eBay Find: Quite Possibly The World’s Baddest Austin A40 Devon

We’re guessing that few car-folk know what an Austin A40 Devon is, or could identify one if it ran them over in a crosswalk, but for a brief history lesson, these vehicles were built and sold during the 1940’s and into the early 50’s by English manufacturer Austin Motor Company Limited as body-on-frame, two and four-door saloons (vehicles with a three-box passenger compartment configuration) and as panel vans, pickup trucks, and utility coupes. From the factory, they had 1.2L straight-four OHV engines that delivered a whopping 40 horsepower to the tire.

The Austin Devon you see here that’s being auctioned on eBay, however, does not have a straight-four in it, and we’d dare to step out on a limb and say it’s the baddest Austin A40 in the world. Because really, how much competition is there?

Powering this one-off Devon, built by RJ Fabrication in California, is a 383 cubic inch small block Chevrolet with Dart heads topped with a Weiand supercharger feeding a pair of Demon 750 cfm carburetors that undoubtedly multiplies the OEM horsepower rating tenfold, if not more. JE Pistons, a Crower crankshaft, custom headers with Flowmaster exhaust, MSD Ignition, and a COMP camshaft round the engine package out, with a B&M-shifted Powerglide transmission handling the duties of sending the power through the Dana 60 differential to the Summer Brothers axles, the Centerline wheels, and finally, the Hoosier 31×16.5×15 meats.

The four-door, ’48 model A40 has had it’s front end stretched six full inches, all resting on a tube chassis that proves this thing is more than just a car show cruiser with race car looks. 

Billed as a streetable race car, this sweet little ride makes some hay on the street, and we wouldn’t doubt it does the same on the strip. You’ve just gotta’ love a classic World War II era chunk of iron given a few modern touches, a big blown engine combination with a certifiably cool blower “lump” at idle and the whistle under WOT.

Says the seller: “It’s not a mamby pamby wannabe car and is for the serious enthusiast that wants show and go! Every car show or drag strip I take it to it gets plenty of attention.”

Now, about that asking price? How about a cool sixty large.

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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