Port Arthur Trip January 2025
Harry left for Port Arthur on Sunday January 26 2025 to meet the transport company and bring the Chaparral home to Maryland. The trip to Port Arthur went very smoothly.
We need to thank Jay Ferraro of Ferraro Auto Transport for getting the car from Texas to Maryland for us. Jay was excellent to deal with. He kept us updated via text messages while on his way to the museum in Port Arthur Texas as well as on his way to Maryland. Click here to download a pdf ad for his company. We highly recommend Ferraro Auto Transport for transporting your collector cars.
Here’s Harry’s YouTube video highlighting the trip to Port Arthur. Harry was flying via American Airlines from KDCA, to KBPT, and then on to KDFW.
It wasn’t until Harry arrived at the museum, that the troubles started. Harry arrived in Port Arthur on January 26 2025. This was two days before the transport company was to arrive at the Museum of the Gulf Coast to pickup the Chaparral and take it to Maryland. Harry spent the afternoon of the 26th getting settled into his motel with a nice dinner. His plans were to be at the museum mid morning on Monday January 27 to be sure that the museum was ready for the Chaparral’s exit.
Harry soon got the feeling that the museum wasn’t too happy about the Chaparral leaving. On Sunday evening, January 26, Harry sent an email to Tom (the museum director) stating that he was in town and that he was looking forward to seeing him on Monday morning. On Monday morning, Harry followed up with Tom via a text message. Both the email and text message went unanswered. As Harry was driving to the museum on Monday morning, Tom did finally call Harry. Too busy driving in a unfamiliar area, Harry did not answer Tom’s call.
When Harry arrived at the museum, Tom was at the front desk. The two spoke briefly and Tom basically said “You know where the car is”. One of Harry’s concerns was that the car may not roll since it has been sitting in the museum for over 20 years. So the first thing Harry did was to try and push the car. The Chaparral didn’t move. It seemed as if a parking brake was set or maybe a brake caliper was locked up. And after a closer examination of the car, Harry noticed that all of the tires needed air, in fact, the bead seal had been broken on all four tires. The tires were so low on air, that Harry could push the tire inward away from the rim. Not being able to roll the car was one of Harry’s biggest fears. The transport company was already enroute to the museum and Harry was obligated to pay him whether or not they picked up the car. This was the first problem.
The original plan was to roll the Chaparral down a few small steps and then up a few small steps (see picture below). And then the Chaparral would need to pass through some double doors and then out another door at the loading dock.
Knowing what the original plan was for removing the Chaparral, the first thing Harry asked Tom (the museum director) was if they had some wood to help make the steps not too large of a step since the Chaparral sits very low to the ground. His answer was that they do not have anything and he also said that the museum didn’t have anyone available to help me. Tom did direct Harry to a lumber store a few miles away from the museum. So Harry had two issues to solve and only about 5 hours to do so. First was to try and purchase some wood to soften the steps somewhat and the second issue was to try an get the Chaparral to roll. Off Harry went to the lumber store for some wood and an air pump to pump up the tires. Harry was hoping that the car wasn’t rolling just due to no air in the tires.
Harry’s first stop was the lumber store which was no help at all. The only lumber they had was 4 by 8 sheets of plywood which they would not cut for him. Still concerned that perhaps a brake caliper was locked up, Harry was trying to purchase some caster wheels to perhaps make a dolly to roll the car. The lumber store didn’t sell portable air pumps or caster wheels. No money was spent at the lumber store and no progress was made either. With the help of Google, Harry found an Advanced Auto Parts store just 5 minutes from the lumber store. So off he went.
While at Advanced Auto Parts, Harry purchased a foot operated air pump and a roller jack. The roller jack was to lift the car and roll it a short distance and repeat as needed to move the car (this was if a brake caliper was locked up). Harry also tried to purchase a wheel dolly in case the roller jack idea didn’t work. Advanced didn’t have wheel dollys, so it was just the roller jack and foot operated air pump that he purchased.
Back at the museum Harry soon discovered that there was not enough room between the wheel and the valve stem to attached the head of the air pump, just another of many issues.

It was at about this time that Tom checked in on Harry. And Harry proceeded to explain to Tom that the car wouldn’t roll and Tom said “Sure, it rolls”. Tom and another gentleman helped Harry push the car to see it it would roll, which it did. Harry was relieved that the car would actually roll. Tom also showed Harry a different, perhaps easier route to roll the car out of the museum. Click here to see the alternate route for getting the Chaparral out of the museum.
Relieved that the car would actually roll, Harry could return the roller jack and foot pump at Advanced Auto Parts. While at Advanced Auto Parts, Harry noticed a O’Reilly Auto Parts and an AutoZone just across the street, so he decided to check both for an air pump that would work on the Chaparral. AutoZone did have a small portable electric air pump that Harry purchased. He explained to the salesman at AutoZone the issue with the valve stem and the wheel on the Chaparral. The salesman was very nice and helpful and told Harry that he could return the air pump if it did not work. Harry was still concerned that pushing the Chaparral with little or no air in the tires could cause a tire to come off of the wheel which would be a big issue for getting the car out of the museum and loaded on the trailer. It turned out that the second air pump would not work for the Chaparral, so Harry returned that one as well. Back at the museum for the last time on Monday, Harry contacted Ray Ferraro and explained the issue with the tires. With luck, Ray had an air tank on his truck with an air chuck with a 90 degree head on it that would surely fit the valve stems on the Chaparral. Satisfied that he had all of the issues solved and that the Chaparral could be rolled out of the museum, Harry returned to his motel for a nice dinner and to get a good nights sleep.
Tuesday, January 28 was the big day. Jay was going to be at the museum that afternoon and with some luck, the Chaparral would make an easy exit from the museum and start it’s journey to Maryland. Once Jay arrived, getting the Chaparral out of the museum and the actual loading of the Chaparral was flawless. We did take off the body panels to make it easier for the Chaparral to maneuver through the museum. And the car did need to make some tight turns. For the tight turns, it was easier just to pick up the car to turn it. Click here for more pictures of loading the Chaparral.
Click here for Harry’s return trip to Maryland and the Chaparral’s arrival at the Montgomery County Airport.
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