The tale of the Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada kit car.

"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44) 04/02/2014 at 20:39 • Filed to: Alberta

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Tonight as I cruised Kijiji !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that offered $1000 bucks for info on a kit car made here in Alberta. Race car? Alberta? Wha? So I started digging. Picture dump of car at end.

The car in question is a Monno Sportee Gt kit car made by Silverstar Industries during the 60's. The design is Lotus Europa-esque based and was powered by a VW motor. The thing is that it was produced (1964) before the first Europa in 1966. There was only 5 (possibly 6) produced and a prototype that has also apparently vanished. The car was designed for ice/road racing and it also won a scca road race championship in Montana being driven by Ted Mrochen. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from someone who looked like they may be selling one but I am not yet able to track down that person. The most info I could find on it was a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that someone has seen one in Streetview and ended up going to purchase it.

Now for the possible 6 cars some can be accounted for but the molds were sold off when the company folded and apparently they were used in another VW kit car. After more searching it appears that Beaujangle Industries imported a car from the US to England that is almost identical to the Monno Sportee that also only had a short production run. This only adds to the mystery.

Any Oppo's know more info on this? There was a forum post of someone in Edmonton who seemed to think it could be one under a tarp at a rental property.

Prototype for sale a few years ago

Middle picture is of SilverStar Industries during production

SPNKiX > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/02/2014 at 20:45

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Not bad looking.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/02/2014 at 22:52

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Yay! A fellow Albertan!

I saw this mentioned a while ago on the local autocross facebook page as well. If anyone wants, I can certainly rove around town to check things out.

BJ > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/02/2014 at 22:58

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I read quickly through that forum post - apparently the car had a "hopped up" VW motor with 36hp. So very SPORTEE!

All kidding aside, that's an interesting find.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > BJ 04/02/2014 at 23:03

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Considering I drive by the place they were built everyday without any knowledge of it I figured it was worth learning about. I mean it won races but not the quickest.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/02/2014 at 23:05

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Ya I saw it on the Lethbridge one too. I cruised around looking for cool cars when I am bored, nothing yet.

MLL > BaconSandwich is tasty. 04/02/2014 at 23:07

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Hi, I am the fellow with the reward for locating a Monno Sportee Gt. My dad used to work for Silverstar back in the 60's and had one. He won the '68 Edmonton Intl car show 1st place award in show, was also in the Edmonton parade that year. Unfortunately my cousin bought it in the early 70's and smashed the hell out of it. There were 10 produced in all. My dad recently has been stricken with dimentia and i would be greatly indebted to anyone who can locate one for me. you can contact me in Calgary at 403-651-3843 or email at mlimoges2004@hotmail.com thanks and regards. Michel.

MLL > MLL 04/02/2014 at 23:09

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I will forward pics of the showcar when I am able to.

MLL > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/02/2014 at 23:29

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I am the fellow offering the reward for finding a Monno Sportee Gt. My dad worked for Silverstar in the 60's, bought one and throroughly built it up. He won 1st place at the '68 Edmonton Intl car show and led the parade that year as well. Unfortunately it was sold in the early '70s and smashed to hell. My dad has since been diagnosed with dimentia and I would be greatly indebted to anyone that can reconnect me with one. I will forward the car show pics when i am able, you will be shocked at how beautiful it was. Regards, Michel

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > MLL 04/03/2014 at 00:16

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Awesome to see you are an Oppo now! The car sounds awesome, wish there was more made of them. I have done some research into it. but have not found a whole lot. Hope you find one and would love to see it cruise by me here in Leth.

MLL > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/04/2014 at 00:20

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MLL > MLL 04/04/2014 at 00:21

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this is the one from lethbridge that was seen yestrday going thru Red deer...i feel sick

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > MLL 04/04/2014 at 10:03

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Happy to hear it is alive at least, first one I have seen with the round rear window, other than the Google Image search ones. If they weren't made from fiber glass, I don't think there would be anything left. Any idea where it was heading?

sportee > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/07/2014 at 00:31

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sportee > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/07/2014 at 00:31

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sportee > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/07/2014 at 00:31

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sportee > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/07/2014 at 00:31

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sportee > MLL 04/07/2014 at 01:25

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Did not mean to post three of the same picture. Don't know how that happened and it didn't show up where I wanted it too.

sportee > SPNKiX 04/07/2014 at 01:28

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This car headed north. It will be fully restored.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > sportee 04/07/2014 at 10:16

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Did you find this car? Where you get the picture?

SPNKiX > sportee 04/07/2014 at 10:29

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very cool. Good luck on the resto.

MLL > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/09/2014 at 03:50

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pic was sent to me via a response to my ad on kijji.ca for a $1000 reward for info leading to the purchase of one. Regards,

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > MLL 04/09/2014 at 09:31

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Oh ok! Was it possible for you to buy this one or was the person just saying it existed.

sportee > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/09/2014 at 20:00

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I bought the blue car in Calgary and posted this last picture. It's in my yard. It's going to under go a full restoration back to a vintage racer. It's a unique piece of Alberta Sports Car history and will be brought back to do what they were designed to do, race.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > sportee 04/09/2014 at 20:03

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You sir are a friend of Oppo, now we need to find Michel one and me one.

MLL > sportee 04/10/2014 at 02:37

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MLL > sportee 04/10/2014 at 02:52

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MLL > sportee 04/10/2014 at 02:58

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MLL > sportee 04/10/2014 at 17:56

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hey its michel, i have a proposition which i kno u woll be interested in. Call me at 403-651-3843...it would mean alot. Regards

MLL > sportee 04/11/2014 at 14:28

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Hi Sportee, I may have a proposal you would be interested in. Give me a call at 403-651-3843. It would mean a lot to me...kind regards, Michel

MLL > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/24/2014 at 13:07

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Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > MLL 04/24/2014 at 13:22

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Now that one looks different from the others I have seen too, they all seem to be a little different? Any luck on the search?

MLL > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 04/24/2014 at 13:37

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this was my dad`s version, just prior to the `68 car show and Edmonton parade...check what everyone else was driving behind him...he was unbelievably ahead of his time. car featured 4 headlights set low on the front, police used to stop him all the time to question him about it...but there was no law at the time, preventing such a setup. it was like a spaceship amongst the masses. search is ongoing, spoke with Sportee about making molds from his to provide extra parts for sale and use if he goes racing....nice guy and I know some pros in the fibreglassing field that can make it happen. you`ll note the number 62 as in the images posted on the net, that`s me beside it at Silverstar in `65.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > MLL 04/24/2014 at 13:49

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Really cool car that looks ahead of its time for sure. Making moulds would be a good start on getting it going. Sportee looks like your best resource for helping with your build, hope to see it cruising around Lethbridge! I could lend a hand too if ever needed.

Ron > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 08/05/2018 at 02:52

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I just found this article. My Dad had one of these cars. It was c an dy a pple red with small silver metallic flake in the finish . His had a VW air cooled van engine in it. He said he ordered honey combed aluminum headers on his. He ordered them from G ermany (I t hin k he said it was the first year Porsche was using them- ? ) . U nder the fiberglass skin on th e nose was a tube steel bumper that they segmented and poured lead into because the front end lifted off all the time. I was quiet young when he had that car but I remember going with him to a boat builders in Lethbridge . He had molded fiberglass one piece seats made. If the seats were good en ough to go to the moon they were good enough for him!  My mom said the car was only comfortable for his skinny butt to sit in. He also had marked the speedometer and the tach with colo red paint. When the lines matched the colors on each he didn’t need to use the clutch because he’d lined it all up with the syncro . I didn’t get it then but I sure get it now. Sadly he sold the car in the mid- seventies. That poor car was stolen three times and totaled each time. He rebuilt it every time . Thanks for the post. A lot of memories right there.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Ron 09/08/2018 at 16:18

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Awesome story Ron, Hoping to get a hold of the fella that commented on this to see if he found one yet