Page 44 - Issue 43

Augusto hails from the city of Cascavel in
the state of Paraná. His vehicle cuts a rather
conspicuous silhouette through the streets of
Cascavel, as there are few rat rods in this part of
the world. The idea is catching on quickly, but
unfortunately, the parts supply for American-style
rat rods is thin. This hasn’t deterred Augusto.
His original plan for the engine was the
quintessential Ford 8BA fl athead V-8. Plans
changed quickly as he scoured the depths of
eBay and found a Lincoln V-12 for sale. Augusto
struck a deal with a gentleman in New York and
began making arrangements to get the motor
to Brazil. He soon discovered that the amount
of bureaucracy he needed to navigate made
it virtually impossible to bring his engine
home. He then spoke to a friend who owns a
business in neighboring Paraguay, where it’s
apparently easier to ship such items. After
driving a mere 100K and paying the taxes,
the engine was his. He repeated the same
process later when buying the Lincoln
3-speed transmission in the car.
Once he got the drivetrain back home,
he took it to his friend and mechanic Ildeo
“Guinho” Almeida. Guinho disassembled
and checked out everything, and
pronounced it good to use as-is. How
often does that happen when you buy a
used engine - especially one that’s over
70 years old?
Augusto left the drivetrain stock,
but has added custom exhausts.
Lincoln V-12 engines have four
exhausts for each side, but to keep
people from asking if it’s a V-8,
he’s made two more exhausts
for each side. They are made of
stainless steel and welded in rings
to imitate a rattlesnake. This is
fi tting, as his hometown of Cascavel
means “rattlesnake.” Per Augusto: “The
engine and transmission are perfect and
it’s really cool and easy to ride with it and
the noise is a Beethoven symphony. It is
a well-known car in Brazil, mainly for its
fl athead V-12 engine.”

44 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE FORTY-THREE

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