Crazy video

[Chryco Psycho]

The amount of time & $$ spent is insane

 

[budascuda]

On the account of his t shirt, that's what happens when you are always high on shrooms !

 

[fasjac]

That is incredible!
Thanks for sharing that, wow!

The amount of time & $$ spent is insane

 

[RCodeCuda]

The amount of time & $$ spent is insane

This is Rich Costello’s collection in Robertsville, Missoura.

Rich got most of these cars for next to nothing back in the day way before anyone thought they would be valuable some day. He began working on Mopars at his Dad’s body shop (Arnold Collision Experts) located in Arnold, Missoura in 1976 when he was just 14 years old. The Costello’s were in with all the local tow truck/wrecker drivers way back throughout the years that were hauling Mopars to the crusher. Rich would pay a little more than scrap prices and a case of Busch beer to the tow truck drivers so he has a **** ton of parts. Funny thing with Rich is he’s the type guy where your money is no good to him; he really never used to sell any cars or parts.

I’m surprised they didn’t show his 71 Hemi Cuda; that was his crown jewel...

 

[Cuda Hunter]

That was amazing! Hemi car after hemi car only to be broken up by 440 cars.
With all that, I stopped on every shelf and looked at every fender and door and did not find one part that was off of an m46 car.
I wonder if he has any of those M46's in the field of cars they mention.

Can that host ask Steve what the plan is with the cars any more times. I mean, he tells us that the cars are just sitting, like every single car. Obviously.

Does anyone know how to contact the owner? I would like to ask about any scoops for the m46. Perhaps he has cut a few of these cars up.

Who is Steve?

 

[rklein71]

Where is Missoura located?

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Steve is apparently the creator of the 4 door cuda.
I thought that was dave wise?

 

[RCodeCuda]

Where is Missoura located?

Sorry, I actually lived in Missoura around 20 years ago. I used to call it Missouri before I lived there but I guess I hung out with too many locals & Mopar guys that worked at Chrysler in Fenton. So the thing you have to understand is these guys are very skeptical of outsiders in these parts (Jefferson & Franklin County). If you order your food in a restaurant and they ask you how you want like it, you respond "Missoura-style." No ****! You also only drink either of two beverages; Busch or Natty Light and you definitely cheer for and wear Cardinals apparel. Sorry to get off point, just reliving memory lane.

Anyhow, so I had Rich Costello do work for me 20-25 years ago. He was working out of Arnold, Missoura in his shop; Arnold Collision Experts. He was doing late model vehicle collision repair work and doing Mopar restos on the side. He had a ton of Mopars (cars & parts) in buildings and behind the buildings. It appeared like in the video; **** everywhere! Not organized. In fact Rich had a dual plug Hemi engine sitting on the floor of his office that he used as a foot rest; I'll never forget that. Anyhow, the City of Arnold was getting on his case to get rid of all of his stuff/**** as the city was being redeveloped; from 40-50 year old buildings/crap/etc., to new strip malls/chain restaurants/etc. That is what they reference in the video about having to move.

Regarding the work I had done, it was a complete and utter disaster. Rich didn't do it himself but his workers did and it was subpar at best; and I'm not trying to be nasty here. The thing you have to understand is the shop area, as in the videos, is just full of **** and clutter--nothing is organized. My car went in for some work and came out with tons of scratches that I know weren't there beforehand. So dealing with Rich, and he can be a total hot head with a raging temper, he gets all defensive and says his guys didn't do that. Starts trying to say they are not scratches but mars and are not a big deal as they will buff out. That's what really turned me off about him. I've seen his work (that he does himself) and it is very nice but you will have a freshly painted E body in his shop area and then some guy working on the engine with no fender protector wearing a belt buckle; I'm not kidding. Perhaps with cameras on cell phones these days you can, and should, take a billion pics of your car before you have ANYONE work on your vehicle. Much better technology now than late 90's/early 00's. So again, I'm not trying to be a duck here; but his shop in Arnold looked just like his shop on his property.

Steve Been used to work with Dave Walden (aka E.C.S.) and is essentially Rich Costello's Mopar "caretaker." Steve helped build the cars that Dave Walden showed at the Nats; such as the 4 door Cuda. Last I heard, and this was years ago, Rich Costello was operating a shop out of Pacific, Missoura. Not sure if it is still in business or what; you can probably Google that. But like I said before, I'd be surprised if they are actually selling any cars/parts so I'm not sure what the whole motivation of the video is but perhaps things changed (health issue/realizing he'll never restore all of the cars/owes a ton of back taxes and needs cash/etc) and Rich is looking to liquidate or severely purge his stash. Good luck...

 

[Cuda Hunter]

Are you the videoer?

Thanks for the info. Dave Walden, of course, not dave wise.

I doubt any of that awesome stuff would fall into my lap. I would only hope he would get rid of a rusty bh car that he doesn't care about.

 

[RCodeCuda]

Are you the videoer?

Thanks for the info. Dave Walden, of course, not dave wise.

I doubt any of that awesome stuff would fall into my lap. I would only hope he would get rid of a rusty bh car that he doesn't care about.

No, I'm not the videographer. I live in D.C. now, and have for about 15 years, but met/knew a lot of the St. Louis Mopar crowd 20-25 years ago. I do recall Rich Costello doing the haunted house stuff back then; apparently with the videographer "Spookhouse Larry." That Halloween stuff is big back in St. Louis. Anyhow, you can comment on the YouTube video if you are interested in cars/parts and supposedly they will reply to you.

The whole video thing of Rich's property/stash is kind of strange to me. I'm not saying Rich Costello is a recluse but when I knew him he was definitely a private person and he wasn't publically showing off his Mopar stash. Since a lot of his stuff sat outside, he didn't want folks knowing about it where they would just go and steal stuff from him. When I knew him, no one's money was good enough for him; he wasn't selling anything. But perhaps things changed.

Good luck & keep us posted if anything pans out.

 

[Challenger RTA]

What a waste,99% of that stuff will be nothing at some point. failure is product of not having a plan and following through.Not saying he is a failure. I think he might run out of time. I worked jobs a few $ thousands to $Billions. Dreams are made of this and they become nightmares. This can't be unseen now I going to have nightmares of them going to waste. And to think of the number of mopars built in that era is only a fraction. Those are noting.once they a fixed there has to be buyers in the market that can afford them. If their fixed or sold as is. of Oh yeah Tanks for bring this video to us. I have my own issues let alone the kettle calling the pot black!

 

[RCodeCuda]

What a waste,99% of that stuff will be nothing at some point. failure is product of not having a plan and following through.Not saying he is a failure. I think he might run out of time. I worked jobs a few $ thousands to $Billions. Dreams are made of this and they become nightmares. This can't be unseen now I going to have nightmares of them going to waste. And to think of the number of mopars built in that era is only a fraction. Those are noting.once they a fixed there has to be buyers in the market that can afford them. If their fixed or sold as is. of Oh yeah Tanks for bring this video to us.

Agreed but Rich & his Dad had the foresight to begin collecting rare Mopars when nobody wanted them. In my opinion, most of these rare cars would have likely been crushed a long time ago if Rich/his Dad didn't scoop them up for next to nothing back in the late 70s/early 80s. He really acquired his entire collection for "pennies on the dollar" by today's price standards...

So what item/hobby is not in vogue today but will be super valuable 30, 40, 50 years from now??? We need to jump on that bandwagon now!!!

 

[Challenger RTA]

Agreed but Rich & his Dad had the foresight to begin collecting rare Mopars when nobody wanted them. In my opinion, most of these rare cars would have likely been crushed a long time ago if Rich/his Dad didn't scoop them up for next to nothing back in the late 70s/early 80s. He really acquired his entire collection for "pennies on the dollar" by today's price standards...

So what item/hobby is not in vogue today but will be super valuable 30, 40, 50 years from now??? We need to jump on that bandwagon now!!!

Not saying they did or didn't have foresight.They made a living off it.What's left of the collection 30-40-50 years from now might be around. Probably not everyone reading this or seeing the video. Time line and price point a little to late. It's a tech head world. They don't see it yet. They want a phone fix every thing.even a car. WAIT THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT.They see value in a phone. throw away a $1000 and get another. The first I phone will sell Like a HEMI CUDA? A lot of the items he has are for the select few and they are dwindling fast. W ether it be time or money.Their ( the tech heads and others,you may be one of them.)working for nothing compared to yester years. economy,wages, health care,pensions are things of the past for most. This just my opinion. I would like to see every one fix. would keep AMD,body shops and other in business.

 

[RCodeCuda]

This is Rich Costello’s collection in Robertsville, Missoura.

Rich got most of these cars for next to nothing back in the day way before anyone thought they would be valuable some day. He began working on Mopars at his Dad’s body shop (Arnold Collision Experts) located in Arnold, Missoura in 1976 when he was just 14 years old. The Costello’s were in with all the local tow truck/wrecker drivers way back throughout the years that were hauling Mopars to the crusher. Rich would pay a little more than scrap prices and a case of Busch beer to the tow truck drivers so he has a **** ton of parts. Funny thing with Rich is he’s the type guy where your money is no good to him; he really never used to sell any cars or parts.

I’m surprised they didn’t show his 71 Hemi Cuda; that was his crown jewel...

"Double A R" is the Missoura translation for what the rest of the country refers to as "AAR"

 

[rklein71]

My nephew worked for Dave Walden. Bummer Dave passed away.

 

[Cuda Hunter]

First I ever heard of a double a r ..

Took me a few to get used to that.
My head is still dizzy from that videography.
I'll watch it again and see if I can spot anything I missed.

 

[RCodeCuda]

UPDATE:

***Disclaimer*** I saw all the below info posted on YouTube so I cannot verify the accuracy/authenticity but figured I'd pass along since we are talking some ultra rare cars/parts here and what the hell; stuff like this doesn't happen every day. People commented that they looked at satellite imagery of the address and it's the real deal though... And no, I don't get a commission...

Rich Costello is looking to liquidate everything. CASH ONLY! Apparently Rich is not taking calls/e-mails/texts so it first come, first served...

Rich Costello
716 Rucker Road
Robertsville, Missouri