Reeves Passing

[Dakota Aero]

May he be at peace. We have lost a Giant!

DA

[calawyclif]

Rest in peace Reeves and prayers and love sent to his family. Reeves was always so nice to me. Great memories. I loved the time I spent with him way back in the eighties. I was fortunate to be in CT when they started the twin turbos and was at his shop a lot. He always invited me in. Great stories. Great times. Great man. He will be missed. Thank you for being a friend not just a business man

Sincerely Cliff Kamais

[jonstr]

Such sad news. RIP Reeves.

[Jeroenvgfn]

RIP Reeves
You will be missed by many powerfully engineered automobile enthusiast.

We had phone and skype calls on regular base and chatted about cars an more.
We never met in person unfortunately.

Thanks for many years of Turbochargers

[1988Callaway#16]

He was taken too soon. Our condolences to his family. Kevin and Lisa.

[kingforward]

RIP my friend.
Godspeed!

JK

[JimZRyd]

Most devastating news I've heard in quite a while. Such a fine gentleman. Met him for the first time at Carlisle '22. Then had the pleasure of hanging out with him and a few other legendary guys at the Amelia this year. Was so hoping to see him again next month at Carlisle . My heart goes out to his family. RIP Sir.

[Ballypinball]

This is the worst News, my thoughts are with Pete and the Family all the Way from Australia

[SurfnSun]

So sad.

[RareB2k]

My condolences to the family. I met Reeves a number of times at Carlisle and at the Open House in CT. He was quite the gentleman, very open to joyful and knowledgeable sharing discussions. He will be very very much missed. I hope there is a remembrance moment at Carlisle next month.

Peter you have my prayers.

[*89x2*]

Fellow COG Members and Enthusiasts,

It's a sad week in the Callaway Cars' World with the passing of ERC III. Taking a bit of time to reflect on not just the significance of Reeves' milestones and what he did for the Corvette world, it's especially important to think about why WE are HERE. Here, talking about the excitement of Callaway Corvettes/vehicles, and what they have meant to us.

In the mid-80s, I was a young enthusiast who never thought I'd own a Corvette. I used to read all the magazines (remember magazines?) and daydream about owning a Corvette. As the fourth generation of Corvette evolved, Chevrolet looked to further the performance of the car and ultimately called Callaway to apply their engineering with turbocharging. The iconic B2K Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette was born. I couldn't read enough about these cars as they evolved. I've been a fan from the beginning, all the way back to 1986.

In June 1988 I went to Bob Rosenthal Chevrolet in Arlington VA where the Corvette Club of America was having their Corvette show. Inside the showroom was a black on black Callaway Corvette coupe. Spina Bifida was raffling the car and I remember thinking it would be a great way to get a Callaway Corvette. The MSRP was $64,000. I ended up buying a black on black 1989 Corvette coupe the following year. The MSRP was $36,000. I continued to daydream about Callaway Corvettes when driving it and loved that car. Still have it today.

1992, B2K ended, and I got a nice letter from Reeves Callaway inviting me to consider one of his SuperNatural engines for one of my cars I had at that time. I ended up going a different direction, but still have that letter in my files...

In 1999, Hemmings Motor News arrived in the mailbox and like each month before, scoured the ads. A guy named Rocky Santiago was selling a pair of Callaway Corvettes. the former 1990 Turquoise B2K Demo convertible AeroBody, plus a 1989 Red B2K Coupe with AeroBody. Given my love for a red 1989 AeroBody coupe like I had seen on the cover of the May 1989 issue of Car and Driver Magazine, I found a twin. Timing wasn't right, as my wife was 8 months pregnant and while the car only had 1,600 miles from new, it wasn't meant to be.

in 2000, I drove my first Callaway Corvette when a local guy was selling his 1989 red Convertible AeroBody. I picked up the phone and called Old Lyme. Reeves Callaway answered and we chatted about the car. He remembers the car, as it was #89-069, the last one built that year. He remarked however, whoever ordered that car had no taste. It was red / red with a white top. It was like a rolling valentine. I could not buy the car - not for any price. The man didn't approve of it... But in 2001 the same red 1989 AeroBody came available again. I bought it and began the next level of enthusiasm.

In that time, not much was being talked about online for Callaway and magazine articles were scarce. Something had to be done to relight the Callaway flame.

Online, through the virtual meeting of other like-minded enthusiasts, we decided to get together at Corvettes at Carlisle in August and with that, I got to work on the 2002 Callaway Reunion. It was a huge success and brought together not only the Callaway loyalists, but some new owners, and also personally introduced so many of us to Reeves Callaway. Reeves' commitment that week to the B2K owners was awesome, and he loved to see the excitement over his cars. Many of this who attended the show are still around - many, I consider my best friends in life.

Leading up to the Carlisle Callaway Reunion in 2002, I had coined the name - The Callaway Owners Group. With the help and feedback of people like Josh, Pete, Luigi, JK, Jeroen, and others, we've grown the COG over the years and led the charge for owners to have a place to call home.
The Callaway Owners Group remains dedicated to the cars which brought so many of us together and built some awesome memories. Thinking about what these cars have brought into my life both personally and professionally, I am blessed to have have been a part of the Callaway history for decades. Blessed for the opportunities to experience so many of these special cars, and even more, being able to have considered Reeves Callaway a personal friend.

So many memories, all of them are priceless. I have owned five Callaway vehicles over the decades, and driven so many more.
I've driven most of the B2K Speedsters, all the Twin Turbo ZR-1s, many C12s, C16s, LM models, and more. The most iconic however, probably the times I had behind the wheel of the Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette. Going for a ride in the car with Callaway's Designer, Paul Deutschman, later on, I got to drive the car on several occasions. The one and only Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette.

Aside from the cars, some of the drives with Reeves were interesting. Sometimes in a rental car, other times in something more exotic. A Bentley Continental GT stands out as a memorable one. Same with the time we drove a KW T600 loaded with Callaway's in the back of the transporter. But even more memorable were the conversations. In 2018, Reeves talked about getting another helicopter. Other times, he talked about life, family, and philosophies. He was a neat guy. He was a generous person, and genuine. His way about telling a story, the guy could read the phone book and make it sound interesting.

I could go on and on for days about why Reeves was a special person. He was accomplished, he was unique, and down to earth, overall. A genuine nice fella. I am glad to have known him. I am glad for all who I have met over the decades.

As Reeves would say, Drive Fast, Often. God Bless.

[*89x2*]

More from thoughts today...

In the Spring or Summer of 1989, I remember hearing my first Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette. It was surreal.

On a 2 lane local road, I heard what sounded like nothing else before... It was a Dark Red Met. coupe... A 1987 Callaway with NACA Ducts on the hood. The car thundered as it went past in the opposite way. The Megaphones sounded triumphant. I made a U-Turn and followed the car...

It went about a mile-and-a-half, turning into the local strip mall. I went up to the car as two guys got out... The driver, I asked him, "...is that a Callaway Corvette?" He said, "go look for yourself" - and he went into Trak Auto, the local auto parts place. Going over to look more closely, I saw the boost gauge in the dash and the rest of the Callaway details. It was the real deal.

Over the years to follow, went to the drag strip with those guys, as they introduced me to the 1/4 mile track from a participant's perspective. The guy with the Callaway tracked the heck out of the car and ragged on it pretty hard. But it was glorious to watch him enjoy what he bought, even if rough on the equipment. The other guy, his passenger, he had a B&M SuperVette which was my introduction to supercharged Corvettes. It had a Callaway boost gauge in the dash, as the other fella had ordered him that as a spare.

Over the past several days I have reflected on so much about these cars and the people involved. Thanks for the memories, Reeves.

I still have the spare boost gauge from the B&M SV...

[Speed]

Triste nouvelle que j'ai appris le jour de sa mort !! Mes condoléances à la famille

Mon Convertible Callaway Supernatural 400 en France