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Owners Spend Up To $90K Restoring A Classic Cruiser

DETROIT -- (WWJ) As more people are eager to get involved in events like this Saturday's Woodward Dream Cruise, restoring classic cars has become a big business.

WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert paid a visit to a Detroit area auto supplier DST Industries, based in Romulus, which decided to add classic car restoration to its portfolio about a year ago.

Aging baby boomers' interest in driving the cars of their youth is keeping the company busy.

The least costly job they've done is a $600 rust removal process -- and the most expensive is a $90,000 bottom-up restoration.

So how much money is too much to spend restoring a classic?

"You might put more into the car than it's really worth," said Bob Milligan, classic car manager at DST Industries. "In most cases now, customers say they want their car done no matter what because it's an emotional thing."

Classic car fans will see plenty of spectacular restorations at this Saturday's Woodward Dream Cruise, which generally brings 1 million visitors to the Woodward Avenue corridor in Oakland County.

Connect with Jeff Gilbert
Email: jdgilbert@cbs.com
Facebook: facebook.com.carchronicles
Twitter: @jefferygilbert

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