Callaways too slow? (long)

[CallawayKurt]

I was at a dyno event held by my diesel truck club a couple of weeks ago, and I got into a conversation with the owner ( can't remember his name)of the shop about Corvettes. He had several C4's in the shop in various states of disasembly, all were getting fresh engines and a few were getting some suspension work performed. The owner asked me if I was a Vettes fan and I told him I was and used to own a warmed up 86 drop top but had sold it a few years ago. I told him that my next Vette was going to be a Callaway and he told me that they are nice cars if you want to go slow. I said that they seem plenty fast to me and that he'd be hard pressed to name a Vette as fast one off the showroom floor (ZR1's and L88's not included). I went on to tell him that I also like them due to their history and that you do not see one everyday.

After the truck were done running the owner came up to me and asked me if I was really serious about only buying a Callaway and I told him that it is the only Vette I will buy next. He said that that was too bad and that I was wasting my hard earned money, and that if I were smart I would buy a regular Vette and build the motor up like the ones in his shop. I said that they were very nice but not what I was looking for.

I must say that his shop was very nice and all of the work looked like it was done very professionally, and that he knew what he was doing. Present were several 500 hp plus cars in the shop ranging from Cobra replicas to drag only mopars. The owner stated that the vettes in the shop were all going to be in the 600 hp range with one that was going to be around 1,000 with NOS.
I can understand why a stock Callaway might not seem that impressive next to the cars in his shop but I can't believe he could consider one to be a slow. If I am incorrect for defending the Callaways out there let me know.

Sorry for the long rant but I believe that the Callaway Corvettes are among the best of the Corvettes, stock or not.

Best regards,
Kurt.

 

[8388]

Sounds like this guy was more interested in selling you one of his engine deals rather than telling you the truth. Are Callaway TT the fastest cars out there ? answer is no, but it can hold it's own very well, plus you get an added bonus you won't get with one of his deals, and that's a car with collectablity written all over it. Let's face it, it's a turbo car after all, and taking it off *stock* limitation is fairly easy. I have a question for him, Has he ever owned a Callaway TT ? more than likely not. He's probably doing the same as some other folks that judge this car by what the magazines have put out. Most Callaway TT are manual trannies and rather hard to launch in order to achieve the low 1/4 mile times its really capable of. Ask him to look at what an Automatic Callaway TT does in the 1/4 with proper tires, then tell you their slow. About 10 sec. slow.

 

[*89x2*]

I agree 110% w/ 8388

Back in 87, a guy used to run a B2K at the track - always looking to go faster, his 87 B2K w/ 4+3 (and 3.07's) went 12.7's at roughly 112 mph. This was back in the late 80's / early 90's and I suppose he was quite happy as that was rocket fast back then (still is good today )

Again, in his quest to go faster & faster, he had an engine built by a drag racer in Indiana who did mail order out of a magazine
He bought (leased) a 91 automatic coupe and w/ everything intact, he and his 406 went out racing...
11.3's on radials, not bad...

...still not fast enough, he decided NOS was the way to go- he bolted a fogger shot (250) to the Superram intake and headed back for the numbers.

10.2 was where the car was at - he then sold the car a short while later...

During the course of his ownership, the engine was rebuilt a few times for various reasons - one included the NOS explosion :eek

I have included a pic of the car and it's engine - It was indeed an awesome car - one I could have bought myself however, the reasons 8388 mentioned are similar to my own thoughts - Callaway Cars are pieces of History - Anyone can build a drag Vette and there is ALWAYS someone faster out there - but the smoothness and delivery of power is legendary with these machines

Keep the faith

p.s. -I will never forget the day the roll cage was pulled from the Vette - he asked me what to do about the holes that were left in the floor (as the car was a lease) _ I said - fill w/ black RTV and be done w/ it - he DID :eek
Wound up selling it for $14k to someone - w/ the stock engine back in place...

 

[SurfnSun]

People claim they know what Calloways are Oh they're this and that....slow as ****. They read too many magazines.

I just smile. My car would make a good 1/4 mile car, but it burns the tires thru 70mph. I guess I could put full slicks on and run low 11s....but I don't wanna twist a half shaft, demolish the 4 speed, or burn up a Centerforce clutch.

Im pretty happy with my 475hp slow car.

 

[TurboLuigi]

475HP is one thing, but what about the tremendous torque I believe my car was dynoed at 634 ft. lbs. - try to get that out of a naturally aspirated 500HP car.

-Luigi
:cool

 

[CallawayKurt]

Thanks for the support guys,

I had told the guy that the Callaway's have a style all of their own and that they are a peice of Corvette history. I also asked him how fast his cars are when the NOS runs out and he had the same responce then as when I asked him if they could run 254 MPH like the Sledgehammer did Nothing.

He said that most of the Cars he builds were for guys that run up here at Brianerd International Raceway on the weekend track days. I asked him if the cars were driven to the track and he said didn't doubted it, makes a guy wonder how drivable the engines are on the road.

I know that there are faster cars out on the roads but I doubt I will ever come across one when I finally own my Callaway, and if I find one faster I still would not wnat it over a B2K:cool .

Best regards,
Kurt.

 

[rkreigh]

hmmmm... that same furry guy is now running around in an all aluminum BB 555 vette.

and yes compared to a 1000 HP most vettes will seem slow.

turning up with wick on a callaway with an auto trans has alot of appeal to me. going with bigger turbos, better intercooling, and a really kick A fuel system will get you to 1000 HP pretty easily with a twin turbo car, but not alot of the callaway guys mod their cars like crazy as most are "fast enough"

@ 191 + I don't consider the callaways as "slow"

even us zr1 guys are mostly chasing tailights at that speed!!!

yes, you can build a "muscle" vette cheaper than buying a NEW callaway, but with prices from mid 20s to 30's I happen to thing the callaway cars are a great buy and a super fun car.

very reliable, and a kick to drive!!

hey chris, trade you a ride in the LSV for a TT Callaway ride!!!

thanks.

 

[SurfnSun]

Luigi,

I can't believe that our hp and torque numbers are identical....with the correction factor of .17 for the 4+3 my numbers are 475hp and 627tq.

Pretty crazy huh?

 

[*89x2*]

hmmmm... that same furry guy is now running around in an all aluminum BB 555 vette.

BAD Azzzzz

Always searching for more power

turning up with wick on a callaway with an auto trans has alot of appeal to me. going with bigger turbos, better intercooling, and a really kick A fuel system will get you to 1000 HP pretty easily with a twin turbo car, but not alot of the callaway guys mod their cars like crazy as most are "fast enough"

ZRosies #89-005 is in the 10's on drag radials

minor mods to that car, porting mostly - Serious car, and then there is #89-010...

even us zr1 guys are mostly chasing tailights at that speed!!!

Ron, I wasn't gonna say that:Silly

trade you a ride in the LSV for a TT Callaway ride!!!

thanks.

Better happen soon, wether is turning bad and soon it will be tucked away in her bubble ...just kidding ~