TheCorvetteKid

Hi,

I remember (a while back now) thumbing through an issue of Turbo and High Performance magazine and seeing ads for Twin Turbo charging kits for L98 & LT1 powered Corvettes. Don't ask me which issue(s) I saw these ads in - it was A WHILE back. Just as a frame of reference, I don't think the ZR-1 was introduced yet...

Needless to say I haven't seen these ads in Turbo and High Performance magazine recently. Does anybody know what ever happened to the suppliers/manufacturers of these kits? Are there any still available out there today? Does anybody have any experience at all with turbocharging a C4 Corvette from a 'kit'?

Just curious.

Thanks. :cheers:

mn_vette

ummmm......Callaway???

The only people that I know of that made turbocharged vettes back before '90 would be callaway. And only for the L98 as the LT1 wasn't to be introduced for a few more years. I'm not sure if they sold kits or if they were just a factory option, but good luck getting ahold of parts. Perhaps there are some other companies but I haven't herd of them.


[Modified by mn_vette, 7:54 PM 5/21/2003]

bill mcdonald

There is not a kit out there.

scorp508

There is some company that claims to be working on a either a single or a TT C4 kit. I honestly don't remember who or when it'll happen.

bill mcdonald

high tech racing? http://www.high-techracing.com/PAGE4TURBOKITS.htm

They have had the kit on the page for well over a year, I would almost say pushing 2 years.

I dont think they will ever sell anything, especially since they never ever return any of my emails.

TheCorvetteKid

Hi guys,

I know about the Callaway Twin Turbo Corvettes - trust me, I'm not a newbie here! But they never offered a kit. They did (and I think still do) offer an update kit for early B2K owners ('87 to '89) to upgrade their cars to the 400+hp level of their later cars, but the kit is only good for Callaway owners - it's vitually useless to the rest of us. Unless you're willing to rip the motor out of your car, and rebuild it to Callaway's specs with 8.5:1 compression. Even then, I don't know if Callaway Cars will sell you the kit.

I've just checked out the high-techracing web page. Looks good, but unless they really do market something, then it's just a pipe-dream; Their site makes it seem like they are still developing.

I'll see if I can dig up that old issue of Turbo and High Performance magazine and find the article. I know I still have the magazine.

So does that mean that any non-Callaway turbo-charged Corvettes out there are all "home-grown" or "one-offs"? I find it hard to believe that nobody ever came up with a kit to turbo-charge these cars.

I'll find that magazine.

bill mcdonald

Thats right.

As far as high tech racing goes, someone posted here that they were building a kit, and he saw it with his own eyes. that was so old, it is not in the archives. I have had that high tech web page in my bookmarks forever.

You can always try calling them.

BAM92

I know what kit you are talking about. It showed a black vette conv. on the ad. I looked through all of my old Turbo mags and could not find it. If memory serves me it was made by Turbo Perfomance Center in Glen Burnie MD. The number used to be 410/766-5215. Norwood autocraft in Dallas could make you one since they do one offs. It is big money I am sure. But as the others said before me there are no "kits".

bill mcdonald

I tried finding them
http://www.turboperformance.com/

they look like porsche people.
How old are these mags you guys are looking in? I have a few turbo mags here and there. I think I will give them a look.

TheCorvetteKid

Hi guys.

Sorry about the delay, but I'm back now. And boy was I WRONG!

I found the issue of Turbo and High Performance magazine that I was talking about. It's the January 1994 issue and the ad is on page 19. It's from Miller Motorsports and the Corvette in the ad was not turbo charged, but had a Vortech supercharged 406cid (good times too: 0-60 in 3sec, low 11sec 1/4mile, and 195mph top speed). So I was wrong - my bad!

But this raises and interesting question: why aren't there any turbo kits for the C4? You can buy turbo kits for Hondas and other Japanese/import cars, why not our domestic power house like the Corvette? There are TONS of C4s out there and it's obvious that the platform responds very well to turbocharging. Companies like Callaway have proven that it can be done on a mass scale, and the stock Chevy 350 (L98/LT1/LT4) can easily handle 5 or 6lbs of boost with no internal work (the supercharging kits prove that).

I may be wrong, but maybe there's a market here that's just waiting to be tapped.

bill mcdonald

I thought maybe you guys saw a carroll supercharging add which kind of looks like a turbo.

As far as the market, I have no idea.
There are a few guys building thier own, so I dont get it.

It's the same thing with stop tech brakes. they make some good brake set ups for a lot of cars. A buddy of mine comes over with a riced out lexus IS, he has stop tech brakes on it. I'm thinking, he has cool brakes, on a lexus no less, yet they dont make poopie for the C4 platform. :banghead:

TheCorvetteKid

I've just gotten word from one of our forum members that the Gale Banks company is planning on re-introducing a twin turbo kit for the L98/LT1/LT4. This kit was apparently available a few years ago but was discontinued (probably due to cost).

Anybody know anything about this kit and it's reintroduction?

bill mcdonald

Yeah I have heard lots of talk about this. they were suppose to have all sorts of info for everyone before last christmas. Doesn't seem like much has been happeneing, but I still keep an eye out.

Vette Threat

Well guys I have some good news for you:

Our Twin Turbo LT1 C4 is nearly completed and should be running by next week. The car that is fitted with this system, looks completely stock to the untrained eye and has an extremely clean "it came from the factory" look to it.

If you need specs, pricing, info on our Turbo kits or if your existing Turbo isn't making the boost those other guys promised it would, you can phone us at HIGH-TECH Racing 905-856-5858 on Saturdays between 12pm and 5pm.

StealDads67

WEll.... If it fits the LT1... it should be easily adapted to the L98 no? The exhaust it almost the same....

I think you guys would make a nice fw pennys if you come out with the same system for an L98 :yesnod:

bill mcdonald

well lets see some pictures. :yesnod:

Light84vette

Come one guys, just get a couple of metal fabrication courses and invest some money into like a welder, a cutting machine, vise, etc, unless you have a shop or have access to one and Just build it. All this talk over and over about Turbo kits, just go out and make one. :yesnod: :thumbs:

StealDads67

Ok... you buy the machine shop.... ill put it together..... Money is the main problem to this turbo project.... It can be done... prolly not to hard either... Its how much money are you looking to spend doing so..... At what point is it worth the ease of just gettin a supercharger.....

Light84vette

:lol: Seriously, but if someone has the tools and machines plus the know how, then its no prob. But if you dont, then I guess you might as well get a SC which most have already done. But I'd like to have a boost controller. :D

TheCorvetteKid

Anyone ever seen the kits available from Turbo Technology in Tacoma Washinton? Here's a link to their LT1 Camaro/Firebird single-trubo kit:
http://www.turbotechnologyinc.com/lt1_camaro.htm

They also have a twin turbo kit available for the C5. But their LT1 Camaro/Firebird kit must surely be modifiable to work on an L98 or LT1 Corvette.

If you poke around their site, they claim they are aware of us C4 customers and when they get around to it they will start working on a kit for our cars. Maybe they're just waiting for a doner car. Any volunteers?