patgizz wrote: THE DEVIN IS MINE Working, details later
Woo hoo!!!
patgizz wrote: THE DEVIN IS MINE Working, details later
Woo hoo!!!
Cool beans
YESSSSSssss
!!!
patgizz wrote: THE DEVIN IS MINE Working, details later
Awesome! This will be an epic build thread.
I'll be at Carlisle this weekend for the import/kit show. I'll see if there is any Panhard clubs there.
In reply to Ian F:
I'll act as a spare set of eyes on Saturday!
patgizz wrote: THE DEVIN IS MINE Working, details later
I know clicking plus one more than once doesn't work. I tried it on this post anyway.
The Devin Panhards
When Bill Devin sold his Ferrari 250 MM coupe to a buyer in Michigan in 1954 he took a 1953 Deutsch-Bonnet Le Mans barquette in trade as partial payment.[2] Devin also bought out the stock of a Panhard dealer in California, acquiring ten chassis with engines but no bodies.[3]
Devin designed his own ladder frame for a custom race car that used the engine and front-wheel drive transaxle from the Panhards. The wheelbase of this chassis was 2,134 millimetres (84 inches). Devin also took a mold of the body of the DB Le Mans, made some changes, and began to produce custom bodies for his new car.[4] This was his first experience working with fiberglass.
With help from Norton motorcycle racer Don Evans, Devin adapted the cylinder barrels, cylinder heads and pistons from the Norton Manx motorcycle to the two-cylinder boxer Panhard crankcase, roller-bearing crankshaft assembly and piston rods.[5] He then fabricated a custom manifold that accepted two-barrel side-draft Weber carburetors. All of these alterations did not affect the displacement of the engine, leaving the 79.5mm bore and 75mm stroke unchanged for a total displacement of 745cc.
What made the engine unique was the method Devin used to operate the valves. He abandoned the Panhard's pushrod OHV system and contacted the L. H. Gilmer company about using their toothed belts to drive the Manx cylinder heads' overhead cams.[5] Development of synchronous toothed-belts was begun by the Gilmer company around 1940.[6] Their primary application had been as a means of transmitting power in textile mills.[7] Devin's use of the technology to drive the valve train in the Devin-Panhard engine was the first time toothed belts were used in a timing belt application. Devin did not apply for a patent on this innovation.[2]
The Devin-Panhards went into production in 1955 with engine options that included OHV, SOHC and DOHC variations of 750cc and later 850cc displacements. Another version of the engine came with a MAG supercharger, which bumped the car up into the 1100cc class.
Bill Devin says:""Here I am sitting in a 'just finished' Devin Panhard in 1955. Both these Panhards were completed prior to the OHC's project completion."
And:"... just getting a car ready for the next race takes many man-hours. This is one of my mechanics, Fletcher Isard, working on a 750cc (Blown) engine for the next race."
So...I had mistakenly identified Fletcher Isard as Bill Devin on the first page. Sorry, Mr. Isard.
Pat - Awesome.
Apexcarver wrote: In reply to Ian F: I'll act as a spare set of eyes on Saturday!
I'll be will the North American Spitfire Squadron. Brown Spit.
Here's an article from the September 1955 issue of Sports Car Illustrated. You can click this link, then enlarge it and scroll through to the right to read the complete article from the magazine.
It appears as if the dome along the center of the hood was dictated in part by the oddball shift linkage.
I wonder if pat's find is pictured in any of cars in the old mags posted in this thread.
Looking forward to the build thread. Cool bit of history.
OK it's later. Abridged because getting in shower so i can make dinner
Laying flooring for a customer in laundry room. Greg(seller) calls and i let it go voicemail because I don't pick up in someone's home. Decided to listen a couple minutes later and he says shoot him a call back so i do. Said because brakes are frozen and it doesn't roll both the doctor in texas and collector in oregon are asking him to free the brakes and make it roll. Between the rusty rims, crap tires and frozen brakes plus having 2 sons in travel baseball he tells them sorry he can't meet their hopes and plans to relist it. However he told me he needed to call before relisting because i told him i'm here if the long distance guys balk. Agreed to the price tag from before he found out what it was and because it is on his trailer(he bought it to flip and just brought it home friday) he would deliver it. It's coming home this weekend, where i'll likely stick it in the harbor freight carport garage thing sideways across the back and start keeping an eye out for panhard wheels while formulating a plan. I fear the gearbox is probably worthless from the appearance of the input shaft. I'm hoping there may be a number somewhere to ID which of the ten it is, but doubt that.
I will admit though, as a carpenter, the biggest thing i am looking forward to is replicating the dash and making the new wood rim for the steering wheel
Due to the project status and how it's going to be pretty darn hard to source parts it's not going to be a right now thing. I think if it takes 10 years to find everything it would be a miracle. I'm a couple hours from having the heads off the impala to inspect the bores(and hope they are OK). That's first. Second is toss new starter in belair and get it cruising, third is new converter in the 240z for the roadkill drags, and 4th/5th combined are get $2017 car and chevelle done. I just bought some new metalworking tools to make the sail panels and rear window surround for the chevelle so any excuses are out the window for letting it sit with the new roof panel in a box on top of the car.
Also the car in the picture with the mechanic definitely doesn't have the norton jugs.
Dude, your fleet sounds like mine right now.
Good job saving this one. Who knows, you may find the right home for it. Or, you may be tbe right home/custodian of it.
When you get to the point where you are looking to set it up for vintage racing, drop me a line. Vintage racing is not like the SCCA, with uniform rules nationwide. Instead, it is made up with many regional clubs, with varying competition and safety rules from club to club. I can help you sort through all that stuff to get it actually on the track. No hurry on the build- I have done multiple rescue jobs on old derelict race cars, and it is best to do it safe rather than in a hurry. Have fun!! Marc in Indy 1979 Honda Civic former SCCA GT5, now being reconfigured for Under 2.5 Trans Am with the VSCDA
Ideally one would find a whole donor
http://www.cosmopolitanmotors.com/listing/complete-project/
But they're on crack with that price tag
I can contact my friend Harry who had several Panhards and raced a Deutch Bonnet. He had a pretty large collection of parts and might be a good source. He also was a French teacher and has contacts in France. Let me know if you're interested.
patgizz wrote: Agreed to the price tag from before he found out what it was and because it is on his trailer(he bought it to flip and just brought it home friday)
Wow! That means at $650, he was turning a profit.
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