Not only was the engine displacement size a first for Triumph being pushed by US customers but having better refined fuel meant the American export model had a higher compression ratio of 8.5:1 compared to its British counterpart of only 7:1. Speaking of the engine, this air-cooled vertical twin 650cc (649cc) engine, a first for Triumph, was supped up for the American market. The engine even has a simpler look with its parallel twin engine compared to the more typical (and huge) American V-twin. As the years went on Triumph adapted to brighter candy-colored hues, but this early 1950 Thunderbird was very British, coming in simpler and duller colors, black, gray, gray-blues, muted turquoises, navy blue, the kind of more conservative color schemes one would expect out of Europe at the time not yet having caught up to flamboyant American tastes. While Harley was going after the big sleek look in line with American cars of that period the Thunderbird has a more essential look, with many parts of the frame having less volume, simple welding joints, and visible spring suspension on the seat, giving it a much more minimalistic look adding to its unique cruiser charm. All of this contributed to giving the Thunderbird slightly more of an early twentieth-century industrial look compared to the flashy, chromed Harleys of the day. The bike had a rigid brazed-lug frame with sprung hub suspension. Related: Here Are The Best Triumph Motorcycles Ever Made were all enclosed in nacelle housing to make cleanup simple after a damp ride in the British rain. The 6T has decent fenders for bikes of its time and most of the top part, headlight, center section of handlebar, gauges, top yoke, etc. This was the very first vehicle to have the moniker Thunderbird and Triumph Engineering later licensed the name out to Ford Motor Company for a very famous car model, the Ford Thunderbird. So finally in 1949 the company responded and upgraded the previous twin engine and the new model was born and dubbed it the Thunderbird.įinally, in 1950 one of the most important and historical motorcycles of all time is released, the Thunderbird 6T. The American market started demanding engines with more power and heft for long journeys down Route 66 and all the rest winding through the country. Triumph for a while had been cruising by on 500cc sized engines, well 498cc to be exact, but Americans who had a nice large country with long interstate-state highways wanted more in terms of engine displacement. Triumph’s Coventry factory was destroyed during WWII in the Coventry Blitz but, tooling and machinery were eventually salvaged from the remains of the Coventry factory and Triumph opened a new factory in 1942 in Meriden. The following year in 1937 Triumph released the 5T Triumph Speed Twin which was a benchmark for the following Twins Triumph Engineering would release for the next few decades thereafter. The Thunderbird eventually went on to develop a new niche in the market: the personal luxury car.A turning point came in 1936 when the company began exporting motorcycles to the United States which would become the company’s biggest market. Rather than focusing on sportiness, Ford emphasized the vehicle’s comfort. Unlike the Chevrolet Corvette, it wasn’t marketed as a sports car, but a gentleman’s car. The way Bonds explained it, the Thunderbird was Ford’s response to the Corvette. The body is entirely stock, with its original paint job: a colonial white top with a buckskin body. The car looks exactly as it did rolling off the lot in 1956, when the son-in-law’s grandfather purchased it brand new in Albany, California. She and Rick Bonds purchased the Thunderbird, and all they had to do was put on new tires, since the old ones had bald patches from sitting in one spot for so long. “For the last 60 years I’ve wanted one, and here it popped up,” she said. Choate jumped on the chance to finally own the car of her dreams. The oil hadn’t been changed since 1976, it had only gone 1,100 miles since that oil change, and it hadn’t been driven in three decades. It had been sitting in a garage in San Leandro for 37 years. The son-in-law of a good friend had a ‘56 Ford Thunderbird he wanted to get rid of. It wasn’t until June 2016 that her chance finally arose. Years passed, and Choate never got her Thunderbird. “I said, ‘I’d like to have a car like that someday,’” she recalled. Peggy Choate has been dreaming of owning one since the seventh grade, when she first laid eyes on the then wildly popular model. “American Graffiti” sees Suzanne Somers driving a white 1956 Ford Thunderbird. In “Grease,” Danny Zuko and his gang call themselves the T-birds. Lake County > Thanks to pop culture, the 1950s Thunderbird is an iconic car.
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