Nick Gavriles works on a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang. The owner of Concept Design says Dream Cruise work is extremely intensive.

Forgive Andy McPherson if he drifts off to sleep during this weekend's Woodward Dream Cruise.

The owner of Auto Addictions in Rochester Hills is putting in 16-hour days as procrastinating cruisers parade into his paint shop for last-minute touch-ups.

"I've got five cars to paint before Friday," McPherson said.

For custom shops and auto accessory stores, business booms in the days before the annual Dream Cruise -- contributing to the estimated $112.5 million the event brings to the area's economy. About 30,000 vehicles are expected to roll down Woodward, and with more than 1 million onlookers, everyone wants to look their best. The sad truth is that not everyone will.

Some won't even make it out of the driveway because paint shops get so backlogged this time of year.

"You just tell 'em they've waited too long," said McPherson. But for those who won't take no for an answer, money talks. "You can pay me an extra thousand bucks, I'll get it done."

At Concept Design and Engineering in Commerce Township, Jeff Bogan was wondering how he would break the news to a friend who is hoping to show off his 1957 Chevrolet pickup. The 41-year-old White Lake resident planned to work on the truck after hours, but now he's working overtime.

Hau Thai-Tang understands the pressure and what fuels it.

Automotive customization -- a $31-billion industry in North America -- fuels such excitement in enthusiasts that some vehicles are never really finished, said Thai-Tang, Ford Motor Co.'s director of advanced product creation and the automaker's Special Vehicle Team performance brand.

"There's always one more change you can make," he said. "It's a never-ending passion."

And because technology isn't always predictable, unexpected problems can prolong a project.

"We've been guilty of pushing cars onto the auto show floor with the paint still wet," Thai-Tang said.

Nick Gavriles, owner of Concept Design, said Dream Cruise work is so intensive it threatened to put the brakes on his new business, Mustang 69, which modifies new Mustangs to resemble the 1969 version. So he limited his Dream Cruise jobs to a few select customers this year.

"A lot of these cars sit in the garage all winter," Gavriles said. "You find mice living in them, acorns next to the carburetor. Last year, two days before Dream Cruise, I had four cars show up. And they needed major attention."

He worked so long before last year's event, he didn't arrive until after dark -- too late to show off his own car.

John O'Neil is on Gavriles' short list this year. O'Neil's 1969 Mustang -- the genuine article -- got a new carburetor and a few minor powertrain tweaks.

"I just had everything brought up to snuff," said O'Neil, president of W.J. O'Neil, the mechanical contracting company that helped build Ford Field and Comerica Park.

What's his Mustang worth? "Not as much as I've put into it," O'Neil said, estimating his investment at $40,000. All he needs to do now is put a good shine on it. And accessory stores are ready for an onslaught of do-it-yourselfers.

"For the Woodward cruise, all the stores get hit," said Ted O'Connor, parts manager at Murray's Discount Auto in Dearborn Heights. A casual survey of auto accessory stores suggests customer traffic increases about 5 percent in the days leading up to Dream Cruise.

"You go through all of the various waxes, all of the tire preparations, chrome cleaners, interior cleaners, glass cleaners," O'Connor said. "You also go through things like hoses and stuff because it's tough on those cars, driving in the heat."

You can reach Eric Mayne at (313) 222-2443 or emayne@detnews.com.

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