Mail Box – March 2013

Devin in the Details

Dear Casey,

I would like to add a few things to my friend Mark Brinker’s article in your January 2013 edition. I have been associated with Bill Devin since 1954. We were good friends for his lifetime. At the insistence of his widow, I delivered the eulogy at his funeral. From 1957 to 1960, Evans Industries distributed Devin Products, including the Devin SS, C and D. One of my treasures is the prototype Devin D Bill gave me for my birthday long ago. When Bill got the idea of importing chassis from Malcolm MacGregor in Northern Ireland, Malcolm required payment FOB. Bill didn’t have the money, so Evans Industries paid. Then Bill installed bodies and running gear for which Evans paid him. Then, Evans sold the completed cars. Actually, Bill never owned them at that time. In later years, when he moved to Yucaipa, he would buy SSs when available, usually in bad shape. In 1959, I raced the SS prototype. I had my buddy, Andy Porterfield, drive it for me at the 1959 Times GP. Pete Woods was my sales manager and he raced an SS that he had sold to a Dr. Kondratief, in 1960. I seem to recall that #3 was the Kondratief car. I sold my prototype to John Brophy. Bill, Andy and Pete remained my close friends for their lifetimes. In 2009, I assembled a book titled Devin, that Bill wanted me to do. (EnthusiastBooks.com) Unfortunately it came out after his passing.