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I have heard that the Callaway twin turbo had a lot of reliability issues. Does anyone know about this?
Here's the issue.
Most B2k's sit and don't get driven. No car fares well in that condition. Seals and hoses dry out, and then you have the standard C4 stuff to deal with.
After I had mine a while I took it on several 5-8 hour road trips...no big deal.
You buy a C4 and if it has the original injectors they need to be replaced.
No one knew that when I had my Callaway TT or it would have solved about 80% of my problems. The other thing that wasn't understood when I had mine was the impact of the EGR on boost control. Those two items were all my car needed to really be sorted out.
The distributor drive gear has to be watched as the high volume oil pump will sheer it off over time. A hardened gear does much better.
Everything else that I fixed on my car was a result of an aging C4. Water pump, 4+3, distributor cap and rotor etc.
There is a member of this forum who drove his b2k from Dallas TX to the NCM, autocrossed hard, then drove it home.
So they can be just as reliable as any C4, it just depends how its been taken care of prior to you picking it up. The perception is a bit flawed b/c not enough people drive or have any experience (see the post above mine) with these cars and b/c most of them have sat for 20 years and need a good sorting out.
On my 1989 CTTC, the only issues I've had were a lazy headlight (all C4s have this eventually) and replaced the injectors (See Surfnsun's post above on inj.).
In other words, no issues any other C4 would have. In fact, I am replacing the injectors on my base 1989 now. Did the headlight bushings on that one, too. And actually, had other small issues on the car (owned it since new), so to answer the question, Callaway Twin Turbo Corvettes don't have any greater risk or frequency of issue than the base car.
I met a guy with a 1990 Callaway convertible. Nightmare to work on under the hood on anything. Spark plug change requires virtually all turbo plumbing to be removed. Turbos cost $2,500 each to overhaul....in Germany. Other than that no problems.
I met a guy with a 1990 Callaway convertible. Nightmare to work on under the hood on anything. Spark plug change requires virtually all turbo plumbing to be removed. Turbos cost $2,500 each to overhaul....in Germany. Other than that no problems.
To change the spark plugs, that is not true. 6 of the 8 are just as easy as any other C4. The last 2 plugs, which are tough, anyways, do require the removal of the downtube between the intercooler and turbo. This is one band clamp and two allen bolts. About 3 minutes added to the job overall.
Regarding turbo overhauls, I think I paid close to the same for the VNT Turbo on my diesel truck.
On my 1989 CTTC, the only issues I've had were a lazy headlight (all C4s have this eventually) and replaced the injectors (See Surfnsun's post above on inj.).
In other words, no issues any other C4 would have. In fact, I am replacing the injectors on my base 1989 now. Did the headlight bushings on that one, too. And actually, had other small issues on the car (owned it since new), so to answer the question, Callaway Twin Turbo Corvettes don't have any greater risk or frequency of issue than the base car.
Yes, I am considering buying one. I own a Z52 '88 coupe (as well as an '03 Z06 that I use mostly for track days). I'm thinking about selling the '88 and buying either a ZR1 or a Callaway. The ZR1 is kinda boring though because they built so many of them.
That may be true for back yard turbo installations, not for a properly engineered install like Callaway
There are so many new cars from the factory with turbos now, they are very reliable as long as they have been serviced regularly.
I'd buy a B2K car in a heartbeat. Until the 2009 ZR1 came out, the last B2K cars had 575 ft. lbs. of torque. Nothing else from that era (or until 2009) with the Corvette nameplate came close. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment.
I'd buy a B2K car in a heartbeat. Until the 2009 ZR1 came out, the last B2K cars had 575 ft. lbs. of torque. Nothing else from that era (or until 2009) with the Corvette nameplate came close. I'd say that's quite an accomplishment. 
