SINCE he moved from Auckland to Patea five years ago, mechanic Jim Baird has created a beautiful den of old cars in Egmont.
Jim and his beloved dog Ted live in a small cosy space inside his Star Garage Building built along the back wall. Fantastic pre-loved old cars are parked in rows in the rest of the space.
These days, if it's a warm day you can find the 74-year-old Vietnam War veteran sitting outside the building welcoming visitors.
Pride of place now is the 1916 six-cylinder, colonial-bodied Buick Roadster. "It's one of a kind. It came into New Zealand as a rolling chassis and was bodied in Invercargill."
It was called a Doctor's Roadster, because at the time only doctors could afford to buy the car.