Rebuilding Nathan sports cars

[Barry Boor]

As there seem to be many very well informed people on this forum, may I please ask if anyone knows whereabouts in Wales (for I am told it IS in Wales) there is a small workshop rebuilding (or reproducing) Costin Nathan sports cars?

I have heard of this matter from several different sources and I can tell you that Roger Nathan himself is VERY interested to find out more - for purely non-commercial reasons, I hasten to add...

[eclectic]

So for legal reasons then?

[TimD]

Intriguing - perhaps this explains how the Costin Nathan which was bent at Classic LM 2002 got put back together so bessed fast.

[Barry Boor]

"So for legal reasons then?"

Absolutely NOT!

[j w davies]

i don't know the answer but does anybody have a list of the cars Frank Costin produced in his works in Dollgelau North Wales? Costin Amigo, Marcos Ugly Duckling etc.
Mike Abbas is currently selling a Costin Gt which has recently been rebuilt by the "Costin Car Company Ltd" maybe he would know 01357 470034.

[klaus]

frank´s plywood products were the xylon, the ugly duckling,
the costin sports-racer, the costin nathan, the protos FII, and finally the costin amigo.
the costin at mike abbas is unfortunately a complete new car, but it was built under the eyes of frank, when he was still alive. so it got a changed chassis number, for not beeing mixed up with the original costin nathans of the sixties.
if you have questions for rebuilding / restoring or reproducing a car, especially frank´s plywood chassis, you may contact me.
klaus

[ss_collins]

I know of a race costin in Kent that is slowly being restored

[Al Weyman]

I used to work for Nathans in the 60's for a while, and worked ocassionaly on the GT's but more on the Imps. I remember I used to go down to a boatyard in Eel Pie Island on the Thames at Twickenham to pick up the wooden monococues (sorry can't spell I am a printer and signwriter). I was in attendance at one of the last races at Crystal Palace when we were developing the BMW engined car, if I remember rightly the car blew a brand new engine when an oil pipe worked loose after we had worked on the car all night. No guesses for who got the blame for that as I was the youngest there but I knew it was'nt me and also knew who it was and he knew too but there you go.

[Al Weyman]

I will tell you another funny story about Frank Costin, he designed the Nathan Imp suspension and when Roger wanted to drag the car out of mothballs for some tasty Dutch bird (Leana Engleman?)to race (I think he had the hots for her) he asked me to look it over and see if I could do anything about the dreadful bumpsteer. I swear I fixed the thing in a few hours much to everyones surprise, I simply turned the steering arms upside down and changed them over so the rack ran level with the bottom wishbones, it was so exact and worked so well I am conviced old Frank had designed it like this but things had got mixed up during the construction of the car, sometimes the obvious is hard to see unless fom a fresh pair of eyes.

[spiess marcel]

Hello Klaus,
Could you please send me your E-mail adress.J am the ownwer of the ex Juck Graemiger Costin-Nathan and would like to talk with you.Regards Marcel
spiessmarcel@hotmail.com

[ABB]

Hello Barry. I've been trying to contact you for two years, but Roger Nathan supplied the wrong details! I wanted to update your register details. Klaus is right about brief construction of modern Costins in Wales (including the Mike Abbas car, now sold to a new owner who is livid at the misrepresentation), but this finished about 5 years ago, and all the moulds, formers etc are now near Newport Pagnell.

[Bruce Mansell]

Hi fellas,
I have just bought the second Costin-Nathan Imp sports racer from Hansuli Buchi in Switzerland. It has been in his garage unbtouched for nearly 30 years, pevious owners were Klaus Edel and Jean Hauser who purchased it new from RNR. It arrives at my workshop this week after a bit of a sea voyage, seemed appropriate for a plywood tub car!!! Roger Nathan is aware of the purchase and will likely drive it in December in the Tasman Revival Meeting at Eastern Creek here in Sydney.
cheers
Bruce Mansell

[John Turner]

Welcome Bruce; hope you enjoy 10-Tenths!

[Al Weyman]

I would be interested to know what the condition of the marine ply tub is after all these years as they were a beautiful work of art as I recollect, if you can give us an update when it hits dry land.

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by ABB

Klaus is right about brief construction of modern Costins in Wales (including the Mike Abbas car, now sold to a new owner who is livid at the misrepresentation), but this finished about 5 years ago,

I remember seeing this car for sale for a very long time at a tempting price and along with everyone else presumed there was a story! With the change of rules re FIA papers at least the new owner should be able to race it but even so its not quite what he prehaps thought he had bought!