Listed in this section are Costellos which have taken part in domestic competition, either in series racing, hill-climbing or drag racing. Most remain remarkably unmodified, but seem to do well nevertheless.
Benjamin Mullaert - Brussels, Belgium. Mk II Roadster.
Benjamin recently purchased this Costello from local classic car specialist Bernard Marreyt. It had previously belonged to another of his customers, Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian Prime minister and inveterate car buff. It is a smart-looking, dark blue 1976 LHD rubber bumper model, converted to chrome bumper specification - minus the bumpers. Mr. Verhofstadt had done a great deal of work on the car before deciding to part exchange it for a 1953 Lancia Aurelia, largely because the Lancia is eligible to enter the Mille Miglia, which would enable him to realise a long held ambition. The Costello had been used as both a road and race car, but has now had its roll cage removed to make it more civilised in everyday use. Bernard says "it performs impressively well".
It seems that it actually began life as a red 1978 RHD Costello Mk II GT which was exported as an MOT failure to Belgium where it was rebuilt, to Ken's specifications, into the modified shell of a later model, four-cylinder, US specification MGB. As Ken remembers it, the 'donor' GT was mechanically sound, but had failed that MOT test due to a terminal attack of tin worm.
This re-born V8 roadster certainly has the usual Costello hallmarks - twin SUs on a low profile manifold (but with pancake air cleaners) Mike The Pipe style fabricated exhaust manifolds and reshaped inner wings, the MGB 4-speed gearbox with modified overdrive, the optional Minilites - almost everything except the badge, which was apparently not transferred from the original vehicle. Sensibly, the engine now uses a revised front pulley arrangement and the standard '76 radiator expansion tank rather than the rust-prone original. It has also been equipped with MG-style rocker covers and a Mallory distributor. Mr Verhofstadt had bought the car as the genuine article in September 2008. Benjamin, who has further refurbishments planned, has promised more technical details and more pictures to add to those already in the Gallery.
Garry Heath - Buckinghamshire, UK. 3900cc Mk I GT.
Garry's Costello V8 started life as an Abingdon-built 1800cc MGB GT in April 1971. It was sold by the dealer John C. Beadle in Dartford to the first of two owners based in Sittingbourne. Sometime between then and 1974, it had the full Costello treatment. Gary believes this was done in 1973 as he received it with a Buick rather than a Rover engine, but it still had the power bulge bonnet, the egg box grille and the uprated suspension.
Back in 1985, Philip Rodley purchased the car from its second owner in a partly disassembled state. He decided to rebuild it as a concours example. Philip retrieved it as a rolling shell and put it in his garage, intending to finish the project himself. Some 17 years later, when the car had still not turned a wheel, it was put up for sale. Garry then 'inherited' the car not quite as a 'barn find', but not too far from one.
Since September 2003, the car has been completely stripped and rebuilt as a race car. Garry liked the idea of creating retro history, 33 years after he says the first Costello should have taken to the track.
Tartan Red 5012, registered ACK 717K, has been built with an eye on historic endurance racing and is equipped with oversize fuel tanks and extra night-time lighting. The car competed in the 2004 Colonnade Thoroughbred Sports Car Championship as well as the 40 minute endurance race at MG80 at Silverstone 2004 - in which it took its first class win. It is intended to compete in the "modified sports" category, which has behind it the concept of a road-going race car. In keeping with the spirit of this idea, the car is road legal and has an MOT, although it's not very road friendly thanks to its racing suspension.
In the late 1960s and '70s MGs (particularly MGCs) raced for class wins at Le Mans and other endurance events. Garry's car draws heavily on the works cars of the period which, like ACK 717K, were all finished in Tartan Red with white valances and white hard tops. Race rules have allowed Garry to abandon the original Buick engine and replace it with a stronger 3900cc ex-Discovery unit, which has been race-built and delivers over 250 BHP.
The gearbox inherited with the car was as originally converted - basically an MGB box with MGC and other internal components. The tired old gearbox will soon be replaced by a T5 Borg Warner unit, which promises to be more-or-less unbreakable.
Hopefully, further details will follow and there are more pictures in the Gallery.
John Kemp - Adelaide, Australia. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Following exhaustive research last year, it was apparent that this car was the only Costello in Australia. None of the local owners' clubs there are aware of any others, and though they did point out a number of other V8-engined MGBs, they turned out not to be genuine Costellos. But in Summer 2009 real one pops up out of the blue - and in Adelaide too! (See News & Restorations)
John's smart blue GT is popular amongst the MG fraternity in South Australia, particularly around Adelaide. He competes with it very successfully in hillclimb events from time to time, as some of his photos show. The car is a 1971 Mk I model, purchased in 1981, which means John has owned it for more than half his life! He had coveted a Costello ever since reading an admiring article in Australia's Sports Car World magazine as a teenager back in 1972.
His example still has its original 3.5 P6 litre motor on twin SU carburettors and obviously runs very well indeed. John has owned five MGBs and still has three - including a full-house 4.8 litre racer with which he won his class in the Australian hill climb championships - but the Costello is without doubt his all-time favourite. John has taken the time to write a history of his car - so if you would like to learn more, you can read the full story here.
Lothar Taverne - Vienna, Austria. Mk II GT.
A friend had seen a V8 Costello at the 1975 Earls Court Motor Show and enthusiastically told Lothar all about it. On a subsequent visit to London, he arranged a test drive with Ken which involved a memorable dash down Park Lane in a mildly tuned, bright red GT. He was instantly smitten and placed an order more or less on the spot.
He took delivery of his white, rubber bumper GT in August 1976, some six months after it had left the Abingdon factory as a four cylinder car. It was probably one of the last Mk II Costellos to be built. Lothar had specified lowered suspension, negative camber front wishbones, four-piston front calipers and AP vented discs, extra cooling vents in the bonnet and front wings, and uprated anti roll bars front and rear.
The car came equipped with Revolution 5-spoke wheels and standard 160 bhp P6 engine - soon upgraded to around 200bhp with gas-flowed heads, a Crane fast road camshaft and revised SU carburetion. Then came an Offenhauser inlet manifold carrying an opposed pair of Weber 40DCOEs which raised the output to around 230bhp. Lothar thinks this induction set-up was similar to that used on some contemporary racing TR8s.
However, this was not enough for the power-hungry Lothar, whose final engine upgrade involved fitting a Huffaker 360 inlet manifold/Holley carburettor combination, a more radical camshaft and further modifications to the cylinder heads. The result - a gratifying 290 bhp. The MG gearbox was then of necessity replaced with a 5-speed SD1 unit, an additional fuel tank was installed in place of the spare wheel, and the Revolution wheels were changed to split-rim 8 x 15" Compomotives under widened arches and shod with a succession of performance tyres from Avon, Yokohama and Dunlop.
Today, Lothar uses the car for historic events and time trials, which he very much enjoys.
Neils Jorgensen - Denmark. Fuel-injected Mk III Roadster.
Neils heard about the mgcostello website after Lawrence had contacted the Chairman of the Danish MG Car Club. He has owned his Costello V8 since 1998, having then bought it directly from Ken Costello himself.
In the early 1990's, Ken started production of MGB V8 EFI models (the Costello Mk III) making about ten in all. Neils' car is number two of those ten, made in 1991 (see the Technical section for photographs of similar engine bays). This particular car was exported to the USA to be sold there, converted to LHD, but it later returned to the UK, which is where Neils purchased it. There is one further Costello in Denmark, a RHD roadster purchased in the USA. More photos of Neils' car are available at www.tvr-mg.dk
Michel Lorielle - Southern France.
Michel was a founder of the MG Club of France, but to date is proving to be a little elusive. Consequently, not much is currently known about his car, but we do at least know it was an original Costello, exported to France in the late 1970s. It is now a heavily modified, Sebring-bodied road-racer as the pictures shows. There are more images of this car in the Gallery.
Alan Worth - West London, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Alan has owned this impressive-looking silver GT for some 4 years. He was actually looking for an E-type Jaguar, but his son found this MG for sale on Former Glory's website. So, having remembered the Costello story, he went along more out of curiosity than a desire to buy it. However, Alan liked what he saw, and following a quick spin, he snapped up the car there and then. The sound of the engine with its Typhoon fast-road cam and throaty exhaust had him totally smitten - and still gives him a huge buzz every time he drives it.
As purchased, it was equipped with the rear facing side draft Weber, making this car a Mk II Costello. However, it now breathes through a 4-barrel downdraft Weber 500. In 2009, Alan fitted a modified, reconditioned 3500cc engine - built for him by a friend who races his much-modified factory car.
Unfortunately, the paperwork was lost at some time, but the car has all the right Costello signs such as the original Weber, the modified MG gearbox and the strange header tank - which rusted out. Alan had a new one fabricated by a very good radiator specialist in Middlesex (so did I! LW). The car also has the correct final drive ratio, the right conversion plate for the gearbox, and the tell-tale Costello badge on the back.
Alan's car now wears one of the recently re-fabricated, laser-cut eggbox grilles and updated Costello badging on its flanks. With its stuck-on bonnet registration number and deep front spoiler, Alan's GT manages to look both smart and aggressive simultaneously.
