15 November 2013: Llion Williams’ GT up for sale

Son Jac is keen that the car goes to a good home who will cherish it and bring it back to its former glory. Just a little light fettling is required. So if anyone fancies a project for the winter then please drop Jac a line with an offer. The car is based in Colwyn Bay, North Wales.

 

Details: EKN 904K, first registered 02nd March 1972. The previous owner (Raymond Denton, from London) sold the car to Llion via Wrexham MG in North Wales. Originally black, the car was soon subjected to a full rebuild and a professional re-spray. It has the Buick engine block with twin choke DCOE 45 carbs, hence no bulge in the bonnet. The is car is therefore an early MkII. The original eggbox grille is neatly in place and V8 Costello badge also on the boot panel.

 

Contact  jacllyrwilliams at gmail.com for more information.

 

23rd September: Trevor Crane’s Restoration

Upon stumbling over this Costello website, Trevor Crane was compelled to inform us of his current restoration project; a 1966 MGB Costello GT  (MYT 2D) which he converted himself using purchased Costello parts before the BL V8 was launched. The car has been laid up for over 12 years so needs some attention. We hope to hear more from Trevor as the project progresses.

 

21st September: Peter Brodt sells another Costello!

This time our busy Frankfurt friend has sold his MkII Roadster, originally owned by James Ostler, to Michaele Schupp. The car now resides in Aachen, Germany, and we look forward to hearing from Michaele soon on his recent, astute purchase.

 

18th September: Owners old and new reunited

Avid and active Costello collector Peter Brodt (Frankfurt, Germany) has purchased the Peter Roscoe MkI Roadster—one of only four verified cars in the world today. The car needs some final commissioning before it is ready for road trials. Nigel Bryant—the original owner—has been put in touch with Peter and they have begun sharing stories and anecdotes about the car’s history. The Internet can be a wonderful thing sometimes! We look forward to seeing Peter’s car next year, perhaps with a rueful Nigel in the passenger seat.

 

15th September: Costello GT Confirmed to Race At Birkett Relay, Snetterton, OCtober

Lawrence Wood’s 3900cc V8 GT will be racing in a team comprising a 1968 911 Porsche, 1966 Cooper Bobtail and 1968 Lotus 23B. The Birkett Historic Relay Race, run by the famous 750 Motor Club, will be held at Snetterton Circuit first weekend of November and marks the end of the first season for our rookie Costello racing driver. If you wish to cheer him on expect qualifying to be on the Saturday morning, with the race soon after lunch. Bring an umbrella!

 

01 September: Heather Run...to Run again in 2014?

Plans are afoot by the ever popular Richard Fairclough (MkI Roadster, Yorkshire, UK) to stage a re-running of the Heather Run—a Costello Gathering held in Yorkshire in October 2010 which saw the owners of 6 Costellos enjoy piloting their cars over fast sweeping roads on the Yorkshire Moors. Dates are not set as yet, but this could happen in May, 2014. More on this soon…

 

23rd August: Second, and only other MGC Costello comes to light?

Costello Engineering Ltd only ever built two V8 cars from original MGC shells; one is owned by Andrew Johnson and is showcased on this site under the GT Cars section. The other might just be owned by a recent contributor to the Costello Forum who remembers work carried out by Mike the Pipe, and Ken’s original engine mounting modifications relating to the MGC. More news on this exciting discovering as it unfolds...

 

06th May: MGLive Tickets for sale

Tickets are for sale for this MG festival at Silverstone. This promises to be a fabulous weekend of all things MG; scenic tours, track laps, sprints, rocker box racing and a full programme on the track. The racing will include our own Lawrence Wood racing his Costello GT in the MGCC Thoroughbred Sports Car Championship, and possibly on the Sunday afternoon in an allcomers 50minute endurance event. For information on the event and ticket pricing, navigate to the link above. Bring your own Costello and let’s have a Gathering!

 

22nd April: New Zealand Costello Changes Hands

News from Barry Keene (MkII Roadster) in New Zealand tells us that Ron Macauley has sold his MkII Costello Roadster to a Robert Jackson, based in Hamilton. So now there are two MkII Costello Roadsters on the North Island, and a further two Costellos across the Tasman in South Australia (a MkI GT and a MkI Roadster—the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere). We hope to hear from Robert soon, and see some pictures of both cars together.

 

18th April: All “MG V8” books now sold.

Our pre-order copies of David Knowles’ excellent publication on the MG V8 have now sold out. Thank you to all of you who purchased a copy. The Costello chapter is excellent and provides a thorough and non-biased account of the David vs Goliath story with which we are all no so familiar.

 

12th April: Peter Roscoe’s Costello on eBay

Peter’s very tidy, and rare, MkI Roadster is now available for bids on eBay, should you fancy a Costello of your own. Here’s the link:

10th April: Lost Costello Almost Found

Richard Perry has been in touch with some interesting history on one of the “Lost Costellos”, 66UFC. He bought it in 1977 from the manager of the Epson cinema in Surrey. We believe Bob Farquarson (who has also provided some great photos) bought it soon after Richard sold it. Its whereabouts today remain a mystery butmgcostello.com is certain it no longer wears the plate 66UFC. The search continues...

12th August: Ultra-rare MkI Roadster for sale

Clearly running a Costello race car and owning a MkI roadster has become too much for Lawrence Wood who has offered his MkI Roadster for sale, currently via Slade’s Garage in Penn, Buckinghamshire. This car is one of the very first cars to be modified to V8 power by Costello Engineering and is known to be one of only four such MkI Roadsters in the world today. Contact Lawrence directly or Slade’s for more information.

 

07th August: Another Costello GT is back on the road!

Several Costello owners met Oliver Marchant and his family at the first Costello Gathering in Tilford, Surrey some years ago. At the time, his red Costello MkI GT (LLP265K) arrived on a trailer in the early days of a restoration project. Admired by Ken himself at the time, and now after 21 years laid-up, this car has now been completely re-built. As Oliver is now 21 years old, he  is looking forward to driving it to the Goodwood Revival next month for its first outing since 1992. We look forward to seeing some photographs of the unveiling!

 

01st July: Costello Racing Success!

In only his third race Lawrence Wood enjoying some success at the MG Live! Event at Silverstone last month by finishing 9th out of 32 runners, piloting his Costello GT racecar. This was on the full Formula One International circuit—one of the fastest and most flowing of all the current F1 tracks. On the Sunday he took part in a 50-minute Endurance race, open to allcomers, and managed a 15th overall with third in class. He was gallantly cheered on by other Costello owners Andrew Johnson (MGC GT) and Laurie Way (MkI GT Sebring) and their wives. Lawrence has two more races in 2013 to look forward to; Donington and Snetterton.

 

30th June: Stuttgart Gathering report

Thanks to Juergen and Heike Hauber (MkIII Roadster) for the notes from the Black Forest meeting, and for some great photographs too. More of these will be in the Gallery very soon.

30thJune: Updates to Harry Irvine and Llion Williams profiles

Browse the Roadsters and GT sections to read more about Harry’s MkII Roadster and Llion’s MkII GT (which is for sale, based in North Wales, UK).

 

16th May: Welcome Hubert Jansen to the Costello-owning Community

Hubert has sensibly relieved multiple-Costello-owning Peter Brodt of one of his charges - a Mk II Roadster. This British registered car now resides in Aachen and Hubert hopes to bring it along to the Black Forest Gathering this weekend. Little is know about this car to date but Ken Costello has verified -  from supporting photographs that it was one of the last cars he modified to V8 power. We look forward to meeting Hubert and hearing more about the car as the investigation continues.

 

10th May: Final preparations complete for the 2013 European Costello Gathering in Stuttgart

Juergen Hauber (MkIII Roadster) has been busy finalising his organisation of the Stuttgart and Black Forest Gathering which takes place next weekend in Germany. Costellos will meet at 6pm at the Hotel Kulinarium an der Glems in Stuttgart and enjoy a few laps of the  original F1 Solitude-ring circuit—now public roads. A group photograph will be taken at the Solitude Castle. Saturday will see tours of the Porsche and Daimler museums followed by a spirited drive around the roads of the beautiful Black Forest. Dinner will be courtesy of a traditional biergarten (driving not recommended!). More driving in the Forest on Sunday morning followed by a healthy lunch and departures. So it’s not too late to join in. Contact Juergen if you would like to join in thisannual European Costello Gathering.

 

08th May: Team Costello up and Racing

The only actively racing MG Costello GT in the world make its first appearance on-track in ten years last weekend  - exactly a year to the day that Ken Costello attended the Brands Hatch UK Gathering. Lawrence Wood (MkI Roadster) was the rookie pilot of this fearsome 3900cc, 260bhp beast. Nearly deafened in the process our faithful rookie kept it altogether to finish in a respectable position after two races — his first ever in competition.  Next race is at the MG Live event 15th/16th June. Bring your own Costello along and show your support!

 

5th April: Picture Galleries Updated

The pictures of the Costello cars in the Galleries have been updated to reflect those sent in to mgcostello.comby their owners, and also from recent Gatherings. These include shots from Richard Darby (MkI GT), Lee Thomas (MkII GT), Llion Williams (MkII GT), Peter Roscoe (MkI Roadster), Juergen Kuhnle (MkIII Roadster) and Peter Brodt (MkI GT, MkII Roadster). Enjoy the pictures here.

 

30th March: Another MkII GT Surfaces

Jac Williams has been in contact with mgcostello.com to give details of his father’s MkII GT, tucked away hiding from the rains of North Wales. A profile of this dark green 1972 GT will be compiled shortly. Llion Wililams has owned the car since 1989 and has enjoyed taking it on runs around the Snowdon National Park of late but now through lack of use has decided to sell his Costello. More details will follow but look out for the profile coming soon.

04th March: “Lost” Costello finally surfaces

Owner Peter Roscoe has come forward with the great news that his car  - a very rare Mk I Roadster  - is still very much in his ownership, running well on the roads of Dorset, UK. However, the time has come to sell the car but under the caveat it finds a good home. Peter will send more details. There are now three of us who have more than one Costello so we’re pretty confident Peter’s MkI will find a good home. Nigel Bryant, the original owner, wrote to mgcostello.com in 2012 with a touching story of how he came about owning the same vehicle. Having lost contact with both the car and the new owner, hopefully mgcostello.com will bring them back together.

 

28th February: Lawrence Wood’s MkI GT Racer Update

Thought to be the only Costello in active track competition, Lawrence’s GT is undergoing an extensive rebuild, but adhering to as much originality as the MSA rules allow. All new brakes, lines, harnesses, seats, and extinguisher systems have been fitted with expertise from Phoenix Restorations of High Wycombe  - the original team that built the car in 2003. Forged pistons and a new TVR T5 gearbox are also being fitted in time for both the TSCC and BCV8 Championships opening races in April. It is thought the car will be a lot faster than the driver for most of the season!

 

06th February: Phil Rule’s MkI GT Restoration Progress

Retired Policeman and Costello fanatic Phil Rule has finally extracted his GT from the garage and strip-down has begun. Supporting photos clearly show where Ken Costello had to hammer part of the inner wings to create space for the Rover V8 block, sometime back in 1972. This is one of the giveaways when trying to identify a Costello. Phil hopes to complete the restoration in 2013, perhaps even in time for a UK jaunt in the late Autumn. More news as it comes.

 

19th January: New Costello Owner in contact

Michael Baggs is the proud new owner of David Wiggins’ MGC-bonneted MkII GT. With interest expressed in attending the Black Forest Gathering, Michael sounds keen to meet other owners and we warmly welcome him to the growing Costello community. David meanwhile will have to make do with just the one Costello GT.

 

10th January: Black Forest Gathering—book your hotel now!

Our chosen hotel in Frankfurt will be holding a group booking in the Costello name only until 15th January. If you wish to come and join in this fabulous weekend of driving in the Black Forest, please call the hotel to book your place. Contact Juergen (juergen.hauber@yahoo.de), or Lawrence (lolwood@yahoo.co.uk) for hotel details and any more information you require on the Gathering itself. Looking forward to seeing you in Germany!

 

06th January: “Missing” Swiss Costello GT identified

A Swiss-based V8 fan has identified the Swiss-plated Mk I GT in the “Lost Costellos” page as that which once belonged to his god-father. We are fairly certain that the car is still in Switzerland and await further news following a local investigation.

 

05th January: Costello Racing Team re-established!

Garry Heath’s brave and exciting racing project, mothballed since 2004 has been reborn by Lawrence Woodwho will be campaigning this Mk I GT in the UK Thoroughbred Sports Car Championship. Lawrence will be writing a blog on his experiences in this, his novice season behind the wheel of a race car. He has obtained his National B race license from his home in Dubai, UAE and cannot wait to get behind the wheel of the Buckinghamshire-based car. First though, a new T5 gearbox is required! Could this have been the Costello Team Ken never quite managed to forge? Keep an eye out for updates….

 

01st January: Happy New Year to all Costello owners and fanatics alike! Last year saw the busiest year our unofficial “club” has enjoyed since its formation some 5 years ago. However, most of the Northern Europe cars took a beating from the inclement weather so we hope 2013 will have the elements granting more of our cars the chance to show themselves.

 

More Costellos have changed hands than in recent years and values have risen considerably over the factory V8 counterparts. This seems to be largely a result of their rarity - less than 65 are known to exist and less than 40 are on the road - but also due to the renewed interest in these powerful classics as seen in Octane andAuto Retro of late.

 

Events to look forward to this year include our annual international get-together, this year in the German Black Forest. Juergen Hauber has kindly volunteered to manage this one and numbers are already booking fast.