I'm in a slightly different place about that. First there is the entire "destroy" vs. "improve" argument. Yes, I was one of the guys who improved a number of milsurp rifles.
Today I would not bother, and I would advise anyone considering it not to waste their time and money, and doing it to a good condition or pristine GI spec milsurp is barking stupid!
But, back through the 70s they were common, and nearly as cheap as dirt, and one could rebarrel, restock mount a scope and come out with a rifle as good, or even better that what Rem and Win were marketing, and do it cheaper.
Another point is "restoring" a milsurp. You can't, if there has been any permanent alteration, and even if not, you can't return it to original condition unless you have all the original parts. Even if you use all period correct parts to return it to GI trim, you have stil changed the parts and so it is not the same as a completely original issue gun, and that does have an effect on collector value. Sometimes only a little, sometimes more than that, depends on the collector, what they want, and what they are willing to pay for it.
