Daughter hunts for beloved Model T hotrod her dad sold 45 years ago
Back in the 1960s, Martin Monkman scrimped and bartered to painstakingly rebuild a 1915 Model T hotrod, but was then forced to sell it in the 1970s to support his young family.
Now, as the 77-year-old faces health problems, his daughter is trying to find his beloved car and bring it back to him.
When he was in his 20s, Monkman found the shell of the Model T in a bush east of his hometown, Stonewall, Man. He dragged it out and worked on it for seven years.
"They [Model Ts] were made of wood at one time inside, so I replaced it with steel rods so it would hold together a lot better," said Monkman, who owned a small autobody shop but didn't have much money, so he often bartered for the parts he needed.
"I had to paint a car to get the frame done. We kind of traded that way. I had to do body work for a motor, all kinds of stuff like that.
"In fact, I think I still owe [that guy] $10. He wanted a little more [than just the paint job]."
Eventually, Monkman transformed the abandoned shell into a parade showpiece — gold exterior, black interior with bucket seats, a 283 small-block Chevy V8 engine, two-speed automatic and a split windshield.
"My heart and soul was in that car," he said.
But by that time, the early 1970s, he had also transformed something else — himself. Monkman was a husband and father of three young kids.
Needing money, he sold the hotrod for $1,000 to someone up the highway in Selkirk.
"That was a sad, sad day.
"Money was very hard to come by, and I was just getting started in life, trying to make a living and raise a family. I had to make a choice, so the choice was for the hotrod to go," Monkman said. "I always wished I never sold it, but I had to. Family always comes first."
He never saw the vehicle again.
Now one of the kids for whom Monkman sacrificed his beloved hotrod is trying to bring it back to him.
"My dad's always been a good man. It makes me sad that he had to do that for us," said daughter Jeanine Rediger, who has posted pics and a plea on the Meanwhile in Selkirk Facebook page, hoping the overture will reach the person who bought the car 45 years ago, or someone who knows who bought it.
"Dad has always wondered where it got to and every time we travel to Selkirk, he has his eyes peeled for it."
The social media post has resulted in a couple of tips but both ended up leading to wrong vehicles, she said. She remains optimistic because people in car clubs have also begun sharing the post.
Monkman knows it's a longshot hope that the car is even still around. If it does still exist, he would love to buy it back, but he admits it would probably be too expensive.
At the very least, he wants to see it again, perhaps sit in it and take one more photo.
"I would be smiling from ear to ear to be able to get this back for him, or for him to even look at it," said Rediger.
"You have no idea. It would just make my day. It would be my dream."
