1959 DEVIN D ROADSTER; From Kit Car to Hillclimber.(Escape Roads)

Byline: BOB TOMAINE

After Bill Devin served in World War II, he went to California with plans to open a dealership. That led to racing and Ferraris and other sports cars. By the mid-1950s, he was a builder.

After the success of the 1954 Devin-Panhard racer and a '57 SS, Devin offered the fiberglass-bodied Devin D roadster in 1959 as a $1,495 kit or a $2,950 completed car with mostly Volks-wagen and Porsche mechanical components. The 1200-pound D used the 36-hp VW 1200 or the 70-hp Porsche 1600. Power aside, the D kit differed from many rivals in one critical area.

"Two mechanics, using no special tools other than metric wrenches, can complete a D in one day,'' a 1961 Devin ad promised. "A less-skilled person without assistance would, of course, require a few more hours to finish the task.''

Devin crated and shipped each kit "in a far-advanced stage of completion.'' The body was painted, upholstered, wired and trimmed with doors, hood and decklid. Its windshield was test-fitted and then removed for shipping. The purchaser received a list of drivetrain and mechanical components to buy and install, but "any parts requiring modification from stock are included with the D-accelerator pedal, clutch shaft, steering shaft extension, gearshift rod, etc. That's all there is to it!'' The plan didn't always work so smoothly.

"The serial number says it's a '59,'' said Cliff McCandless of Grove City, Pennsylvania. "That's when Bill started the car, anyhow. When he finished it, I'm not sure, but I didn't get the completed car until ...