His, a 1951 Willys station wagon. Hers, a 1961 Nash Metropolitan convertible.

River Rouge residents Don and Linda Dupuie are not unusual in the fact that they both have their own classic car. What are unusual are the vehicles they have.

Don’s 1951 Willys was found via the Internet in Massachusetts and was reported to be in good shape by the owner. He found out otherwise when the car was delivered to his doorstep.

"The Willys was nothing like what I thought it should be, said Don. "I guess everyone’s opinion of what’s good shape is not the same."

Even though the Willys was not as advertised the body was in good shape and Don set about to restore it to roadworthy shape.

The first step was to replace the Willys’ axles with ones from a 1998 Jeep.

"The Jeep came with front coil springs, the Willys came with leaf springs," said Don. "There is no manual on how to do this kind of work. It is something you just have to work out yourself."

While Don was changing the axles from a 1998 Jeep he converted the Willys’ old manual brake system to a more modern power brake system.

Even though the previous owner had already installed the 350 cubic inch small block Chevrolet power plant. Don had to redo that because it was not done up to his standards.

While a friend did a complete rebuild of the engine, Don worked on the body to get it ready for a fresh coat of paint. Once the body was ready for paint it was taken to J&S Collision in Ecorse, who sprayed the Willys new paint.

Seeing as the Willys doesn’t have air conditioning and it just plain looks good, Don had all the glass in the vehicle replaced with lightly tinted glass.

The interior of the 1950 Willys presently sports seats that first seen duty in a Ford Aerostar.

Don has begun bringing the interior up to his standards by installing a tilt wheel from a late model Trans Am. He is doing the work as he has the time and money and hopes to have the interior totaling redone by the end of the year.

Don redid the Willys’ exhaust system to one that is made up of 2-inch pipes and Flow Master mufflers.

"I had to put stock exhaust manifolds on the engine for now," said Don. "No one makes off-the-shelf headers for this vehicle. They will have to be custom made."

Future work for the Willys includes replacing the present bumpers with original ones That he hopes to adopt from a Willys he recently found and is hoping to buy as a parts car.

Linda’s 1961 Nash Metropolitan convertible was a surprise 25th wedding anniversary present.

A neighbor of the Dupuies had the car, but it had been already sold when Don and Linda first saw it. The neighbors were just waiting for the people to pay the money and pick up the car.

"I thought it was a cute little car and would love to have it," said Linda.

The day before the Dupuie’s were to renew their wedding vows, the neighbor called and told Don that the people who wanted the Nash had never shown up with the money and if he wanted it was his.

Don now had to arrange to get the Nash and his wife to the church without her knowing about the car or the fact that they would be renewing their wedding vows.

After the ceremony, members of the church’s youth group were blocking the car so that Linda could not see it until Don gave it to her.

"I really like riding in the car, said Linda. "It is so much fun."

The only changes made to the Nash were the addition of a more modern sound system, which was placed in the glove compartment to keep the dash original. Beauty rings were added to the wheels to give a little more flash to the car.

Look for Don and Linda at this year’s Cruisin’ Downriver, set to be held June 28. The Dupuies think the cruise is one of the best things to happen to Downriver because it brings everyone together.