Hot Rods The ultimate sleeper! (Repost with Ryan's approval)

How about an plain jane white '64 Fairlane, 2dr post, steelies, 500+hp 427, underpinings to handle it......oh wait, think the cat may be outta the bag on that one.....

 

I was going through some images and found this shot of the last car I chopped. Yea I know a Super Gas car is way O/T and this shot doesn't really show the car that well. But I lowered the top 4 inches and shorten the back 10 inches. What also doesn't show up are the sections of old Ford valve covers that say "Powered by Ford" that were grafted into the top front portion of both doors. Yep, it's all steel from the cowl back. Unfortunately the owner threw an aluminum rod out the side of the 513 Ford engine and the car bounced all 4 of its corners off both walls. The car is currently being rebuilt.

 

Kaiser manhatten, late packard, my favroite would be a late woodie 57-62 country squire station wagon......

 

Don has the right idea. Back in the 70's my brother-in-law had a mid 60's plain jane Rambler American 2 dr. Most had a 6 but his had the v8 (347?), 4 speed and 4.11 gear that had every trick he could do to it and still run stock class at the drags. Even won a divisional championship one year. He'd run steelies with dog dishes and quite mufflers on the street, would blow off a lot of unsuspecting "muscle cars". Great fun!

 

Those triangle shaped plastic mudflaps. On all 4 corners.

Make fake body patches using tin with pop rivits and attach with magnets to make the car look like a patched up rust bucket.

 

wow great patina!

 

I think we need the definition of what a sleeper is, before we can proceed?????????

 

Ditto on the "Farm Truck", check out all the utube videos of this craxy 10 second pickup, he does need some frame work tho, lol.

 

A sleeper is a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior. Sleeper cars are termed such because their exterior looks little or no different from a standard or economy-class car. In some cases the car appears worse due to seeming neglect on the owner's part, typically referred to as "all go and no show". While appearing to be a standard or neglected car, internally they are modified to perform at higher performance levels.
-From Wikipedia.

I'm not an eloquent speaker or writer, so i figured i would turn to the web for a definition!

 

Yeah its fast, but not a two door post car..haha. I saw it in salina, pretty gnarly. But I would really prefer to use something along the lines of a 2 door post, American sedan. Something that you would expect granny to use to get her groceries....someone mentioned "plastic seat covers" earlier, and that was right on the money!!!

 

We have a '62 Chevy II four door sitting in the pasture at my father-in-laws house that I am sure he would part with very reasonable. It currently has a six cylinder/three speed drive train. I know it isn't a two door post but it would make a very good sleeper.

 

I fail to see the appeal of a car like this. Sure, it may be fast but I'd rather have something that looks cool too.

 

In about 1970 a couple rowdies ruled the cruise one summer in a little place south of here. Started with a '64 Rambler American Wagon. cracked glass, rattle can gold paint job, left side exhaust through a 24" Horney and right side through a huge silent muffler out the back. No two tires or wheels matched, but the heated up 460/Ford-O-Matic combo under the hood would pick the left front tire up off the ground just like that '69 C-10 in the earlier U-Tube any time they wanted. Big fun, back when John Law would just tell you to "go home and not come back".

 

Here's my effort....and then at the first HAMB drags. It was such a sleeper it even had me fooled! It was a slug..even with a "sneaky pete" nitrous system on the flathead 6 popper.
Was a good base to work from...an LS/6 speed would be super cool.

 

How 'bout an early Dodge beam axle Scooby Doo van ??

 

Back in 1951(my High school years),one of my buddies put a Harley 74 in his Crosley..
Sleeper...Hell yes....This was when the Olds first came out with the Rocket and he could outdo any of them

 

It doesn't get much more 'sleeper' than this.

 

Better if this truck was a 62 or soo but it's fun to watch!

Here's a better video...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LH9tA46Fj1Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

The appeal is, I like them. I dont see the appeal in a whole pile of horsepower in a car thats so nice im afraid to drive it. I didnt specifically say, "anyone know where i can get a fugly car," i just want something interesting and simple. No chrome, fancy paint, or wheels that cost more than wheels need to. Im simply interested in as basic and simple of a car as possible, and wasnt sure what viable options are out there.

 

Sleepers? you mean a like that truck above? If it's sitting 100 feet away,yes. If you're up close,no,big rear tires and the sound of a big well tuned engine gives it away.You can spot the clues on street cars too,large exhaust pipes,wide rims and tires,and the engine sound.

 

I have always thought of my shoebox as a sleeper. It looks low and slow with regular wide white wall tires etc. but is powered by a 375 H.P. 454 Cu.In. big block with a 700 -R-4 4speed. And yeh, I have surprised few other drivers in the past.

 

I understand your point, and realize that the idea of a "sleeper" in this day and age is not truly possible. The idea is widespread in car guys, and has certainly been played out. I only want one because its what my old man woulda done in his day. He grew up in a time when the sleeper was a tricky thing to do. I suppose its based in nostalgia for my father's time.

 

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/3463969718.html
Should be easy...

another article to describe the idea
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/15/is-this-1972-chevrolet-nova-the-worlds-greatest-sleeper/

 

Hard to beat a Rambler. They're kinda ugly/cool. But then I'm biased. I have a teal one just like Rocky's on the back burner.

 

A Nash Metro would be the shit.

 

I still really like this 'lil Pontiac....
Nice size, clean line's and pretty basic looking transportation..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVKt1rebIi8

 

I've had the sleeper fever ('63 Tempest, '64 Rambler Classic, '57 Rambler Rebel, and '64 Corvair Spyder) all built to go pretty fast, but not as fast as my '68 Chevelle, which was a real grandma and grandpa post modeled 396. The wildest sleeper ride I've had was in a twin-turboed 350 mid-engined Corvair post coupe, complete with a full-of-trash rear deck cover to hide the motor. With the turbo mufflers, outwardly you'd never know you were about to loose any race, and it looked like a total pile of shit. Inside it was kinda loud, and scarily fast.

 

Davey;

The suggestions for a Lark, or Kaiser (I can't remember if this has a full frame, but *all* Studies have full frames. Light weight, but full frames.) were spot-on, & I really think you need a many-door to pull off the illusion, but something else to consider, would be the Stude full-size sedans of '56 -> '58. Granted, the '58's were a bit hard to look at, but I'd think near-ideal for sleeper status. I mean, who in their right, or wrong, mind would pick a '58 Stude 4dr full size, & make it blistering fast. The interiors weren't bad, upgrades are easily done, (disc brakes, etc), suspension & driveline-wise, almost anything that fits ~ '51 to '64, (incl Super Lark, Super Hawk, Avanti) will fit. They do ride nicely, are fairly light weight, & handling can be easily improved, making them practical too, if that is a concern. Chevy sb mills fit almost as nicely as Stude. Very easy mod (one cut to the motor mount(s). &, you don't see many of them around, as they have neither a high perceived value, or price tag. Nice ones can still be had that aren't rotted to H, & NOS fenders/etc, oddly enough, are still around + are priced very decently. Some interior stuff, too, if you really want the stocker look. As mentioned, use some *really* quiet mufflers to kill any "premonition" of badness. The nice thing about these type of cars, is that you can, & should, make it look like a very nice gramma-kept car. In other words, very nice paint & interior. If needed, I'd use single stage paint, & look real hard at the two, & even three tone paint jobs. Some bordered on garish, well maybe way on the *other* side, but still. & w/lots of chrome/polished stainless, who would ever think that maybe, just maybe, their doors were about to be blown off big time. .

Marcus...

Marcus...

 

Love sleepers. Major attraction to "Go Fast, Look Slow" as opposed to "Mediocre Performance, Look Fast". Way too many examples of the latter.

It's like showing up on the first tee with a tried looking cloth bag and electrical tape on the driver's grip and out-playing the Big Ego with the latest-and-greatest.

In fact, that's it. Sleeper says "Humble But Will Kick Your Ass" as opposed to "LOOK AT ME! I'M BAD! But Can't Back It Up". IMHO

(Now, having said that, the best is "LOOK AT ME! I"M BAD! And I Will Kick Your Ass.") Maybe that's what you mean, Muttley.