BY LUISA YANEZ

First they tried sailing to freedom in a retrofitted 1951 Chevy.

Then it was a floating '59 Chevy pickup truck.

Finally, the family of a Cuban migrant who masterminded the escapes in vintage trucks has found freedom.

They arrived Wednesday in Costa Rica -- not in a vintage Chevy -- but on a flight paid for by the U.S. government.

Luis Grass, 30, a master mechanic dubbed a ''truckonaut'' for his conversions of the classic vehicles into seaworthy escape vessels, was among the 20 migrants taken from the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay to Costa Rica on Wednesday.

He and his family -- wife Isora and 5-year-old son Luis Angel -- had been detained at Guantánamo since their second attempt to flee last February.

Although Grass' efforts weren't successful, they generated international headlines when photographs of the migrants on their land/sea contraption surfaced.

Now, freedom might not be the only reward for Grass. Fame and fortune may be in his future, too.

U.S. and British filmmakers have approached Grass' Miami attorney about purchasing the rights to his life story.

''They are interested in making a movie about the family's experience,'' said William Sanchez. ``But first, the Grass family now has a chance at freedom.''

Will the Grasses now try to make it to Miami?

''That's up to his family,'' Sanchez said.

DREAM LIVES ON

A jubilant Ruben Garcia of Miami, whose sister is married to Grass, was celebrating Wednesday. ''They finally made it out of Cuba after so many tries!'' Garcia said. ``I'm very grateful to everyone who helped get them out.''

Garcia said Grass' dream is to make it to the United States. ''We'll see what happens next. But he wants to come here,'' said Garcia, who plans a trip to Costa Rica soon.

For now, a social service group in the Central American country will help the Grasses and the other 17 Cubans find homes.

The journey began in July 2003 when Grass and 11 Cuban colleagues set out in the retrofitted 1951 Chevy pickup truck.

Just eight miles off Islamorada, they were discovered chugging along on a bed of floating steel drums, or pontoons, and powered by propellers made from scrap metal. The U.S. Coast Guard declared the ingenious contraption a shipping hazard, and destroyed and sunk it in a volley of machine-gun fire.

By the time the photos taken by the Coast Guard hit the media, the group of 12 were back in their homes in Cuba.

Exiles in Miami pushed for the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to arrange for the group to be granted entry to the United States -- if only for their ingenuity. Exiles said it was a sign of desperation of what people will risk to escape the island.

And car collectors dropped a tear for the unceremonious death of the vintage Chevy.

By February, the truckonauts were at it again. This time, Grass and others prepared a watertight 1959 Buick sedan attached to a boat prow. Again, the Coast Guard stopped them.

The Buick also met a watery death.

This time, a federal judge granted a temporary injunction against repatriation of Grass and his family. Because the group could prove ''credible fear'' of persecution if they returned home to Cuba, they were held at the base.

But this time it was the U.S. government which intervened, seeking the help of a third country to take the migrants in.

Costa Rican officials chose the 20 based on personal interviews, Foreign Minister Rogelio Ramos told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Among the refugees: a medical anesthesiologist, a tourism expert and, of course, mechanics.

''We're talking about a majority of people with very high education levels,'' Ramos said of the new arrivals to his country.

''We tried to make sure that we were dealing with good people, without criminal backgrounds, health or other types of problems.'' He added: ``We want to make it clear that [the Cubans] will not be a burden for the Costa Rican government.''

The Costa Rican government plans to grant all of the new arrivals refugee status.

The United States has agreed to provide financial help to the refugees while they adapt to life in Costa Rica, Ramos told The AP.

GOVERNMENT LAUDED

The plight of the Cuban migrants, considered dissidents, was championed by Ramón Saúl Sánchez, head of the Democracy Movement in Miami.

''In the past, we have criticized the U.S government for detaining the Cubans on the base, but we appreciate what they have done for dissidents like the Grass family and the others who got out,'' Sanchez said. ``Now, we want to work for a solution for the remining 18 on the base.''

During Grass' months at Guantánamo, Garcia said, his childhood friend told him he looked longingly at the military vehicles on the base.

''He told me: You know, if they let me, I could make a tank float and head for Miami,'' Garcia said.

``I told him: ``Luis, please!''