mario arencibia has a 49 chrysler. his has many parts that are not original factory equipment, he says sometimes you just have to find someone to make them. >> the machinists and the mechanics keep these things running because all these things are repaired by the machinests and the majority of the parts are made by the machinists. >> reporter: in the 1980s, the government tried to cap on the market. it offered to give any cuban a brand new russian latta in exchange for that old american car. the government would then sell the american cars to foreign investors for cold hard cash. when the soviet union collapsed in 1991, the lata's became hard to come by. and the program all but disappeared. >> the government gets involved if i want to sell it to an american but between us cubans if a cuban wants to buy it from me i just sell it to them, no problem. >> reporter: but what happens if and when the united states drops its embargo and the two countries reestablish normal relations, cuba could become a gold mine for car colle