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TROUBLED THREE-WHEELER; 1951 THRIF-T.
Byline: BOB TOMAINE
World War II interrupted C.D. Gill's plan to put his Thrif-T prototype into production, and when work resumed in 1947, even the postwar sellers' market couldn't save it. Being a three-wheeler didn't help, nor did advertising that "anyone who can drive an automobile can drive a Thrif-T.''
When Gill began to build the updated version in Oxford, North Carolina, in December 1947, he predicted that monthly production would reach 500 units in a year. Stock was sold, a former buggy factory was leased, and local enthusiasm was high.
Production was to begin in May with a price around $700. When May arrived, stockholders inspected a pilot Thrif-T, but a coal strike had delayed delivery of chassis steel by at least 30 days. In July, the Tri-Wheel Motor Co. had suspended operations while awaiting parts and was working on refinancing. Gill expected production to resume at 25 vehicles per month; although some were built, the end was approaching. That November, the company planned a $200,000 stock offering. In February 1949, receivership was considered. By April, equipment was to be sold to satisfy a mortgage. In May 1950, sheriff's deputies seized 92 packages that were about to be shipped out of state to the company's last stand in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mark Zalutko's 1951 Thrif-T came from Springfield. He'd bought it in Ohio in 2005 and restored it over the next year.
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