1950 Triumph Thunderbird

I stumbled across this story recently and really liked it. The following is only an excerpt but the whole story is well worth reading.

I first saw the 1950 Triumph Thunderbird when it was introduced at the 1949 Show and decided that it could be categorized as a 'must have'. 

I placed my order on December 29th 1949 with Gus Kuhn who at that time ran an emporium in the Clapham Road, near the Oval. In those days Triumph were not off the shelf and I was not too disappointed to be quoted six months or so delivery time. I got the call in the last week of June and took delivery on the 1st of July. 

I was part-exchanging my January 1949 Tiger 100 on which I had done 16,840 trouble-free miles and so was totally familiar with most aspects of the Thunderbird. Gus gave me a hard time in the haggling but I was content with the deal. He had a raging cold, which he attributed to the fact that his Austin A40 Devon Saloon had a heater and he was missing out on the fresh air. I would have pointed out that the windows wound down but felt that that sort of remark could adversely affect the deal, so stayed shtumm. 

I persuaded them to put another quart of petrol in the tank, completed the administrative aspect and then I cast my leg over for the first experience of 34bhp. All the Triumphs I've owned have been easy starters and this one was no exception. First prod and she was away, quieter than the T100, but then, so much younger. The power characteristics were different, unsurprisingly, and I was quite pleased at the level of urge exhibited so far down the rev scale.