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Classics

Repairs and rebuilds of classic sports and saloon cars...

Mercedes

We have a great deal of expertise in classic Mercedes and we usually have at least three being worked on at any one time.

Vintage and PV

Sports, racing and saloons from the twenties through to late pre war...

Triumphs

We have lost count of how many Triumph TRs we have rebuilt over the last 20 years. We have also rebuilt many Spitfires and GT models...

Workshops

In 2015 we moved to modern purpose built workshops. At any time our experienced staff can be working on up to 20 cars doing jobs from complete rebuilds to repairs and routine seasonal servicing...

Engines

Over the years we have rebuilt hundreds of engines. We have extensive expertise in engines dating from the turn of the century although we draw the line at modern supercars as we do not have the necessary diagnostic equipment for them. If in doubt please ask.

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Classic and Collectors Car Restoration Specialists

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1972 MGB GT Costello V8

The MGB was Abingdon's most successful sports car ever in terms of numbers sold. The only area where it could have been improved was the engine - 1800cc and 92bhp on a good day was not really enough to rival the Triumph TRs. The MGC tried to solve the problem by putting a 3 litre straight 6 in the front but it was really a bit too heavy and compromised the design.

MGB GT Costello V8

London based tuner Ken Costello solved the problem by using a Rover V8 from the P6 saloons - 3½ litres of reliable lightweight power. He built examples by buying new MGBs (roadsters and GTs) from his local main agent and changing the engines. Many still survive and are rightly prized by those who realise that this is what the excellent bodyshell was crying out for. Costello used the saloon based V8, not the Range Rover unit used in the factory MGB GT V8; the latter had enough torque to go ploughing with, but was not really a sports car engine!

This car arrived as a stripped rolling bodyshell as the owner was doing the mechanical and trim work himself. The bodyshell had already had much work done and our job was to get it right. Here the rear panel and tailgate can be seen, showing the misalignment of the tailgate. We rectified this and also fitted new wings, doors, sill structures etc. - a typical panel renewal schedule for an MGB GT shell.

The car had a Webasto fabric sunroof that the owner was keen to retain. Here is the sunroof turned inside out - doesn't look too bad does it? However, when we unwrapped the white lining it became apparent that there was a lot of rot to deal with. Here the front rail of the sunroof is seen in all its flaky glory. We re-made this piece of wood with all the cutouts for the locking mechanism and the guide pieces. The main wooden frame inside the car's roof panel also needed renewal.

Then the bodyshell was painted in a vivid MG Red. The whole car was painted, including underneath the wheel arches, inside the cockpit and the engine bay - everywhere except underneath, which the owner wanted left black. The tailgate and sunroof now fit well. Here the sunroof is opened. The white headlining has to be fitted along with the sunroof as the two link together, so this was the only piece of trim we were asked to do.

Costello MG engine bay

The engine bay now looks glorious. Close inspection might lead you to think it is damaged around the lower bulkhead area - this was done intentionally by Ken Costello to gain clearance for the V8 engine and so we left it as is. The bonnet was the one major panel that Costello changed - he made his own out of fibreglass with a big power bulge to clear the twin SU carburettors. The factory V8s by contrast modified the manifolding so that the original MGB bonnet would fit - fine, except this strangled the performance yet further.

Costello's bonnet looks like the car means business. These genuine bonnets are as rare as rocking horse droppings so we took great care to strip and repair this one prior to painting. The car then went back to its owner to have the mechanical and trim parts fitted.

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