Boomers finally can afford the car of their (teenage) dreams

— -- 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 collector-car 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.

He's also co-owner, 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 most-sought-after ones -- aren't cheap, and some people spend upwards of $100,000 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 2½ 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 $100,000 and go up from there."

"To do it right, we have to strip a car completely down to where you can't 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 it's 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 classic-car hobbyists or auto junkyards.

In 1999, Andy Holeman of Nashville bought a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 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 years, then turned it over to Witt for a remake.

Finished about a year ago, Holeman's black Charger has already won several awards at classic car shows.

"I always knew that when I was older and had a little more money, I wanted one classic muscle car for my stable," Holeman said. "To me, nothing epitomized the height of the muscle-car era more than a Charger did."

Holeman, who at 43 joined the hobby a little earlier than most, acknowledges parting with "at least $70,000, maybe even more," on his Charger. "You kind of lose track after a while."