2012 News
To provide a complete history of all our News items over the years, here is the complete thread from 2012.
9th November 2012: Another GT joins the fold
Another Costello has come to the fore; a fabulous MkI GT, proudly owned for 24 years by Richard and Pam Darby in the West Midlands.
Read more about this lovely car in The Cars section.
5th November: What’s better than owning two Costello MGs? Three, of course!
Avid collector and MG Costello enthusiast Peter Brodt has added to his MkII Roadster and MkI GT with yet another Costello - a MkII Roadster. History on the car is thin at the moment, but it’s a British registered car and one which Ken recognises. See more details in The Cars section.
25th October: More Eggbox grilles on order
Another batch of reproduction powder-coated eggbox grilles are on order from the manufacturers. Three are already sold. If you need one, let Lawrence know as soon as possible.
16th October: Ben Mullaert’s Roadster for sale
Ben’s car was once owned by the former Belgian prime minister and has all the correct Costello modifications—recessed inlet manifold, more powerful brakes, reinforced sports-suspension, Minilite wheels, radiator grille and more. It is a shame to hear Ben needs to sell it but it’s new owner will no doubt be inheriting a fabulous car from Marreyt Classics.
27th September: MGB50 A Great (damp) Success
A total of 7 Costellos survived the driving rain to enjoy the 50th anniversary celebrations of the MGB, at Blenheim Palace on the 23rd September. Both Richard Fairclough’s and Lawrence Wood’s MkI Roadsters were stars on the Time Line, a showcase of the most influential and important MGBs to be manufactured. All participants received plaques for the day, and a commemorative book was published including a two-page spread about the Costello story. This was recently reviewed in Octane magazine too.
Pictures of the event are coming in slowly so once we have a sufficient number, a new Gallery will be uploaded. Watch this space for more news.
15th September: When One Costello is Not Enough
David Wiggins has decided to put up for sale his recently restored MkI GT. Not wanting to be without a car for long he briskly purchased Steve Minns’ green MkI GT, so he currently joins Peter Brodt in the enviable position of owning two Costellos. David’s car is for sale via Gerry Wadman at Sussex Sports Cars:
11th September: New Website!
And you’re looking at it! Three months of compiling, downloading and editing to a far more stable platform before and here it is. Bear with the authors whilst a few gremlins are fixed, but in the meantime enjoy the popular Gathering reports, updated photos and some news on many of our “members’” cars.
5th September: MGB50 Anniversary Gathering at Blenheim Palace
Tickets are now only available for this event on the door (24th September, Blenheim, Oxfordshire). So far some 5 Costellos are confirmed to attend, with Lawrence Wood’s Roadster (gratefully driven by Laurie Way in the owner’s absence) representing our favourite MG marque in the Time Line parade on the day. More details of the day’s events here: http://www.mgb50.com.
22nd April: New Zealand Roadster in New Ownership
Iain Barraclough's one owner MkII Roadster has been sold to Barry Keene, who has wasted no time in carrying out some fettling work on his investment, bringing the car a little more up to date, purchasing a MkII badge and Certificate of Authenticity. Barry will be sending over new photos of the car soon, and also plans on driving to the South Island to visit the only other Costello in the country, belonging to Ron Macauley.
1st September: Restoration News
Charlie Marchant has been in touch to inform the site that the Marchant Costello GT project is set for completion in the winter of 2012. We look forward to seeing some pictures of this fabulous MkI car—one of which Ken approved at the Inaugural Gathering in 2008—and hopefully on a Costello Gathering in 2013.
1st August: Costellos at the Le Mans Classic
Pictures and details of the Le Mans Classic event are now available on the Gatherings page. Three Costellos attended this fabulous biannual event in France, enjoying their own “Costello Register” private infield parking, and four fast and furious laps of the La Sarthe circuit. Many thanks once again to Pierre Damiron for organising this for us.
30th June: Costellos at Le Mans Classic:
Three Costellos will be attending this fabulous biannual event on 7th and 8th July, and will be parking on a Costello club display in the centre field of La Sarthe circuit. The highlight of the weekend will be the chance to experience this unique circuit - only open to racing for 2 days of every year - by driving some parade laps on the Saturday. Let's hope there will be no Anthony Davidson moments! The Costellos attending will be Thierry Denant's MkI GT, Pierre Damiron's MkII GT and Lawrence Wood's MkI Roadster. Expect a full report on this soon.
15th June: Events coming up in 2012
There is still plenty to be involved with this year with your Costello. A brief selection is here:
· Silverstone Classic - Silverstone, July 20th to 22nd. The ever-popular, and rapidly growing, Silverstone Classic is also featuring the MGB with special events happening as well. This is on the 20-22 July.
See www.silverstoneclassic.com for more details.
· MGB 50th Birthday - Blenheim Palace - September 23rd. The Blenheim Palace event on Sunday 23rd September is the big one for our Costellos. Lawrence's car has been chosen to represent the Marque and will therefore be on display with all the other MGB variants. The organisers do however want as many Costello's at Blenheim as possible.
The only problem will be the volume of cars expected on the day; in excess of 3,000 MG's! Due to large number of cars attending there will be one car park area for MGB-bodied MG's to include MGBs, MGCs, V8s and Costellos. However, the organisers are unable to have separate locations for groups of cars. Therefore, once we have a number of Costellos interested in attending we will organise a meeting away from Blenheim where we will all join up then drive to Blenheim in convoy. In doing this all the non-Lawrence Costellos should then all be parked together.
If you wish to attend, you will need to book tickets by the 10th August - all proceeds are going to Macmillan Cancer Support so there will be no free tickets to those displaying cars or attending. Tickets and other details can be purchased via the www.mgb50.com website. If you plan to attend, please let Lawrence know and he'll co-ordinate (email him).
10th May: Restorations News
Phil Rule has finally been able to begin the complete rebuild of his Mk I GT which has been tucked away in his garage under the weight of bicycles, push chairs and old duvets. Phil will be sending us regular updates and photos as the restoration progresses. This should prove to be a fascinating insight into how to build a Costello MG. Phil's enthusiasm for this knows no bounds, so watch this space for an exciting story.
14 February: Another Costello on this website....
Lee Thomas has been in touch with details of his late MkII rubber bumper GT - one of the very last cars Ken modified until production on the fuel-injected MkIIIs began in the 1990s. Lee will be joining several other Costellos at Brands Hatch in early May. Read more about his car in the GT section.
15th January: Costellos at the Le Mans Classic, 6th to 8th July
2012 sees the return of the biannual Le Mans Classic - comparable with the Goodwood Revival for thrilling, close vintage and classic car racing, access to paddocks, cars and drivers. These races run through the night over a 24 hour period - something not to be missed.
We now have the opportunity to park our cars on a dedicated stand in the infield over the weekend. In order to do so, we need a minimum of 10 cars. As of 15th January we have only 5. The deadline is 30th January to confirm and commit. Please get in touch with Lawrence urgently if you care able to join in this great event and put Costello on the map in France!
10th January: Happy New Year Costello Fans!
Sorry the first news item of 2012 is a little late, but very best wishes to all of you Costello owners, drivers and fans all over the world. We hope to have more events than ever in 2012 to which you can bring your car and meet other enthusiasts. Keep an eye on the Forum and the News pages to see what's in store.
20 February: Brands Hatch Gathering in May now has 11 Costello cars confirmed as attending!
Plans for a Gathering of Costellos at Brands Hatch on the 5th May have gone well with 11 cars now confirmed as attending. We are confident Ken himself will be able to attend this one as it is not far from his Kent home; Brands is of course the scene of many a Costello triumph, including part of the final round of the 1967 British Saloon Car Championship, which Ken won.
Getting any kind of usage is a rare event. Despite the day being an MG meeting, there will be no chance for us to drive on track. The Brittens Parade area is where clubs are invited to display their cars at race meetings. As exhibitors therefore, we will receive free entry to the race meeting and vouchers towards lunch at the track restaurant.
Roger Anderson (MkI GT) is organising for us lunch, dinner and a drive on the Sunday to complete what should be a splendid Costello-themed weekend. Please get in touch immediately with Lawrence Wood if you too wish to attend.