Michael Morris - Northamptonshire, UK. 3500cc Mk II GT.
Michael's green GT has been in dry storage since the mid 1980's and a full restoration is planned. Today it is more or less in one piece - in a loft, and as you can see, under rather a lot of dust!
Some 20 years ago, Michael and his friends all lived near Silverstone and were car fanatics to a man - spending a good number of weekends racing and marshalling in the 'good old days', as Michael calls them. His youthful ambition was to own a high performance car.
Eventually, he was faced with the choice of buying either a Ferrari or a Costello, both second-hand in about 1976, but his father 'requested' that he buy the MG because he didn't think he could afford the maintenance on the Ferrari! This example of Maranello's best then needed a new clutch and some suspension components. However, as he was friendly with the people who made Ferrari clutches, Michael later argued (fruitlessly and unconvincingly) that he could have afforded to run the Ferrari anyway.
So the Costello it was, and it was regularly used both as a road and race car until the mid 80s. In this dual role, it undoubtedly coped better than the Ferrari would have done.
Thanks to Michael's son Jonathan for providing the details. He is keen to see the car return to its former glory and to have a chance to drive to drive his Dad's Costello!
Richard White - Wimbledon, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
At present Richard White's car is under wraps in the drive, as the photograph shows. He says that this is for the summer only as it is normally in the garage. At the moment he is otherwise occupied re-spraying his rather more prosaic everyday transport - a VW Type 2 Camper. The Costello should hopefully be back on the road later this year. It will soon wear a new coat of paint and will have had new sills and doors. The bonnet is now a standard MGB-type item, but the rest of the car appears more or less original.
As the black and white photo above shows, this was one of the very early cars on which Ken experimented with various bonnet designs. It is even earlier than Paula Summers' car. The air scoop bonnet was another one-off, fabricated in metal before Ken finally decided on the more familiar single bulge in glass fibre. Kelvin Brodie's archive photo, taken from 'A Tiger in MG's Clothing' (Sunday Times, July 25th 1971) clearly shows the additional projections added to clear the dashpots of the twin SUs on the original P6 inlet manifold.
Of the approximately 225 cars built by Ken and his team, just over 50 have been identified and their owners contacted. How many others remain to be discovered we simply don't know. Browse the collection of GTs and Roadsters below to learn more about the many cars currently undergoing restoration. In time, we hope to see all of them up and running and back on the road where they belong.
Owners are encouraged to submit updates and photographs to the site, detailing progress on their projects. Contributors may then learn from each other and can also participate in technical discussions on the Forum.
Stefan Wagner - Frankfurt, Germany. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Stefan owns a 1972 Costello GT which is now based in Frankfurt. It was his dream to own one since shortly after buying first his car, an MGB Roadster. Motivated by this, he ordered some back issues of old motoring magazines, one featuring a story about four different MGBs - including a Costello. That's where he first really learned about Costello V8s and came to appreciate their rarity and desirability.
Some time later, he attended an exhibition for V8 cars in a local town. The show was devoted mainly to American metal, but there was this British racing green GT coupe standing there with a strange bulge on the bonnet - an MGB GT V8 Costello! Stefan enquired after the asking price (then 35,000 German Marks) but in those days this was far too much for him. Subsequently, the same car was seen driving around locally, having been re-sprayed 'cream orange' and fitted with Wolfrace alloy wheels, lowered suspension and Sebring front and back wings. Stefan was captivated by the sound of the big V8, and doubly determined to fulfil that dream.
Some 10 years later, whilst travelling to Hamburg on business, he saw an advert for an MGBGT Costello for sale in the classifieds of a classic car magazine. Amazingly, this turned out to be the same car he'd coveted ten years before, though by then it had been re-sprayed blue. Stefan was later successful in purchasing the car, for which he then paid 10k Euros, before putting it back on the road. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the tuned engine (producing some 200 bhp) had damaged the original MGB 4-speed gearbox. As it was then undriveable, the previous owner had already modified the transmission tunnel to create space for a 5-speed Triumph TR 7 (LT77) gearbox and put the engine with the 'new' gearbox back in place.
Stefan has now concentrated on refining the gearbox installation and ensuring all the running gear is working correctly. It has been quite a task. Welding has also been required on two wings and new doors and a boot lid are required. The Costello badge is still present, but now attached to the dashboard, and the bonnet bulge and the egg box grille identify the car as a Mk I.
David Wiggins - Staffordshire, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
David's 1971 GT has been rebuilt by the Staffordshire MG specialist Paul Depper, who had originally planned to restore it for himself, having known and serviced the car for some years in its previous ownership. David, who lives locally, was looking for a factory V8 or an MGC and spotted what he thought, from the bonnet profile, was an example of the latter in Paul's yard. When he found out it was really a Costello, he twisted Paul's arm to sell it, finally changed hands in July 2009. David actually remembers reading the first Costello road test in his father's copy of Autocar and had been a fan ever since!
First registered in December 1971, the car was originally black, then orange, and is now 'Flame Red'. It has had no less than 13 previous owners over the last 38 years. **
As purchased from Paul Depper, the car had reverted to a standard MG grille, so David has acquired one of the reproduction eggbox units which should bring the car back closer to its original appearance. It will now also sport a new Costello badge on the rear panel, the original having been 'removed' some time ago. The bonnet, however, is unoriginal MGC and the standard-fit Dunlop wheels had long been changed for period Minilites - probably when the car was built. Much more recently, a front spoiler has been fitted and the interior trim and Webasto roof are being refurbished.
The car has a Rover 3528cc engine, which is fitted with a Weber 40 DCOE carburettor, together with Costello inlet and exhaust manifolds. It is in fine fettle - which is more than can be said for the original gearbox, on which the overdrive had failed.
Update March 2010: David's son Dan has taken a few more pictures of the car in its current condition (see above, right) and much progress has been made. There are little keg filters on top of the rocker covers now, new oil cooler pipes, the sunroof has a whole new ash frame, and is off soon to have the new fabric fitted. Bumpers are now re-chromed and look well. The new eggbox grille looks great too, and David is confident that by the end of March, after some fine finishing to the new paint job, he will once again be behind the wheel of his Costello, and back on the road.
Steve Wright - Solihull, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Steve was aware of this 1972 GT lying unused in a neighbour's garage for some 10 years before actually seeing it. The neighbour was moving to live in France and Steve only realised that the car was a V8 some 3 days before France beckoned. Only on the odd occasion when his garage door was open was the GT partially revealed, covered by a sheet with only a chrome bumper visible. The neighbour had originally intended to take the car to France with him, but knowing of Steve's interest in cars, sold it to him as a non-runner the day before he moved, having been deterred by the high cost of transporting it across the Chanel. He had long since stopped using the car due to a running problem he couldn't cure, and then just lost interest. It was last on the road in 1990, though he had owned the car since 1982 up until Steve took it on in 2005.
A colleague told Steve that he thought this was a rare car, and recommended that he investigate its history. After obtaining a copy of the original log book from the DVLA, Steve discovered the Rover V8 engine installation was stamped as a Costello, as shown in amendments dated November 1973. The original owner of the car was a Mr. Eric Reynolds of Sutton Coldfield and it was under his ownership that it had become a Costello Mk I.
Hopefully the car will be on the road in late 2009. Steve has already rebuilt the engine and gearbox and has commenced work on the body, having purchased a replica eggbox grille. The car has the original P5/P6 Rover V8 engine, with fabricated exhaust manifolds and slightly modified block to clear a standard MGB starter motor. The photo shows the engine is now up and running on Steve's own test bench. More pictures are in the Gallery, and we look forward to hearing this old stager fire up again soon.
Oliver Marchant - Hampshire, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Oliver's generous father bought him a disassembled Costello GT for his 12th birthday so that he could 'learn about cars'. Oliver has been slowly rebuilding it over the last 5 years and hopes to have it ready in 2010 after he has turned 17. Rees Brothers carried out the body shell restoration very nicely - and their website now carries some photos of the work in progress.
Oliver has rebuilt the engine himself, though he is unsure if it is the original Buick Special 215 V8, fitted with Powermax flat-top Pistons, as one of the original Costello Engineering invoices says. The engine was also fitted with a Mallory Distributor, Crane Cam and a Holley Carburettor, though Oliver has now changed this to a Weber 500 Carburettor, having kept the old unit. He has also had the original radiator header tank copied in stainless steel.
As the car had been stripped down when he got it, he had a bit of a struggle fitting the new wiring loom because there was nothing for him to follow. Another problem was that the original exhaust manifolds were missing and so he bought a pair of Leyland MGB V8 manifolds, but the right hand one fouls the steering column. If anyone has any advice to offer on this, Oliver would be pleased to hear it. The rear Costello badge is also missing and he'd like to know if anyone has managed to have replicas made? **
The car was registered in April 1972 as LLP 265K and was later raced under the number 96 in the MG BCV8 Championships in 1983, fitted with a roll bar, front and rear spoilers and rear crash bar. In May 1977 it had already covered 53,000 miles when it was sold to a Mr. C. Wooldridge of Southampton.
Back in April 1978, according to the paperwork that came with the car, Ken Costello charged £56 to rebuild the gearbox and to disable the overdrive in 3rd gear. By 1983 it was owned by a Mr. S. D. Meech, and then in 1989 by Mr D. Mitchell.
Oliver attended the Costello Gathering in September 2009, but the car wasn't quite ready and so arrived on a trailer. However, there's no rush as he needs to learn to drive and get his licence first!
** Answers to Oliver's queries can be found on the Technical page.
Judith Goertz - Fontainebleau, France. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Judith Goertz purchased this car from Dave Fitzpatrick in early 2009, subsequently taking it with her to her home near Fontainebleau in France. The car is Harvest Gold, and was supplied in 1971 and registered on November 2nd of that year. The delivery papers are with the car as it was supplied from Abingdon. The first owner was believed to be a director of Patrick Motors in Birmingham, with a second keeper in 1975, and Dave as the third owner.
Piranha contactless ignition was fitted in place of the normal points in the distributor, a glass fibre front spoiler had been fitted, and door mounted mirrors replaced the original wing mounted ones, but other than that, the car is original (to the best of Dave's knowledge).
Dave bought the car in 1978 with around 16k miles, and used it regularly until 1985, when it was taken off the road at 35k miles and garaged in favour of a motorbike and a larger family car. The engine had a full strip and rebuild, and a couple of body panels were replaced. It had been garaged since then, and was road legal, running, and driven into the garage when it was laid up. When Judith acquired it, the car was in remarkably good condition considering the lack of use, and Dave is pleased that she is now using it and it is back on the road. Judith plans a full restoration when funds allow - bearing in mind that said funds also have to cover two factory MGB V8s, a Triumph Spitfire, an old Mercedes and an even older BMW, an American Ford V8 van, an old jaguar XJ Coupe and some London Taxis!
Paula Summers - Torquay, UK. 3500cc Mk I GT.
Paula's story goes back a few years, to the time when she used the services of the late Trevor Taylor at his garages in Mitcham, Surrey (UK) to repair her '76 MGB roadster. Paula then purchased a second ('74) roadster as someone nearby wanted rid of it. She obviously had the bug.
Trevor had a red Costello V8 in his garage that was a nut and bolt rebuild - possibly a US shell import - and he used to tell visitors to take a long hard look at this car, because 'it will be a long time before you see another one like it!' It had been in his garage for many years and for some reason the owner never came back for it, but Trevor carried on and had it 95% finished it before, sadly, he died. The owner of the garage (next door) took the V8 in part payment of rent owed on the garage. It was then left in a nearby undertakers' yard for a year or so in the open air.
Paula took her red roadster back to Mitcham for an MOT and the new occupant of Trevor's garage asked if she was interested in buying the Costello. She said yes on the spot and having speedily sold one of her two roadsters, bought the Costello. That was in November 2001, and it has been in dry storage ever since. The car needs a little work to get it on the road, but is in otherwise mint condition, believed to have only done 1.8 miles (yes, just under 2 miles!) since Trevor test drove it.
The double-bubble bonnet (seen in the picture, left) was actually a one-off whilst Ken and his colleagues experimented with different clearances for the carburettors, before finally settling on the distinctive single bulge of the Mk I, twin SU version. Paula's car could well be the finest example of an original Costello remaining anywhere - apart from the non-original Cosmic wheels. She has replaced the missing eggbox grill with one of our approved replicas.
Peter Roscoe - Dorset, UK. 3500cc Mk I Roadster.
Information is expected soon on Peter's roadster; meanwhile more pictures of this lovely car can be seen in the Gallery.
Richard Read - Adelaide, Australia. 3500cc 1972 Mk I Roadster.
This car is the second Costello we now know of in Australia, though we believe there is possibly a third somewhere. Richard is the proud possessor of a 1972 Costello Mk I roadster, having owned it since 1983. It is currently off the road, though re-commissioning will begin shortly.
Not much of the car's history is known, though Richard does still have the original service book which only lists the V8 engine number. It is therefore assumed the car was converted from new. Stamps in the book also show that some of the servicing was done by Costello Engineering. The original owner was a Mr. Osborn with an address in Birmingham, UK, with the supplying dealer shown as Patrick Motors. The British registration is COB 257K.
It still has the domed fibreglass bonnet, the egg box grille, and its original SU carburettors. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the rear badge has been stolen at some stage. The car is currently equipped with a locally sourced hard top and is painted bright yellow, but Richard intends to return it to the original Old English White. This Costello is located in Adelaide, and coincidentally, Richard has seen John Kemp hill-climbing his Costello GT there of late. He hopes to join him soon.
Ben Tovey - Wiltshire, UK. 3900cc Mk I GT.
Ben's 1972 GT has had its share of 'improvements' over its life (some of them not very good and due to be deleted, like the bungee rubber accelerator return spring shown above) but it is otherwise fairly intact, with its bulging bonnet, egg box grille, and modified 4-speed gearbox.
Unfortunately, the last owner de-chromed and de-badged the car and the grille is much the worse for wear. Ben is about to begin the process of a careful restoration - installing a new replica grille, replacing floor pans, rear wings, valance and a few other bits and pieces and generally returning it to its former glory. It will be re-sprayed in its original colour, Teal Blue.
As for the mechanics, and because the engine isn't original anyway, he is currently building a 3.9 litre Rover-based V8 with stage 2 heads, a fast-road camshaft and a 4-barrel Weber 500cfm on an Edelbrock inlet manifold. The car already has telescopic dampers all round, but Ben will be having the springs re-rated and will fit polyurethane suspension bushes. Front brake callipers will be changed to SD1, which he has already sourced.
As you'll see in the technical section, Ben will also be replacing the car's (very tired) standard MGB gearbox with something more robust, and after a good deal of research, he has become a mine of information on the subject. At the moment, balancing efficacy with economy, he will probably use his second choice, the Rover R380.
Phil Rule - Surrey, UK. 3900cc MkII GT.
Phil has owned his GT since 1985, having purchased it from John Trueman in Surbiton, Surrey. John had bought it new as an standard 1800cc MGB from HWM in Walton on Thames (now an Audi dealership) in October 1971. His very first drive in the car was from Walton to Ken Costello's workshop in Kent.
When Phil first saw the car, he was a local police officer in the Kingston / Surbiton area and as he drove past John's house one day happened to spot him washing the Costello on his driveway. Phil owned a regular BGT at the time, so stopped for a chat, telling John if he ever wanted to sell his Costello he would like first refusal. Three weeks later, John telephoned Phil offering him the car at an affordable price. Phil took up the offer that very afternoon.
He ran the car for 'four marvellous years', during which time he uprated the suspension and resprayed it red in preference to the original and rather lurid blaze orange colour. He drove to Le Mans for the 24hrs race and also over the Alps to Monza. Sadly, the engine blew most spectacularly whilst returning from the 1989 Willhire 24hrs race - though he was not racing himself - when a piston came out of the side of the block whilst he was tanking down the A11 at considerable speed. As a definite non-runner, the car was returned to his home and relegated to the garage - where, sadly, it has resided ever since.
Phil keeps promising himself that the Costello will be revived soon but he says that Mrs R keeps finding other 'sensible' things on which to spend his money! The car has only covered 46000 miles from new, which is hardly surprising as it's not been used for 20 years.
We look forward to receiving pictures of this car - and helping to persuade Mrs Rule that allowing the restoration to go ahead is very sensible.
Jurgen Kuhnle - Black Forest, Germany. 3900cc Mk III Roadster.
Jurgen already owns a recently converted, 4.6 litre, race-prepared V8 GT and obviously fancied something rather rarer. He recently spotted this red 1972 roadster on eBay and bought it, sight unseen. It's an almost completed restoration which had lain idle for the past seven years with only 620 recorded miles on the clock. Previous owner Andrew Sander says that's a shame because there isn't that much left to do, but since a job change and a move from Buckinghamshire up to Ayrshire, he just hasn't had the time to do it. So he has passed the car on to someone who does have that time - and can enjoy the results thereafter.
Andrew, who had first met Ken at a classic car show, had this Mk III built into an early heritage shell in 1991, and it is the only car on the site to boast a genuine 5-speed Costello gearbox.
It was also equipped with Ken's fuel injection plenum chamber with Lucas 14CU ECU and ancillaries, and subsequently with MGOC Minilite replica wheels, a Ron Hopkinson handling kit and Bilstein gas dampers all round, upgraded front discs with Clive Wheatley 4-piston calipers and a high-capacity radiator. The re-trimmed interior boasts MGOC leather seats and a MotoLita steering wheel. All in all, it looks like a very nice specification and Jurgen (the lucky chap) should have his new acquisition on the road within the next few months - at which point we hope to have more pictures to add to the Gallery.
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Roger Barker - Midlands, UK. 3500cc 1972 Mk I GT.
This car is currently undergoing some light restoration so we look forward to hearing more about it once it returns to its rightful place on the road. The picture above is copyright Andrew Roberts and was part of a suite of professional photographs taken in the grounds of Goodwood House a few years ago.
