PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Rick Treworgy began acquiring muscle cars about 40 years ago and gradually grew his collection.

He eventually struggled about where to put it, then about ten years ago, came up with an idea: why not open a museum.

"I've been collecting these cars for pretty much close to 40 years," he says, "and the collection has grown in size, so putting it on display for the public kind of makes sense."

Now Rick has 200 cars, housed in an old Wal-Mart building just off US 41. "I don't think you plan something like this," says Treworgy. "It's something that just happened over the years. When I first started collecting, ten seemed like a lot of cars."

Cars in the museum go back about 75 years but most are from the "muscle car" era of the 1960s and 1970s.

Now Rick is living his, and he hopes others', dreams. "It's just something I thought people would want to see and it's a lot like music... there's a lot of nostalgia to it."

Muscle Car City is located at 3811 Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda. The phone number is 941-575-5959. Admission is $10. Kids under 12 can get in free with an adult.

For more information, visit www.musclecarcity.net.