When they bought the two-storey, 2400 sq m building in 1993 from Oamaru wool broker Bill Forsyth, it was being used as a woolstore, packed with bales on the ground floor.
''One of my first jobs was removing all the dead pigeons,'' Ms Scott said.
Painter Peter Keogh spent weeks cleaning decades of accumulated dirt and then painting the rafters under the roof.
They had had their eyes on the building for about a year before Mr Forsyth was ready to sell it. Then everything happened quickly.
''We were 20 years younger then, but it was one of those things that you didn't want to look back on and wished you had done it 20 years ago,'' he said.
''I'm pleased we did it. We never regretted setting up in our own buildings.''
The Woolstore opened with home-building displays on the first floor, while work was being done on the ground-floor gift shop and cafe.
The dream was to open an auto museum, but that could not happen until all the wool was removed. Now it is a reality, with classic and vintage cars on display, some owned by the couple and others borrowed.
They have no desire to sell the building, and on Sunday they will have a birthday cake to share with tradespeople who helped renovate it, and others associated with the building.
