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1956 Devin TR

Bill Devin built a car that had the style, sophistication, and performance of a Ferrari but sold for less. The prancing horse demanded a high price due to its pedigree; Devin decided to exploit the market and offer a nearly identical vehicle at an affordable price.

Devin Enterprises operated from 1955 to 1964 and built a reputation for building high-quality fiberglass bodies that were sold as kits. The company also produced automotive accessories as well as complete automobiles. A wide range of sizes of bodies were available since the Devin body mold was not a one-piece shape, but instead, an assortment of 50 differently-sized molds of individual sections of the body. This allowed the bodies to be assembled in a variety of ways to create over two dozen possible sizes for a customer's fiberglass body. The bodies could be used to cloth Crosleys, MGs, Triumphs, Austin-Healeys, Alfa Romeos, and even American car frames.

Bill had a history of racing that included a win at the first Pebble Beach race in 1949 while driving a modified Crosley Hot Shot. Later he entered the fiberglass body business, where he sold hundreds of lightweight but durable bodies at just under $300 apiece. Near the close of the 1950s, his company was producing nearly 100 bodies per week and shipping them throughout the world.

Devin bodies were popular and quickly became the world's largest and most successful producer of aftermarket fiberglass bodies. During this era, most manufacturers used a coarse glass mat for the outer layer of their bodywork, while Devin preferred fiberglass cloth, giving his body a high-quality finish that was very smooth.

Able to accommodate a wide selection of vehicles, the Devin specifications varied greatly. The vehicles on this web page are known as the Devin TR Special, powered by a Triumph TR3 chassis. The Triumph TR3 had an 88-inch wheelbase, a 151-inch length, and was 50 inches tall. They had a four-speed manual transmission, a steel frame, and an unequal-length A-arm from suspension with coil springs. In the back was a rigid axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. There were disc brakes in the front and drums at the rear. The engine was an overhead valve four-cylinder unit displacing 1991cc with 2 SU carburetors and producing nearly 100 horsepower.

The maroon-colored Special, number 189 is powered by a 2.2-liter engine.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster

This car is an example of an American-built special. Bill Devin was a southern California aerospace engineer who, in the mid-1950s, built fiberglass bodies as kits, rolling chassis and complete turn-key cars. Probably only one-fourth of all the bodies sold ever were completed and actually ran. Many were built as race cars, such as this example.

This car was built by enthusiasts in San Diego in about 1956. They used a Triumph TR3 chassis and drivetrain. It was raced in southern California and later became a street car. It eventually ended up in a barn in Atascadero, where the present owner found it in 2001 and restored it to its previous racing condition. The car now regularly races with General Racing, HUSA, and VARA.