DALLAS – It's like a time machine. Specifically, "A 1961 Lincoln," says Nicholas Ciacelli.
It's a car built from the exact blueprints of the car President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in Dallas, Ciacelli said. Down to the smallest detail, the 6,435-pound stretch automobile is meant to produce a trip right back to the era of JFK.
There are a few alterations, but the replica of the convertible presidential limousine Kennedy rode in in those fateful moments in Dallas is so close to the real thing that mechanic Miguel Diaz says working on the car intimidates him.
"You know, you get that moment of silence where you're like, 'Really? It's here?'" Diaz said. "It's unbelievable." The car, commissioned by a collector in the late 1980s has become a favorite of photographers. Parked discreetly under a freeway overpass in Dallas Wednesday, passersby still sought it out to snap photos. The car has caught the eye of plenty of professional lenses, tooThursday, the vehicle will star in the Stephen King-inspired Hulu mini-series "11-22-63."
"This is the ninth movie this car has been in," Ciacelli said. "It first appeared in Oliver Stone's movie, 'JFK,' in 1991."
Ciacelli, is a JFK memorabilia collector. He owns the car and thousands of other items associated with the late president. Wednesday afternoon, he took us for a ride in the limo, just several blocks away from the set of "11-22-63" at Dealey Plaza. Driving it here is different than driving it in any other city it has been in," he said.
It's an experience for other motorists, too. We saw several drivers recording video as the passed by the car and one man shouted and gave a thumbs up at a traffic light.
Ciacelli loves every moment, "This keeps the memory going. And that's my goal -- to keep his memory alive."
He said he is always happy when the car is featured in JFK productions, but said even after all the movies and all the years since the assassination, the ending still comes as a shock to him.
"I wait for it not to happen," Ciacelli said. "That's what I wish for not to happen, but it always keeps happening."
As fond as he is of the car, Ciacelli said he is shopping the car around for a new owner. Ideally, he said, it will end up in a museum somewhere in Dallas. He says that's where the car belongs.
