How to tailor your garage door to suit your classic-steel

23 May, 2017

 

A classic car owner can find joy in two areas of what they do with their machines. First, the process of buying/restoring/owning their dream classic; and two, building/tailoring a garage to suit their taste. So when you have both of those pieces of the puzzle, there is one aspect to form the cherry on top — the perfectly suited garage door choice.

Auckland-based Prestige Doors and Gates has been designing, manufacturing and installing the very best options possible for clients since 1992. However the latest garage door product is something truly special for anyone looking for a garage door to both protect and highlight their vehicles — the plexiglass garage door.

Plexiglass is not only stronger and more durable than glass, it also offers a variety of colour options (including transparent) so you can enjoy viewing your vehicles outside the garage/workshop as well as inside. It also has the additional benefit of allowing in heat and light, but still offering privacy options.

The Prestige team can match your door with its laser-cut aluminium design for your aesthetic preferences, and any full custom design is possible. The aluminium sheet with the plexiglass backing is durable, strong and looks fantastic. 

You can also select from any number of options within the Prestige Doors and Gates range, with multiple flushmount, aluminum, steel, and timber configurations available.

For more information, contact Prestige on 09 638 9474, [email protected], or head to prestigedoors.co.nz.
 

The Great River Road

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

A diamond in the rough

Two years ago, Lew finished a thorough restoration and the impressive ute has taken on a new life and colour. Lew plays down the amount of effort required but, despite his protestations, I suspect he put a lot of time into the project. A few unwanted tenants were evicted along the way.
“It didn’t take me long. There had been mice living in the firewall, which had caused a bit of damage. It apparently broke down and was pushed into a shed. It was 20 years to the day when I pulled it out and it sat in my other shed for 3 years before I started on it. That’s why it’s in such good order — it’s been kept in a shed for so long and still is.”