The Escalantes '70 Challenger R/T "EL HEMI"

[el hemi]

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Nice Scrambler too.

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hmmmm...me thinks that red/white nose belongs to a 68-72 Chevy-GMC pickup or blazer instead?

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You are both right....towing vehicle out of the junkyard is a Jeep Scrambler and red/white nose appears to be a GMC truck behind the red fence.

Here more pictures circa 1996 when El Hemi made it to Jacksonville, Florida. My heart was pounding when the container showed up.


Picture below...workers from the port - The guy with the camera was from Mopar Muscle Magazine who came to photograph the arrival of the car. You cant see it in this picture but there was a lady from the Food and Drug administration who was there to inspect the car. When the container doors opened the lady didnt understand why the guys were in ahhhh! After one of the workers told her what it was she asked me for the form she needed to sign...signed it, gave it back to me and said "I dont need to inspect the car. Good Bye".

[Bill Pritchard]

More great photos and story....keep 'em coming, Juan!

[Xplantdad]

Neat!

[el hemi]

Another story associated with the return of El Hemi has to do with the EDA (estimated date of arrival) of the vessel transporting the car to the port in Jacksonville. I had to follow this closely because I coordinated all the logistics of flying down to Jacksonville and renting a UHAUL truck and trailer to make the trip north to Indiana. Car arrived to port almost a month later. Not usual given the fact the voyage is no more than a week..if that. According to our freight forwarder, the captain of the vessel had a heart attack and died. They had to make a stop on one of the caribbean islands.

Picture below is the UHAUL truck somewhere in Tennessee. I drove straight from Jacksonville to Indianapolis. I was running on adrenaline!!

[Smokey]

Thats classic!!! A hemi behind a Uhaul.

[el hemi]

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Thats classic!!! A hemi behind a Uhaul.

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Smokey...you are right. Should have imported the stationwagon below to pull the car. Matching colors too .

[SS427]

The stories just don't get much better than this one and with a nice ending. I am sorry your father will never get to see the finished car but am happy to hear it will be staying with the family. Awesome car and story and once again, thank you for sharing! You are a true car and family guy!

[mockingbird812]

Boy Juan, if that isn't a Chevrolet magazine ad with all of the young baseball player around the wagon, I don't know what is!!! Great story. Love the pix.

Thanks!