Brazil News
| CAMPO GRANDE, Brazil – On Friday, Arnaldo Carvalho, 34, lost in seconds, a R$120,000 ($64,000 USD) and 14-year investment restoring an American muscle car. The massage therapist and tattoo artist, from the state capital, totaled his beloved 1970 Mercury Cougar last Friday, in a traffic collision involving another vehicle at an intersection in Campo Grande.
Arnaldo Carvalho and his 1970 Mercury Cougar (Photo: Arnaldo Carvalho archive/G1 MS)
“I thought that I would leave it to my son, who also likes to drive, but now the dream is over, both for me and for him,” he told G1 MS.
The accident happened around 1 pm, enveloping both the imported classic and a small domestic car. The front of the Mercury Cougar and the front of the other vehicle were damaged. No one was injured in the collision. According to traffic police, one of the vehicles ran a red light. The police have not yet determined which driver was at fault.
After the accident, the artist took the car to a body repair shop where he was disappointed by the verdict. “The mechanic told me that it would be virtually impossible to save the car as the chassis, which is the skeleton of the car, was badly damaged and it would be very difficult, if at all possible to replace. And very, very expensive if it could be.”
Arnaldo bought the car when he was just 19 years old, with an initial investment of R$10,000 (about $5,300 USD), which he justified by his admiration for classical American models. “The car didn't even run, I bought it in a fit of passion, I had no idea how much it would cost to get moving again,” he told G1.
In 2000, four years after buying it, and after some repairs, he got it going. “It was exciting, but there was still a lot to do,” he said.
The purchase of parts was very difficult. “I tried some other owners of Mercury Cougars in Brazil, but they wouldn't or couldn't help me.” Only in the last three years could he afford to begin buying parts from America over the internet, but with the cost of shipping and import duties, it was very expensive—just a turn signal arm ended up costing R$500 reals (about $260 USD).
In 2010, after 14 years of work, the Mercury was ready to return to the road. Keeping it in the garage was never part of the artist's plans. He wanted to incorporate into his daily life, driving it everywhere. “I restored the car to drive, not to sit still and be admired.”
Carvalho says that although he hasn't cried yet, he expects to cry a lot.
American muscle cars of the period are exceedingly rare in Brazil.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Source(s) for this article: G1 MS
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