton at the time). Don’t remember the performance numbers, but Sports Car Graphic magazine was impressed. No room under the engine lid for the blower, so it sat out on the rear fender….
If I had the time, money and fiberglass skills necessary to restore it, I’d still want to renegotiate the price WAY down. This one’s a mess. I love Devins, would really enjoy having a “C,” but am not into masochism.
A complete clusterfk.
Saw one being restored at the Corvair Ranch near Gettysburg.
That steering wheel was a common item available in many stores in that era. Most likely the brand name was/is Grant, but I don’ think it was good enough for Cobra oem use.
Wow, thats a mess. Way too ugly and messed up.
That is most definitely NOT a Shelby Cobra steering wheel. Biggest differences are:
1) Cobra wheel spokes were slotted and tapered from narrow to, well, less narrow from rim to center hub, sort of an elongated teardrop shape, not three round holes.
2) Cobra wheels were slightly dished, no more than an inch to 1.5-inches, that thing in the “Devin” (which looks more like a Devin-styled dune buggy body, especially with the ground clearance and short wheelbase) appears to be dished in the range of 3-inches.
3) Hub shape is entirely wrong on the “Devin’s” wheel. A Shelby Cobra wheel’s spoke flatten out away from hub (which is larger on the Cobra wheel) and the bend from spoke to hub runs straight across the spoke. The horn btton on a Cobra wheel is substantially larger diameter, too.
4) Shelby Cobra sreeing wheels were high grade hardwood and finished to a deep and high gloss.
I agree with boxdin, the wheel in the “Devin” is an old aftermarket cheapo (Grant or similar) that could’ve, in the day, been bought at any speed shop or Pep Boys. That “Cobra” steering wheel looked wrong as soon as I looked at the photos so I dug into my archives (I worked for years as a writer, photographer and editor of automotive enthusiast magazines) and found outtakes from two shoots of Cobras, one an original CSX 3000 series and the second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Mr Shelby and the first of 10 “Terlingua Special” CSX 4000-series 427 Cobras that were built. I believe that the real Shelby Cobra (and early GT 350) steering wheels were manufactured by Moto-Lita, in Great Britain.
IMHO don’t think it is a Devin body, but a knock off. I went to the Devin Specials website and none of the bodies pictured looked close to this particular body. From the height of it, I would guess a VW pan was used and a Crown adapter for the Corvair engine. I feel it is priced to high.
NO Devin C had a grill opening…… here’s Rod’s ” C ” , at Monterey a year or two ago
Has anybody found a Devin fitted to a VW chassis, with aluminum doors? The body had a full windshield (off a boat) and top. The engine had a Judson supercharger. We drove it from Montreal to Cumberland, Maryland to see a race one weekend. The body shell was designed for a Triumph so we made the aluminum doors to fit the longer VW pan. It was painted white. It was sold in Montreal sometime in 1959 or 1960.
Hey Guys,
All the statements of the history of what the car is/was are according to the owner. Maybe family history can get in the way of facts? We are just the messengers and together maybe we can get to the true provenience of said car. This is a community effort and we thank you for all the input and knowledge base. We don’t ever mean to mislead or misrepresent.
Cheers,
Robert
Dave’s right. The ‘C’ stood for Corvair, and those cars didn’t need, or have, a grille.
The stance on this one is all wrong. Why do people do that?