An overnight fire has destroyed a Cape Breton man's business, but it's the loss of his beloved '57 Chev that really hurts.

"Nobody got hurt, that's the big thing," said Stan Dicks, "but they don't make '57 Chevs no more, that's the sad thing."

The roof of Stan Dicks's garage in Howie Centre collapsed in the fire.
(CBC)

A neighbour called Dicks early Friday morning to say the chimney of his autobody shop in Howie Centre, near Sydney, was on fire.

By the time he arrived, firefighters were trying to put out the flames.

Dicks said they managed to pull a '55 Chev truck, a Mercedes convertible and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle out of the burning garage, and had just attached a hook to the '57 Chev when the roof collapsed.

Dicks's dream car was crushed.

"It was something I was trying to get for about 35 years of my life," he said, "and I finally landed one there in Carlisle, Penn., last year."

Dicks had dreamed of owning a '57 Chev for 35 years.
(CBC)

Fire investigators say the blaze was accidental and started near a furnace.

But after 15 years in the autobody business and more than 40 as a business owner, Dicks said he doubts he'll rebuild his garage.

The car buff and his five employees are now out of work.