151 nashville tenn a growing number of baby boomers are finally able to afford the cars of their dreams made possible by a boost in disposable income that comes from getting their kids educated and out of the house in many cases their dreams are from their teenage and twentysomething years when most had to make do on a ford pinto budget the collectorcar hobby has really taken off in the past few years with boomers flush with cash and a desire to recapture some part of their youth says jim brandeau of spring hill tenn whose online magazine the gearhead gazzette chronicles the hobby in middle tennessee hes also coowner along with paul shauck of a car restoration and custom shop in college grove tenn called hot rods threads the most popular thing right now is the muscle cars he said such as the dodge challenger and charger chevrolet camaro ford mustang and pontiac gto among others people are really wanting those cars trying to relive the days when horsepower was king but trucks play a role too it really depends on what your flavor is some people seek out specific cars such as one their father or grandfather drove or a vehicle they had to sell when they got married and settled down for a few decades back in the day i never had any money but i always wanted a car like that said rodger klein 64 of franklin tenn who now owns a bright orange 1970 dodge challenger collector cars particularly the mostsoughtafter ones arent cheap and some people spend upwards of 100000 to buy and restore them klein found his challenger in need of a complete restoration in 2009 at team witt restorations customs in nashville the shop owned by kirby witt spent the next 2 years bringing the muscle car back to mint condition witt opened his shop four years ago after working several years in the body shops of new car dealers he found car owners willing to spend the money to restore a classic vehicle to original factory specs even though most such detailed projects begin at around 100000 and go up from there to do it right we have to strip a car completely down to where you cant take out another screw and completely rebuild it to where everything is new again he says the final tab can vary widely depending on whether its a 1968 camaro that i can still buy most of the parts for or a 1948 dodge pickup that i might have to make the parts for parts can come from a variety of sources including stores that cater to classiccar hobbyists or auto junkyards in 1999 andy holeman of nashville bought a 1969 dodge charger rt in california from john schneider who played bo duke on the tv series the dukes of hazzard he brought the car here kept it tucked away in his garage for several