The inventive Cubans whose political asylum claims were initially denied by U.S. officials are told to resubmit their paperwork.

BY TERE FIGUERAS

The truckboat saga chugs on.

Seven months after a group of Cubans boarded a customized '51 Chevy pickup and headed out to sea, only to be returned by the U.S. Coast Guard days later, the remaining camionautas -- or ''truckonauts'' -- have yet another chance at freedom.

Friday, eight of the Cubans whose political asylum claims were denied by U.S. officials were summoned once again to resubmit their paperwork, according to family members and reports from the island.

A ninth truckonaut, Ariel Diego Marcell -- whose asylum application is still being processed -- fainted on the steps of the U.S. Interest Section in Havana after showing up for interviews.

''He just passed out from nerves,'' said Ruben Garcia of Miami, a relative of several of the Cubans who left the Havana coast aboard the battered, diesel-powered Chevy.

The second effort -- this time aboard a '59 Buick this month -- was also halted by the Coast Guard.

The close-knit crews of both vessels hail from the Havana neighborhood of San Miguel del Padrón, which was abuzz Friday with the news of Diego's swoon. ''My mother said he was so nervous, the poor guy,'' Garcia said. ``He hadn't eaten in days.''

After a five-hour interview, interrupted by the fainting spell that sent him briefly to the hospital, Diego's status was still uncertain.

''I'm going home to wait. I feel like my wings have fallen off my body,'' he said Friday.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sent a letter on behalf of the 28-year-old's Miami relatives, asking that Diego and his family be allowed to enter.

She wrote that Diego has been subjected to increased ''repression and discrimination'' since the group's return, ``making their life hopeless on the island.''

The heightened scrutiny brought on by the group's high-profile escape plan was also cited by U.S. officials who visited many of the truckonauts this month.

''They told us that due to the troubles we have received from police, we will show up today with the application,'' Eduardo Pérez Grass told reporters.

Included in the group is Marcial Basanta López, one of the mechanics who masterminded the rigging of the '51 Chevy -- outfitting it with makeshift propellers and boosting it onto homemade pontoons in hopes of motoring to Florida in July.

''It's unbelievable,'' said cousin Kiriat López, who lives in Lake Worth. Twice now, he's expected Basanta to make it to Florida, first in the Chevy and then in the Buick. ''He's got nine lives, like a cat,'' López said.

All but three of the original Chevy crew still live in the neighborhood: Luis Grass Rodriguez, and his wife and toddler son.

The Grass family was also aboard the Buick but were taken to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, because Grass -- whose visa application was still being processed -- presented ''credible fear'' of persecution if he were returned to Cuba.

Ros-Lehtinen's office has said it would work with the family's Miami relatives to place the couple and their son in a third-party country.

''They better give visas to the rest of them, too,'' said Garcia, adding that Basanta's red '52 Ford pickup is still parked in San Miguel del Padrón. ``Otherwise, they are going to try this again with another vehicle. They don't have anything else to lose.''