Ross Church - Paraparaumu, New Zealand. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
Ross' business (Autoclassics) first came across this car, the second Costello to emerge in New Zealand, in about 2003 when the owner, Iain Barraclough, lived near his garage at Paraparaumu, about 45 minutes north of Wellington. Iain had purchased the car in the UK as a brand new 1800cc in 1973, and took it to Ken Costello for a complete makeover, as he'd always hankered after a V8. Ken clearly remembers both Iain and the car.
Iain took the car with him when he emigrated from England to New Zealand, with the car being first registered in NZ on 2nd Feb, 1982. For various reasons, it wasn't used much in the early 2000s and was eventually put into storage for a while. Subsequently, Ross picked it up from Iain's home and got it going for him. It was then re-registered and put back on the road on 1st May 2008.
While no one at Autoclassics had ever seen a Costello before, the enthusiasts there were well aware of the marque and had no reason to doubt the history of this particular vehicle. The car has all the correct Costello hallmarks and drives well.
However, Iain has done some non-original modifications to the car. The front wings had been attacked by the dreaded tin worm while the car was still in the UK, so he replaced them with what look like good quality fibreglass alternatives. He has also removed the chrome mouldings from the flanks to avoid the corrosion that almost inevitably develops behind them in damp conditions. While he was at it, the front indicators were replaced with period units that sit below the front bumper. Again, this was to avoid rust developing - in this case around the indicator lenses, the original holes for which have been professionally filled and painted.
So the car is not a pristine original example - rather it is in good serviceable nick, well used and enjoyed (as it should be! - LW). It has 90,000 recorded miles on the clock, which looks reasonably genuine given its overall condition, the way it drives, and the history that Iain has so far supplied.
Iain now lives in Auckland, at the other end of the North Island. He had left the car with his son in Paraparaumu, but now wants it sold to someone who will use and appreciate it more than he has been able to do of late. Since moving house a few times, some of the original paperwork is missing, but is apparently not lost. Once Iain unearths it, more details will be posted to this site.
Shipping the car from NZ to Europe appears to be a fairly easy and seamless process according to Autoclassics, who have previously repatriated a Bristol and a Fraser Nash, so this car could be seen in Europe quite soon. For anyone showing interest, Ross promises to outline and photograph all the good things about the car as well as those aspects that need attention, so there'll be no unwelcome surprises.
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Ron MacAulay - Wanaka, New Zealand. 3500cc Mk I Roadster.
1972, Ron was living in a flat below a chap called Joe Officer near Heathrow airport when Joe undertook a Rover V8 conversion on his owned-from-new 1965 MGB. It was done to strict original specifications with all the correct works parts (inlet and exhaust manifolds, 3.07:1 rear axle, bell housing adapter and the like) and on detailed instructions from Costello Engineering. It first ran in mid June 1972, and after further minor modifications, it was deemed fit to wear the prized Costello badge. On its wide Wolfrace wheels, the car then became the monster of Heathrow! Ron just had to have it.
Joe took the car to Scotland for a few years before agreeing to sell it and ship it to Ron in New Zealand in 1993. Ron is therefore only the second owner. And as Wanaka is the driest province of New Zealand where rust is unheard of, the car is assured of a long life. It still sports the UK registration 1FLV and looks a beauty as the pictures above testify. To date, the engine still runs sweetly, albeit very thirstily. 1FLV has now clocked a total of 125,000 miles from new and Ron hopes to repaint and reupholster her in the near future.
Sven Neilsen - Denmark. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
This car used to reside in the USA and has an interesting history. Relatively few MG enthusiasts in the USA have actually seen one of the original Costello V8's, because none of those made during the original production run was built for export to the USA. This one was privately imported in 1990.
The previous owner, David Michel, had been invited to view what was described as an 'MG V8 conversion' in Annapolis, Maryland. He was greeted by a black, chrome bumper, MGB Roadster wearing the Costello V8 badge on the rear and sporting that distinctive eggbox grille. Identifying it as a rare Costello, he set about purchasing it. By 1996, the car was well fettled and ready for a trip to MG '96 in Indianapolis. Ken himself was in attendance there and took the opportunity to become reacquainted with the car, poring over it carefully. He remembered it as one of the few Mk II Costello Roadsters which he built in 1972-73.
Documentation shows that the car was based on a 1972 home market (UK) MGB originally delivered to a Dr. Lewtas from the Royal College of Surgeons and given the Costello treatment shortly thereafter. The good doctor had bought the car for his personal use in competition and raced it until 1985. In September of that year, the car was purchased by an American diplomat then based in the UK, and when his posting was over, it returned with him to Annapolis. The documentation also shows that the car underwent a complete body renovation in 1986/7 to rectify minor structural faults and remove the battle scars of competition. This renovation work included new black paint (the original colour was BRG), complete rust-proofing, and a new interior.
In 1989, MG specialist Malcolm Beer fitted the car with a new, mildly tuned and fully balanced Rover 3500 engine to replace the original, but by then rather tired Buick-based unit. The original Rover ancillaries, the Costello/Weber inlet manifold and those block-hugger exhaust manifolds were, of course, re-used. The owner also arranged for the installation of a Rover SD1 5-speed gearbox, before the car was returned to the USA in March 1990. It was on the move again after Sven bought it in 2007, having spotted it on Ebay in the US. He shipped it back over the Atlantic, and subsequently did some fettling underneath - refurbishing the petrol tank, replacing a couple of floor panels, uprating the front dampers and fitting polyurethane suspension bushes. The 40 DCOE Weber is currently being replaced with a 45 DCOE, which he hopes will further improve both the performance and the emissions of what he calls 'this fantastic car'. Sven now enjoys driving his much-travelled Costello - in the summer only - on some of the best roads in the world in his native Denmark, and he hopes to attend the MG European Event at Gabicce Mare in Italy, May 2010.
Listed below are all the known remaining Costello Roadsters. Only about 35 of the cars built by Ken and his team were roadsters, which makes them rare indeed; and remember that when BLMC got round to producing their own MGB V8, none of them were roadsters. Most of the Costello roadsters are the Mk II version, without the bonnet bulge. However, there are a few Mk I models and some Mk III fuel-injected cars from the 1990s. More pictures of each car can be found in the Gallery.
Lawrence Wood - London, UK. 4600cc MkI Roadster.
Lawrence's roadster was first registered in June 1970, having been purchased for the princely sum of £1319 from University Motors, MG main dealers in London. Just over a year later, the first owner had Costello Motor Engineering Ltd install a 3500cc Rover V8 in P6 specification. Back in October 1971, the work by Ken's company had cost £917, almost doubling the price of the original vehicle. The accompanying history file is over three inches thick and includes every single bill and receipt throughout its long life, including Ken's original invoice.
BML 512H was featured in BBC2's The Car's the Star in the late 1990s, with the then owner proudly photographed next to it while being interviewed by an admiring Quentin Willson.
The car has recorded about 150,000 miles though stood idle for much of the 1980s until a bare metal, nut and bolt rebuild was undertaken in 1991. The car has now had just seven proud and fastidious owners since 1976 as evidenced by the fact that it has clearly been well maintained throughout, regardless of cost.
When Lawrence acquired the car it had been off the road for a year and needed a new starter motor, alternator and a thorough service. During the spring of 2007, he enjoyed a trouble-free, 1000mile road trip through France, effortlessly stretching the Costello's legs through the open roads and vineyards of the Champagne region and drawing many an admiring glance from other road users. The car also performed well during several exciting track days, courtesy of MGs-on-Track.
Sadly, in October 2007, the head gasket suffered a terminal failure and the consequent overheating caused the engine block to warp beyond repair, so there was no alternative but to ditch this original Costello-fitted power source and install a replacement. Lawrence settled on a new Cosworth-built, cross-bolted 4.6 litre Rover V8, running a Weber 500cfm carburettor on an Edelbrock manifold, rather than the original SUs. Now nicely run in, this new engine produces just over 220bhp and nearly 300lbft of torque. The ton comes up at only 2700 revs, and overall economy is surprisingly good for an engine of such generous displacement. According to Enginuity, who fitted the new power unit at their Acton workshops, the car's performance is now on a par with TVR Chimaeras and Griffiths. Ordinarily, this might be a bit scary in an otherwise standard MGB, but the brakes are now equipped with the latest high-performance pads and the fitting of lowered rear springs, modern tyres and a Panhard rod has vastly improved handling and roadholding.
Other recent additions include a mohair hood, uprated headlamps and a CD player. The Minilite centre-lock wheels have been re-sprayed in an attractive anthracite grey metallic paint, a replica header tank has been installed - made in brass rather than rust-prone mild steel - and after a year-long quest, Lawrence has at last been able to fit a reproduction Costello eggbox grille. The car now looks pretty much as it did when it emerged from Ken's Kent workshops as a Mk I Costello, forty years ago.
Heinz Arndt - Berlin, Germany, 3500cc Mk I Roadster.
Heinz is a November 2009 recruit to the site with his Berlin-based 1976 roadster, which Ken worked on after series production had ended. It was first registered in the UK on July 13th 1976, the engine change to a 3.5 litre Rover V8 having already been completed. He'd always fancied a V8 convertible of some sort and initially didn't know what a Costello was. Then, while attending a race meeting at Silverstone in 1985, Heinz saw a yellow one for sale, liked what he saw and heard, bought it, and drove it home.
The car was completely original apart from the wheels, which had been changed for what look like Cobra Supaslots. Over the last couple of decades, Heinz has made a number of what he feels are sympathetic changes of his own. The car was converted from rubber to chrome bumper about 15 years ago when an ST type front spoiler was fitted, and the original primrose yellow colour later became become a more restrained Jaguar sable. A Rover five-speed SD1 gearbox has since been installed instead of the rather worn MG four-speeder with locked-out overdrive, and the the lever-arm dampers have been replaced with Koni telescopic dampers all round.
The original Costello-specification engine is currently out for rebuild and has been temporarily replaced with a factory V8, using Ken's original tubular exhaust manifolds. All the other Costello hallmarks remain, the rear axle has the correct 3.07:1 final drive ratio and the car has a Mk-I Costello badge on the rear panel. It still carries a British registration number - NGX 602P.
Heinz is an active member of the Berlin MG Club and enjoys driving his Costello whenever he can. He plans to join us at the 2010 gathering, by which time the car may boast a replica eggbox grille.
James Ostler - Herefordshire, UK. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
James' car is one those completed after Ken's production run proper came to an end in the early 1970s, and was originally a rubber-bumper car. He purchased it in March 2008, when he visited the Stoneleigh show looking for a standard roadster as his first MG. But when he came across this immaculate Costello being sold by dealer Former Glory, he couldn't resist it!
Some of its non-standard features subsequently raised doubts as to its provenance. However, Ken took the opportunity to inspect the car at the September 2009 inaugural MGCostello gathering in Surrey - and having confirmed it to be the genuine article, duly sent James an authentic Costello identification plate.
James subsequently made contact with the second owner, Paul Pavlou, again via this website. Paul provided him with a great deal of history and further confirmation that the car was a genuine Costello - as he had purchased the car from John Bridge, who had commissioned Ken to build it in the first place.
The car was converted with only 1200 miles on the clock, having left the factory on 14th April 1977. A V8 high compression engine was fitted, with uprated oil pump and Mike The Pipe manifold - one of the tell-tale signs of a Costello. The suspension was lowered, chrome bumpers fitted, and the gearbox adapted so overdrive only works in fourth gear.
The car has had 11 owners in total, and been fairly heavily modified: the engine was stripped in 1986, though following a head-gasket failure, needed a further rebuild in 1988. Later, in 1995, a replacement engine was fitted, retaining many parts of the existing engine. A Rover SD1 gearbox was also fitted at this time.
August 1998 saw new front wings with a bare metal respray, and the car being brought up to near concours condition. Much cosmetic work has been carried out, with no end of non-standard chrome added with a fair bit of elbow grease applied to the engine bay.
Most of the work to this car can be accredited to two of the previous owners: Steve Thomason, in Dorset, who owned he car for 10 years from 1987, and Dave Heard, of Devon, who had the car for 6 years after Steve. The boot lid was slightly damaged in 2008 and James had trouble identifying the shade of black used. Having phoned the paint shop that did the respray in 1998 he completed the job with a full respray in Ford Black.
Brian Perry - Yorkshire, UK. 3500cc Mk III Roadster.
Brian's car is a late Costello (Mk III) fuel injected version, completed in 1992 on a 1978 roadster. It was fitted with a 3.5 litre Rover engine on 9.5:1 compression, carrying the Costello fuel injection plenum chamber and Lucas type L injection.
Brian purchased the car from TVR engineering in Blackpool in 2002. It had previously been registered to Ken Costello from 10th June 1992 until 6th March 1997. The vehicle was supplied by Ken to TVR and fitted with the slick-changing Costello 5-speed gearbox as part of a deal which should have resulted in the manufacture of the gearbox for TVR's own range of cars, as well as for the MG replacement market. However, TVR's financial troubles meant that the deal never went ahead and the manufacturing rights eventually reverted to Ken. In the meantime, TVR had removed the Costello box (which subsequently disappeared) and fitted the car with a Borg Warner T5 gearbox - which is how Brian received it.
In fact, it had been 'rather bodged about' and Brian has spent the last seven years returning the car to as near as possible to Ken's original product. The standard-fit mild steel 'block-hugger' exhaust manifolds had corroded badly and have been replaced with the stainless steel equivalent, as has the rest of the exhaust system. The front and rear springs have been replaced and polypro suspension bushes used. The rear lever arm dampers have been replaced with Spax telescopic units (set on soft) and the front brakes uprated. The car still carries rubber bumpers. When bought, it had been fitted with 14" LE wheels and 175/70 section tyres. These have been replaced with 15" Minator wheels and 195/60 section tyres.
Brian has recently finished bodywork restoration with a full re-spray in the same red colour the car wore at purchase and has now clocked up some 20,000 miles in, as he says, 'a fast reliable V8 which is a fantastic tourer, handles beautifully on the rebuilt suspension and stops well.' Brian also shows the car as well as using it for pleasure.
Harry Irvine - Leicestershire, UK. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
Harry's car was supplied through Cripps Motors of Sidcup, Kent in April 1970 and was initially registered in June 1970. The first purchaser had the car built to Mk I specification during his ownership and the second owner (1972-1973) confirmed to Harry that this had already been done when he bought the car in 1972. There was a third owner in Birmingham (1974-1978) with a fourth owner, again in Birmingham, who owned the car for 10 years until his death in 1988. Harry acquired the car in 1988 from his estate, via an MG specialist.
He was actually looking for an MGA when he spotted this car - looking a bit neglected as it had not been taxed for the previous three years due to the owner's ill health. Nevertheless, the MG garage had sorted it out enough to pass an MOT and it drove quite well, albeit rather noisily!
The car has a standard flat aluminium bonnet and a rear-facing, side draught Weber 40 DCOE. It still sports the eggbox grille, a Costello badge on the rear panel and the Dunlop alloy wheels that Costello originally fitted. When new, the car had a 1.8 litre engine (number 18GG-WE-H/9233). The engine number following Costello's attentions was JN790/2158/31 (Buick?). This unit was replaced in the early 1980's with the current engine, which has a serial number probably originating from a forward-control Land Rover, according to the factory records.
Over the last 20 years, Harry has spent nearly £11,000 on parts and servicing, which equates to just over £500 per year. The car is as original as possible, but some changes have been forced - such as the replacement of the small electric cooling fan (of French manufacture) with a more modern equivalent, which is much better at keeping control of the running temperature. The original exhaust system was a fully welded Mike The Pipe system with tubular pipework of relatively small diameter, but it was quite rusty and very loud, so it was replaced by an MGOC stainless steel system which is quieter, though not as neat a fit.
Patsy Turl - Dorset, UK. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
Over the years, Patsy Turl's roadster has had more than £40,000 lavished on it, so it is therefore a pretty refined example. Its story is told by her father, Chris.
We originally purchased PMX 401R on June 5th 1990 from D&S Sports Cars of Stratford on Avon. The car was first registered on 29th November 1976 to A.M. Hodson-Mackenzie of Bolton Garden Mews London SW10 and had been sold to him by Ken Costello. (As had my Mk I also; some five years previously! The man was obviously a connoisseur - LW).
We still have the original Service book along with a copy of the application to licence a new vehicle signed by Ken. At this time the car was painted Glacier White and was in need of some attention. We established that the previous owners were Doctors who lived at Chipping Camden where we visited them and spent an excellent afternoon talking MGs.
Anyway, having purchased the car, we sent it to Brown and Gammons at Baldock for a full restoration, during which the colour was changed to Tartan Red. We owned the car until April 2000, when we felt it was time to move on and we sold it at auction at RAF Hendon. We had enjoyed 10 years of very happy motoring and Patsy had used the Costello every day to go to work.
It was around July 2007 when Patsy got the urge to find her old car again and we posted a request for information on the MG Owners Club web site. We were then contacted by an observant member who pointed us to the Bournemouth and Poole MG Club and we subsequently persuaded a club member (who hadn't had it very long) to allow us to re-purchase it. We discovered that it had 4 other owners during its lost years.
However, by then the car had undergone a radical change from a rubber bumper standard car to a 'boy racer' vehicle with the bumpers being removed, and a number of ugly 'go-faster' bits added. So, for the second time we booked the car into the garage for another restoration. This time, however, we decided to return the car to Mk II specification, changing it to a chrome bumper example and putting a private number plate on it. PMX 401R is now PAT 171, and we are happy to report that it still sports the original Costello badges. The car is now once again Patsy's pride and joy and she very much enjoys using it - on dry sunny days.
Further interesting details about the car came from Steve Whistlecroft, who by lucky coincidence just happened to be passing our inaugural gathering in September 2009 and stopped to join us. He had recognised one of the Costellos present. Navigate to Patsy Turl's page to read Steve's story on this car.
The pictures above show this car in its various guises over the years; its latest configuration on the far left. Steve Whistlecroft's father is shown standing with te car in its factory rubber-bumper setup as it was when purchased from the factory (far right).
Richard Fairclough - Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK. 3500cc Mk I Roadster.
In 1984, Richard Fairclough acquired this Costello Mk I roadster which once belonged to a friend who had owned it from new. They had both driven it on a memorable two week, 3000 mile, round Europe tour not long after it emerged from the Costello Engineering workshops in 1974 and Richard had been seriously impressed. Three years on, the car was sold and disappeared from view, but nearly two decades later, Richard spotted what turned out to be the very same car in Autotrader and couldn't resist buying it. Over the next five years, he and his wife Liz used the car on a regular basis, not least as a means of ferrying their daughter Helen to school. By then the car was in need of some expensive TLC and was subsequently retired to the garage. However, a big event brought it out of retirement.
Helen - who had grown up being pretty keen on the Costello - decided she'd like to use it at her forthcoming wedding and on honeymoon - so, generous father that he was, Richard gave it to her as a wedding present. However, by arranging for it to be kept in his garage afterwards, he still has driving rights. (No fool he!) The roadster required some £15,000 worth of refurbishment - all of which was completed prior to its nuptial duties - including new doors, front wings, a full leather interior, an engine rebuild and a re-spray in Mercedes jasper blue metallic.
The car is equipped with non-original (but period) 14 x 6 Wolfrace wheels, shod with 185/60 HR14 tyres, though it still has the original SUs and a Mk I Costello badge on the rear panel. The gearbox is original, as is the Buick based engine (though it has had a new crankshaft), the front suspension has been fully re-built and the rear suspension fitted with uprated springs and Koni telescopic dampers.
'Elvis', as this 1974 Costello is affectionately known, was featured in the October edition of Classic Cars and again in MG Enthusiast (Jan. 2009). It was also awarded Best Car in the Car Park at the 2008 Harrogate North of England MGOC Weekend, which just shows how hard work - and hard cash - pays off.
See more about this car in the Articles section of the site in 'Multi-Cylindered Swap Shop' and 'Love at First Sight.'
Uwe Hoellstern - Germany. 4600cc Mk II Roadster.
Uwe bought his roadster direct from Ken in an unfinished state and had a number of problems with it, particularly with an underperforming engine which had been due for a rebuild. However, he persevered, and rather than rebuilding the original unit, decided to have the car fitted with a brand new 4.6 litre, 277bhp engine from RPI. This was followed by a good deal of general fettling.
The result is a very smart example which has provided the owner with many miles/kilometers of driving enjoyment.
Jean-Pierre Giron - Le Mans, France. 3900cc Mk II Roadster.
Gerry Wadman's car now has a new owner, Jean-Pierre Giron. His bright red, 1971-registered roadster was produced as a one-off shortly after the original 1971-72 production run. Gerry has passed on a signed sales invoice from 1987, when it was re-sold by Ken Costello, who particularly remembers the car because the first owner was a fellow pilot.
The car was originally fitted with a 3500cc Buick-based engine and has all the usual Costello attributes, plus leather upholstery, mohair hood, walnut dashboard and Moto Lita steering wheel. In 1991, the car underwent major bodywork refurbishment, involving a number of new panels and a bare metal re-spray. It also had a tuned and balanced 3900cc Oselli fast-road specification engine installed, equipped with a Holley 4-barrel carburettor on a JWR inlet manifold. The standard issue wheels have recently been changed to Minilite replicas, shod with Goodyear NCT 175/70 HR 14 tyres.
Before Gerry acquired the car, the previous custodian had owned and much enjoyed it for the past 13 years, after which family requirements prompted a change to a four-seater Morgan Plus 4. During his tenure, he says the Costello was very well looked after by his local specialist, Sussex Sportscars, who kept it in fine mechanical fettle, having sold it to him in the first place.
Peter and Wendy Collis, Devon Classic Cars - Devon, UK. 3500cc Mk II Roadster.
Peter has already finished a fabulous restoration of Brian Davey's GT, and has now completed the process of breathing new life into this Mk II, rubber bumper Roadster - MGB 88V - a car recently confirmed by Ken Costello as one of his later creations. Peter says his firm has gone through it with a fine-toothed comb and were pleasantly surprised how sound it was considering its relative state of neglect. The only major attention it required was to the paintwork, which has now been completely re-done in the original Connaught green.
The car was first registered LAC 541P on 20th August 1975 and subsequently became MGB 88V on 24th January 1980.
The last owner, Mr D Price of Plymouth, purchased the car on 1st October 1993. Thomas Lewis, the previous owner, of South Woodford, London also confirms that this car is a Costello and remembers that he personally took it to Ken's Kent premises for repair and servicing work during his ownership. He sold it because it wasn't getting the use it deserved. The same applies to the present owner.
The vehicle is now MOT'd and ready for sale, for a guide price of £15,000. More details from: www.devonclassiccars.com, or you can phone Peter direct on 01548 832393
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