Kuipers makes dream garage a reality

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This article was published 18/12/2020 (1836 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOURIS — Harold Kuipers has been trying to make the most of his retirement, having recently built a new heated, 26- by 48-foot garage to store his classic car collection.

The 62-year-old Souris resident and former owner of Kuipers Family Bakery in Brandon invited the Sun to visit this $125,000 man cave on Thursday morning to showcase what he and local contractor Carey Chudley put together in around six months.

Not only is the space big enough to accommodate four vehicles, but Kuipers and Chudley went out of their way to give the garage the look and feel of a cosy rural cabin, with pine boards on the wall and carpet on the floor.

Outside of the vehicles themselves, the interior is covered with automotive memorabilia, from framed photographs to old car advertisements.

Plus, there was enough room left over to install a few bonus features, including a corner office, upright piano and full-on sound system.

“This is just a place to hang out,” Kuipers said on Thursday. “I’ll go out online, I’ll play the piano, I have a nice stereo. It’s a good getaway.”

Admittedly, Kuipers said this garage isn’t really the best environment to perform any kind of major automotive restoration, outside of maybe replacing a window or fixing some faulty wiring on his hotrods.

Instead, Kuipers sees the structure as a kind of sanctuary, when he can sit back, relax and reflect on how far he has come as an automotive hobbyist.

“I remember my first garage had a dirt floor and I changed oil in that garage,” he said. “You crawled under your car on the dirt floor, but you still couldn’t believe you had a garage to park your car in at night.”

Kuipers’ current garage also serves as a constant reminder of all the time he has spent collecting classic cars, which first began when he was around 15 years old.

“The first car I owned was a 1960 Biscayne four-door,” he said. “So that’s why I bought this same car later in life.”

All of the other cars currently housed in Kuipers’ garage — including a 1931 Ford Model A “Woodie,” 1965 Chevrolet Impala and 1975 Chevrolet Nova SS — are modified, which helps him recall the friends and fellow hobbyists he has collaborated with along the way.

For example, Kuipers’ 1931 Ford Model A “Woodie” was made possible thanks to the hard work of Westman residents Dave Proven, Rob Rose and Wes Stobbe, who all contributed something during this four-year build.

“My dad would have loved to have a Model A ‘Woodie,’” Kuipers said in reference to his deceased father, who was also a major gear head. “So to get an opportunity to own one and build it with three guys who are incredible craftsmen with great integrity, how lucky am I?”

While the price tag on this new garage and these various automotive projects is pretty high, Kuipers said he’s more than willing to splurge a little after working hard for most of his life.

As the owner of Kuipers Family Bakery for nearly three decades, Kuipers said he struggled to find time for any extracurricular activities since the business demanded most of his attention.

“When I owned the bakery, the bakery always came first,” he said. “It was six days a week, sometimes generally 10-11 hours a day.”

But after retiring in early 2019 and moving to Souris, Kuipers finally had the chance to make his dream garage a reality and use it as a gathering place for his fellow hobbyists.

“Quite often, guys will show up on a Friday night,” he said. “If we’re out doing stuff on a Saturday, we’ll come out here and have a beer and hang out in the garage.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on his ability to host company, the garage itself remains a nice escape from the real world for Kuipers, where he can unwind and complete some minor modifications on his vehicles if need be.

“Most hot rodders, if you ask them what their real dream would be, it would be to wake up Christmas morning and walk into your living room to polish your car,” Kuipers said. “This is not my living room, but it’s still great to have four of my cars sitting inside a heated structure.”

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