The ’birds have landed
Prepare to be confused by the shifting sands in Rick’s workshop. The project 3T is elbowed aside by a pair of Thunderbirds demanding attention. Now concentrate...
Right, sorry about this. I know I said the project 3T would be finished this month, but that was then. Last month Ferret wired the bike up, but we finished too late to fire up an openpipe Triumph, so checking the charging had to wait. When I fired it up, guess what? As Ferret predicted, the original Lucas regulator wasn’t working – and while I fiddled with that, the engine started misfiring and stopped. Some crud from the tank had got through and the carb was flooding – but after cleaning it out, the Triumph still wouldn’t run. Typical! On the bench, the regulator had tested fine and the bike ran like a watch. With other stuff to do, I had to leave it to get ready for the Stafford Show. I had a good time there and brought home the 1959 Triumph Thunderbird pictured here (the black pre-unit model). If you didn’t see it for sale at the show, that’s because it wasn’t... maybe I had better explain.
This is my old ’59 Thunderbird, which I bought back from the bloke I’d sold it to – my mate Raymond Albeson, who delivered it to the show from Edinburgh. It cost me a bit more than I’d paid for it the first time, 20 years ago, although it did look very different then. It was a stolen/recovered bike sold by the police in 1968, with the seat, chainguard, nacelle, speedo, exhaust, handlebars, footrests, carb and mudguards all missing. This was costly stuff to find, but at £300 the price was right – especially because, as its clock had stopped in 1968, it wasn’t too worn. It still had a standard cylinder bore and big ends – and even had the original crosshead casing screws. After I’d spent around £1000 on it, it was as you see it here.
I decided to buy it back, two decades later, because my mate Will was stuck for a ride-to- work bike and I thought I’d lend him the Thunderbird over summer. Best of all, it was an excuse to buy back one of my old loves. But then something strange and wonderful happened. Asked to look at a friend’s late father’s ‘old Triumph’, Will assumed he was there to give an idea of value... but found the family wanted him to have it as “Dad wanted it to go to someone who’d build it”!
“I couldn’t believe my eyes as they pulled off the tarpaulin,” said Will, “I expected a Tiger Cub!” Owning a unit 650 was a dream Will didn’t think he’d ever be able to afford – but here it was. Although the family didn’t want payment, Will gave them the £400 he’d saved up for Stafford – just as well we were camping rather than staying in a B&B!
The weird thing is, Will’s Triumph is also a Thunderbird (1964) and it’s missing the same bits as mine was – but while mine had been laid up while still fairly new, Will’s bears the scars of passing through many, er, inexperienced hands. We think the last owner bought it as it is; it’s spent at least ten years in a back garden since and is seized solid, lending some urgency to getting it apart to see what’s needed.
My 6T just needs a wash and brush up. Will’s is headed for a long stay in hospital, but having had my share of bargains over the years I’m really pleased to find that they are still out there. Question is, even at this price, how much of a bargain did Will get? Find out over the page...