-- Tucson's classic cars are the keys to success for the Saguaro Automotive Group.

The business is geared toward breathing new life into vintage automobiles through repair and restoration.

Its 6,000-square-foot facility buzzed with activity on a recent weekday afternoon.

A 1966 Corvette in the showroom awaited minor upgrades to raise its technical inspection score with the National Corvette Restorers Society. Another Corvette, a 1979 model, sat parked at a work station for a custom paint job and full interior replacement.

Out back, in the shop's fenced-in lot, a 1937 black Ford truck sat balanced on a hydraulic lift. The truck, once part of the Truly Nolen show-car fleet, was in a crash that crumpled the front fender.

"We'll reshape it," said Andrew Papanikolas, who owns the business with his dad, Michael Papanikolas. "You can get fiberglass replacements, but the owner wants the original sheet-metal fender repaired."

The Papanikolas family took over Saguaro a little more than a year ago.

Andrew Papanikolas, 34, lived in Phoenix for 11 years, but he grew up in Tucson. He was working as an IT expert in Phoenix when the owner of Saguaro, a friend of the family, mentioned he might want to sell the business.

A self-proclaimed car nut, Papanikolas thought the move into mechanics would be a good change of pace.

"I got to the point in my career where it wasn't fun anymore," he said. "I was working really hard but wasn't producing anything."

Today, Papanikolas manages a team of five, three full-time mechanics in the main facility and two specialists -- a metal fabricator and a painter -- in a second building.

The shops bring cars back from the dead. But they also do general automotive work, from oil changes to collision repair.

Papanikolas' wife, Claudine Villardito, divides her time between running her vintage-clothing store, Black Cat Vintage and working as the office manager for Saguaro.

Saguaro has 14 restoration projects at different levels of completion. Patience is a virtue in the restoration world. Some projects can take up to 18 months, Papanikolas said. It also doesn't hurt to have money in the bank.

Restorations, he added, can run into tens of thousands of dollars. The shop gets a mix of auto enthusiasts. Some want to revive the old family automobile that has been wasting away in the garage. Others buy the car of their dreams on eBay or at auction, then come to Saguaro for repairs.

Papanikolas said the economic downturn has weeded out those looking to turn a quick buck by selling vintage cars. Most of Saguaro's customers are doing it for the love of the vehicle. What Papanikolas enjoys the most is seeing young people revive cars that are older than they are.

"We are such a disposable society," he said. "You lease your car for three or four years, then you throw it away and get another one. It is nice to see people wanting to get into something that is old and that has a sense of history and style."