A trip to Tennessee

Unless you were a subscriber to the now-defunct Toy Cars & Models magazine, you probably don't know I'm also a toy car collector (when you run out of garage to store your favorite cars, you have to go smaller -- with the cars, that is). As a result of this interest, I have written already written a Hot Wheels book timed with the brand's 40th anniversary and am now working on a second book of the redline era. To illustrate the book, our photographer, Kris Kandler, and I drove to Tennessee last weekend to take photographs of an insane redline collection. Nearly all of my favorite redlines were in the collection: Custom Camaros, Custom Cougars, Custom Mustangs and my favorite of all, Olds 442s in every color but purple. Best of all, they were absolutely mint.

But, my interest in full-size cars always takes a front seat to other hobbies, and during our drive, I kept an eye out for interesting cars hiding in backyards, along the side of the road and anywhere else old tin lurks. And I was disappointed.

The area we traveled to was near Bristol, Tenn., and I hoped the spotting would be good. Alas, I spotted a "Bullet Bird" beneath a tarp and a primered '80s Monte Carlo Aerocoupe on blocks in a backyard. But not one other car.

So, where is all the good metal in Tennessee? I'm hoping to go back there to cover the Forge muscle car show later this year and am looking for any good leads. I suspect there are lots of good Fords and MoPars in the area to check out, so I'm relying on you to tell me where the hunting is good!