So, in John's own words, here are more details of his Mk I GT:
"I purchased my first MG in 1978; an MGA 1500. I modified it to go faster, but soon realised there is, as they say, no substitute for cubic capacity. MGBGT V8s were starting to appear in Australia around this time, though as second-hand imports as they were never sold here from new. One of our MGCC club members in South Australia, Craig Bastian, had bought a Teal Blue Costello GT from Melbourne and I knew instantly I wanted one. I was familiar with the Costello V8, having enthusiastically read a local magazine (the June 1972 issue of Sports Car World) which carried a report on how the Costello V8 was making waves in England.
Craig did a partial restoration on the car which included rebuilding the engine. Unfortunately for him, the inlet manifold which had been sand blasted and powder coated was replaced without ensuring it was totally free of residual sand. Only moments after the newly refurbished engine burst into life, it went right off song, having ingested the gritty contamination. As luck would have it, I was at Craig's house the night it was about to be started again after a second rebuild. I was the only one present who was not in grubby work clothes and Craig asked me to get in and start it. He didn't have to ask twice. It fired up and ran clean and sweet; I was hooked. Without hesitation, I told Craig if he ever wanted to sell it, he was to let me know.
I didn't have long to wait, as only about 12 months later I had a call from Craig to ask if I was serious about buying the Costello. Yes! That was in 1981, and it became the youngest car I had ever owned. It had 34,000 miles on the clock, although Craig later told me he had disconnected the speedo cable. Any car that Craig ever owned (and there were many) was always potentially for sale.
At this stage the car was pure Costello, but unfortunately without the egg crate grill or the alloy wheels - and the V8 Costello badge had been stolen in transit by rail from Melbourne. It did have however (and still does) a Paddy Hopkirk competition-style driver's seat. The interior had been re-trimmed by Craig with ribbed cloth inserts replacing the originals. The bonnet bulge concealed the original opposed SU Carbs in the Vand Rover air cleaner.
I loved the tractability and power of the engine, which could happily accelerate cleanly from idle in top gear. Stir the gear box and it showed the performance that had been trumpeted in the magazine article I had read in high school nine years before. I began using the car in club competition and it would easily beat the few factory V8s that were around at the time. In motorkhanas (slalom type events) it was only slightly quicker than my MGA and slower on some courses. I always felt the MGA was a slightly better handling car on tight corners.
The first MG National Meeting I competed in with the Costello was at Canberra in 1982. I even towed the MGA on a trailer behind the Costello, so I could enter both cars. To my great pleasure I took a clean sweep with the Costello - 1st place in the MGBGT V8 class in both the motorkhana and the speed event, and a hill climb in which I also took outright honours. MG National Meetings also have a Concours event (which I could never win) as although the rules had been amended to allow a Costello GT to compete with the factory cars, I lost points for 'lack of originality'. I didn't mind as Concours is not that important to me. It's interesting to note that I received quite a bit of ribbing about the Costello being a hot rod and not a genuine MGBGT V8. For a while, some members called the bonnet bulge 'the toilet seat', due to its likeness to that well known household appliance. Some people can be so unkind.
As time went on, I continued to have success until some modified factory V8s began competing. I had never wanted to modify the Costello too much, as it would destroy its provenance and it would become yet another modified MGB, like the many local V8 conversions then coming on the scene.
Tragedy struck in 1989, when I had a road accident which did considerable damage to the car. Due to circumstances at the time and ongoing, it was not until 1997 that the car was back on the road. This was partly due to an early appraisal by a repairer who suggested that I get another body shell, which was unthinkable. Eventually, I found a master repairer who worked miracles to get the car square again. There were, of course, some new panels required, including the front left mudguard, door skin and rear quarter panel. It was a great day when I drove the car again - repainted in blue naturally; a shade of my own creation now known to me as 'Costello Blue'.
The 1998 MG National Meeting was in Tasmania and although I didn't enter the event, I went to the island state on holiday at around the same time. Whilst touring around, I encountered a group of fellow MG owners who were doing likewise. 'So it's a genuine Costello', they said admiringly. How times have changed, I thought, it's gone from 'hot rod' to 'genuine'.
I again began competing in the car with some success, but by the end of 1999 it became apparent the engine, which had now done over 50,000 miles in my ownership, was getting a bit tired. It wouldn't keep the oil on the inside any more when pushed hard and it didn't have the punch I wanted.
A rebuild began with the block being bored 30thou over-size and flat top pistons fitted to retain the 10.5 to 1 compression ratio. The crank was ground 10thou and fully balanced along with the clutch and flywheel. New bearings were used throughout of course, together with new cam followers and a slightly non-standard cam. The heads received a bit of work, but retained the original valves. The block-hugger extractors have also been retained for originality, as I just love the exhaust note they generate. The car came back to life in April 2000 and is still going strong.
I had never wanted to compromise the car for road use, but I have made a number of useful changes over the years. To keep the rear end under control, telescopic shockers and anti-tramp bars have been added, together with an extra main leaf to each of the springs. Of most benefit was the fitting of a Quaife limited slip diff. I also changed the standard Costello remote oil filter adapter on the engine end cover with an aftermarket version of the factory part in order to create more clearance between it and the steering rack, and changed the Rover 'tin can' air cleaner with a pair of K&N.
As a Mk I Costello, my car featured Morris Cooper S engine mounts, which it continually broke. This was most disconcerting when it happened in mid-corner under acceleration. The cure was the design and fitting of an engine steady rod from the lifting eye bolt on the right hand cylinder head across to the bulkhead on the other side. I haven�t had a mount failure since, although I always replace them whenever the engine is out. This has happened a few times over the years in order to repair the gearbox or replace the clutch, both of which have failed in service several times. Incidentally, the gearbox is the original MGB unit with overdrive. Again, I have resisted fitting the modern 5 speed alternatives for the sake or originality.
One area where I was looking for change was the wheels. The car was originally fitted with Rostyle wheels which I have never liked. I first fitted a set of gold 'hot wire' style wheels, reminiscent of the Simmons wheels fitted to Porsches at the time. Later, a set of 5 spoke 'Bathurst' wheels were fitted, which were then standard on the famous Ford Falcon GTHO and were not dissimilar to the MGB LE wheels. Saving the best till last, eventually a local alloy manufacturer began producing MiniLite replicas and I had the first set of 15x6 inch wheels they made. Unfortunately they have ten spokes not eight. However, they eventually got round to making eight spoke versions - and I now have a set of those for road use and have kept the ten-spokers for competition use with sticky tyres.
The car didn't have the eggcrate grill insert, but retained the factory recessed black grill which again I never liked. Fortunately neither did Craig, so he had replaced it with the chrome V8 style, which is much better and keeps faith with the traditional MG look.
I now also have a pure competition MGBGT V8, which I predominantly use in competition and the Costello is my weekend fun car, though it does still have occasional competition outings. I will never sell it. In fact, I have expressed the desire that when I die, I wish to be cremated and my ashes ground to a fine powder. I then want the Costello and my ashes to be taken to Collingrove Hill Climb in the Barossa Valley, which is my favourite motor sport venue. There, the air filters are to be removed from the engine, which is then to be started and my ashes sucked through the carburettors and blown out the exhaust.
Don't think I'm not serious...... "
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Before you read more about John's Mk I Costello GT below, select the links below to download the 2010 Costello Calendar. This fabulous piece of artwork contains 12 of the cars showcased on this site. If you have any queries you would like to pitch to John about his cartographic skills, or indeed about his car, feel free to contact him directly by emailing him at jke17923@bigpond.net.au.
