Part 1, of the Unipower GT blog from Cornwall.
The story of one car coming home!!
In 1969, my father, retired motorcycle racer Geoff Monty, was the only UK Unipower GT dealer (Monty and Ward) to be appointed by the factory. Here, new and used Unipower GTs were bought and sold. One such used car, was sourced near Torquay in 1970 and my father and I drove down, in the family 1293 Cooper S Mini Traveller (rare then!!), to buy it and we returned to Edenbridge, Kent, deal done, in a howling winter blizzard…not the best weather in which to drive a Unipower!
This Unipower GT was then sold to a man who owned it for the next 30 years!! It followed him all over the world, wherever his job took him. Dedication and love of the brand for sure. He then sold the car in 2000 to a man in the USA, where a Metro Turbo engine was installed, together with 13” wheels and huge wheel arches!! Hmm…at least the original Cooper S engine wasn’t thrown away and came with the car…but more on that later!
In 2006, it changed hands again and returned to a man in the UK and I bought the car from him in late 2019. It had returned back, after 50 years, to ownership again by a Monty…me, Guy Monty.
I decided to return the car to “as supplied”, i.e. original factory specification: 1275 cooper S engine, twin SU’s, correct 10” wheels and tyres, S brakes, Webasto sliding sunroof, correct trim and an original paint colour too.
With the undying enthusiasm, help, deep Unipower GT knowledge and expertise, Gerry Hulford, ‘Unipower GT Owners Club & Register’ founder, I was able to plan a deep restoration programme….and I mean deep!!
First step in the audit of what needed to be done (or undone more correctly!)…..was the body! Amazing pics of that to follow in part 2. Stay tuned!!!