New to V8's and after some history on my Dave Vale car

[Craig]

Hello everyone, I am pretty ignorant regarding V8 history in general apart from the early Costello's which everyone knows about. I have just acquired a 1980 MGB V8 (FJH 246V) which was converted by the V8 Conversion Company in 1986 by the original owner. I have all the records from new in 1980 inc original invoice and the full build sheet from the V8 Conversion company written by Dave Vale confirming it was a "no expense spared" conversion for the owner inc new gold seal engine/gbox/axel/suspension/brakes etc etc etc. It cost just over £6K to convert in 86, which was more than the chap paid for the car brand new in 1980. £6K in 86 bought you a lot of car......

Anyway i just wanted to know what the relationship was between Dave Vale and Costello and if the car is essentially a costello conversion albeit under the supervision of the next owner? What was the relationship between DV and KC?

Many thanks in advance.

I am really looking forward to the restoration as the bodywork is a bit crusty at the edges but the core is solid and mechanicals in very good shape. I was considering a sebring kit but if the car is a bit special will keep it original.

[lawrencew]

Hello Craig, Dave Vale and Ken Costello were partners in the Costello Engineering Ltd business for a few years (with two further partners too). For various personal and professional reasons they parted ways - largely due the sudden fall in demand of their V8 powered cars - sometime in the mid 70s. Ken turned his attention to his gearbox development and flying light aircraft. Dave set up V8 Conversions and continued his work but under a new name. So your car is not strictly a Costello as it was a different company that built it, but in essence it is very much the same. There are likely some differences and updates which set it apart. I doubt those changes would affect its value very much. Still a sought after and fun car. Share some pictures if you like and I'll make a post on the website. My contact details are on the welcome page. Good luck. Lawrence Wood.

Craig wrote

Hello everyone, I am pretty ignorant regarding V8 history in general apart from the early Costello's which everyone knows about. I have just acquired a 1980 MGB V8 (FJH 246V) which was converted by the V8 Conversion Company in 1986 by the original owner. I have all the records from new in 1980 inc original invoice and the full build sheet from the V8 Conversion company written by Dave Vale confirming it was a "no expense spared" conversion for the owner inc new gold seal engine/gbox/axel/suspension/brakes etc etc etc. It cost just over £6K to convert in 86, which was more than the chap paid for the car brand new in 1980. £6K in 86 bought you a lot of car...... Anyway i just wanted to know what the relationship was between Dave Vale and Costello and if the car is essentially a costello conversion albeit under the supervision of the next owner? What was the relationship between DV and KC? Many thanks in advance. I am really looking forward to the restoration as the bodywork is a bit crusty at the edges but the core is solid and mechanicals in very good shape. I was considering a sebring kit but if the car is a bit special will keep it original.

[Craig]

thanks Lawrence, very informative. There is so much conflicting info on the costello cars. so i guess in summary upto about 76ish they were costello engineering cars with Dave Vale as a partner at which time they went their separate ways for Ken to do his thing and Dave Vale carried on the mantle of converting the cars the same Costello way using the same Costello engineering designed parts, improving as he went, under his own company The V8 conversion company. Ken essentially stopped converting cars in the late 70's and Dave continued until much later (any idea when)???? So it appears to me there are two types of "costello" then? Those made by Ken/Dave et al as Costello Engineering and those made by Dave Vale et al as The V8 conversion company without Ken at the helm? All using the same parts by the same team more or less. Have i got that right? Sounds like there should be a sub section on your register for these cars eh? I bet there cant have been many fully converted cars done in house as it was horrendously expensive and they also supplied the costello designed parts for DIY conversions. All very interesting and once again thank you very much. If you want to know more about the car or get a copy of the build sheet etc let me know as i have loads of paperwork with the car from the conversion by Dave Vale. I may have a lesser car in significance to the early shall we say "pucker" Costellos but i guess its essentially the same car if not better than the early ones? Would that be fair or grossly offensive?