Many years later, Monty holds the keys to his lost hot rod

By Joan Janzen

EATONIA – It was a special occasion for Monty McGrath when he showcased his 1971 Dodge Charger for the first time at Leader’s show and shine a couple of weeks ago. Monty, who lives south of Laporte, had purchased the car in 1972 but was forced to sell it a couple of years later. Fast forward more than 40 years, and Monty is once again holding the keys to his hot rod. How it came about is a story that will warm the heart of every car enthusiast.

For the first time, Monty McGrath showcased his 1971 Dodge Charger at Leader’s show and shine in October of this year. Photo by Bob Truman

“Originally, I paid $4,000 for it. At that time I didn’t have a family or own a house; it was my only expense,” Monty explained. “I only owned it for a couple of years. I had to get a truck for my carpenter job to carry my tools, so I had to trade it off. And I never saw any sign of it after that.”

But he did have a picture of it, which he had hanging on his wall for years. After he had a family, his daughter and three sons also kept looking at the photo throughout the years.

“They got interested in cars when they were young, and they started looking for it,” Monty said. “They looked for 20 years and couldn’t find it.”

All Monty had was a serial number and a photo. However, one day one of his sons found the car in Saskatchewan registrations and discovered it had been moved to Ontario. When the brothers began searching, they found the name and phone number of the current owner.

“They got hold of the guy, but he didn’t want to sell it,” he said. Even though they told the man their dad had once owned the car, he wasn’t convinced. Throughout the years, he had taken the car to countless shows and received numerous calls from people claiming they once owned it.

“But they must have caught him at a weak moment, because six months later he called and changed his mind,” Monty said. His sons jumped at the opportunity before the owner could change his mind again. They rounded up enough money for the purchase, flew to Ontario, and had the car trucked to Medicine Hat, where one of the brothers resides.

His sons had kept their purchase a secret and asked their dad to come to Medicine Hat. “I walked into his garage and I almost fell over; I couldn’t believe this car is still around,” he said.

“It’s a survivor car. They tear these cars all apart, but this car is original,” he said. Although it’s been repainted and the seats have been changed, most of the car is original and it looks just like new.

“My oldest son works on cars and he said he can’t believe the shape the car is in,” he added. Its prime condition is thanks to the previous owner, who gave it a lot of tender loving care and housed it in his heated garage for 28 years.

It’s a story with a happy ending for Monty and his sons, who have helped their dad reconnect with his glistening 1971 Dodge Charger.