While there’s a big part of me that absolutely loves the Buick Grand National, I also harbor some resistance to it because it tends to get all the glory. This is no fault of its own, as Chevrolet didn’t exactly swing for the fences with the C4 Corvette when it was introduced, but thankfully, companies like Callaway were there to pick up the pieces. This is a genuine turbocharged-by-Callaway Corvette, listed here on eBay with bids to just over $20,000 and the reserve unmet.
The classic C4 shape is preserved in this example, with very little sign of any tweaks under the hood from the outside. Even the stock wheels are retained, and unless you spotted the hood ducts in the top photo, you may not ever recognize this as a seriously upgraded Corvette until it’s too late. Even the stock exhaust tips appear to have been retained, which makes this Corvette a little bit of a sleeper, all things considered.
The seller reports that they have owned it for the last seven years and recently sent the car to Callaway for servicing, racking up a bill for over $12,000. Hopefully, this buys the next owner plenty of extra insurance that the turbocharged ‘Vette will be in good running order for some time to come. When you see these classic Corvette bucket seats, you start to realize how well-preserved this car is given many of them have very well-worn bolsters by this juncture.
The seller reports this is car number 142 out of 184 and that the full assortment of Callaway paperwork and documentation will come with the car. The engine bay is nicely presented and the tires appear to have plenty of meat. Overall, this looks like a Corvette worth having solely for being a well-preserved C4, but the Callaway connection puts it straight into the must-buy category. This is a hard car to peg a reserve price onto; what do you think it’s worth?
Man, what kind of servicing could’ve cost 12k on a sub-30k mile car? Hopefully that included a plane ticket to Barbados and a happy ending, LOL!
But holy cow. Neat find and these are very cool, but maintenance costs and parts availability would give me a pause.
2 happy endings, mate
At least!!
Callaway most likely can support any car they have modified with parts and advice. They have detailed records on every car built.
Actually, on a vehicle like this the maintenance cost is due to replacement of all the rubber parts and likely seals and gaskets that have been dry rotted due to age. Just because a car has low mileage doesn’t mean it’s going to need nothing when you take it to get serviced. Just sitting for three years and never starting a car you have to replace the plug wires, cap and rotor, brake rotors and pads, brake fluid and all the other fluids just to make the car meet safety standards for inspection. With a vehicle of this caliber, you’d want to make sure you’re not going to blow up the turbos due to a dry rotted and cracked wastegate vacuum hose… now, would you?? It takes alot to keep these cars on the road at this age. The bones of the car is good ol’ chevy… beat the snot out of it and put it away. But the age of it is the problem.
Is it signed by Reeves and John Daley for that $12,000 servicing? Woah…horry sheet. Cool car, lotta fvcking money.
“as Chevrolet didn’t exactly swing for the fences with the C4 Corvette when it was introduced,”
Nonsense. The 1st C4 was revolutionary. To quote Autoweek:
The Chevrolet Corvette skipped the 1983 model year, according to Burge Hulett –Hulett praises the Corvette’s wind-tunnel tested design and pits its road-going prowess against the Ferrari 308 and its contemporary Porsche 911 competition.
The early C4s were banned (or the competition threatened to quit) from SCCA racing and had to have their own series created due to their handling. So if all the other big boys won’t race against you, what are you expecting when swinging for the fences? Great cars and the Callaway is in the ZR-1 territory but several years sooner. Also considered a Factory Option.
Corvettes were banned in 1987 after the big boys got their rear-ends well and truly kicked. Checking option box B2K and writing an additional check for $19,995 got your Bowling Green-built Corvette shipped to Old Lyme, CT. A lot of HP figures being tossed around here but my sources say 345hp/465lb-ft torque. I’m sticking with that story. Somebody just bought a nice car.
Nice to see this Callaway has the correct NACA duct-ed hood, compared the one here a few weeks ago.
These were monster super cars when introduced. They could be finicky over heating and clam shell hood didn’t help.
Always check the maintenance history on these cars. $12k is actually reasonable for these cars as sittting never helps for leaks, dry rot, etc.
My how times have changed. 1989 issue of Car and Driver gushes about the “staggering,” 382 herspers of a Callaway Corvette. But I get it, it took awhile for the engineers to catch up to performance while meeting emissions.
More “herspers” than The King of the Hill’s 375. Yeah, it was staggering in 1989. Probably had a whole bunch of torks to push it along too.
But 562 lb-ft of torque at 2500 RPMs. That is an astounding number for that era….hell, it’s respectable today.
Sold $27,500. No place to go but up for these IMO. I’d love to have this in my garage! Appears to be in good nick. I think the new owner got a good deal and will be quite happy.
Sold for $27,500.00 … probably all of what it is worth in the market. It seems that some models like the Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon got more recognition. Corvette lost it’s lustier though the 70s. Even now you can get a decent C4 for 12K, so 27.5K for this one is at the high end of the scale today.
A very generous and brave owner owner let me drive on these when it was new. I say brave because I was 16 at the time. While I’ve got cars with far more power now, it left an indelible impression, further inflaming the lifelong pursuit of more power.