Hot Rods Sleeper Hot Rods That Are Hard To Disguise...

I wonder how many of these sleeper hot rods have actually been down a drag strip?

 

Best is a 13.29 et so far "avatar" but have a stout 421-inch small block on the stand planned for its future.

 

Forget sleepers going down the drag strip, on Friday cruise nights in the warm weather there are usually about 8 to 10 gassers that show up. Mine is usually the only one that has been on the track. The sleepers I remember from the sixties would show no signs of improvements on the outside. I remember one guy with a Plymouth wagon that even had mismatched tires and rims.

 

Yes, it really is a "Hot Rod".......

 

It really has.....

 

And this little critter.....

 

To me a sleeper is a car that is faster than it appears. Cars with tubs, rear traction bars & tires, roll cages and 4 point harnesses always get my attention and I try to never under estimate their potential. I really like the cars being posted that don't scream I'm a track car.

 

This one packs a slightly modified 396 bbc.

 

See! Now we’re making some headway.

 

First thing I look for is a roll bar. Generally if it has one it’s quicker than 11.50 and the owner races it. This isn’t written in stone of coarse, I’m sure there are 10 second cars with no safety equipment that have never seen a drag strip.

 

I had an OT car back in the late 70s that couldn't pass tech on the fast side. We ran 12.0 ET and had hard numbers on the rear quarter windows showing the 12.0 ET. At the burger joint, a lot of people believed the track lie that the blower was fake and the car was a 12 second car. It got harder to catch fish after we got thrown off the track for running low 9s. The track lie sure lulled a lot of people to sleep. So was it a sleeper?

 

Gotta get up pretty early in the morning to slip one in past Mark.
But damn, that Nova is pretty much a holy grail car!
Mark, maybe someday your Chevelle and my Nova can join the HAMB magic circle.

 

Cripes Lou, your killing me, now I won't sleep tonight!

 

Lou, first, I dig any car with dog dish hubcaps, especially Chevys.
To me, these early Chevy II's can be an ultimate sleeper, at least by my definition, and they are really easy to disguise, plus they are HAMB legal.
Here is my recipe.
Slide a (mildly rumpy), 350 horse 327 in it with quiet exhaust, and of course a four speed, bolt in a 12 bolt rear with axles redrilled to four lug, have steel four lug, 14x7 inch wheels made, painted to match body color but give them an aged look, leave the hubcaps off to let the four lug wheels show, BAM!

 

Not sure how a low 9 second car could be a sleeper, especially in the late70’s. Wouldn’t be me your fooling.

 

Chevy II Bench seat column shift ,No tach , 4 drs baby seat in back seat, flat hood ,L 60s , dog dish hub caps
SBC with BB cid , No jungle jim
6:20 1/8 street or strip , (95)
Another
38 chevy coupe , L60s , stock restored looking HotRod ,full hood & all steal ,
No Jungle jim..
In 98 was affiliated /connections with GM engineers & was able to get hands on new designated SB2 for nascar, took a little time figuring out SB2 , 5:50s on street ,,, Here several Hard core street racing cars fast in Va ,Md & other states ,& willing to travel ,, Grocery getter looking @ first look , Most of time when thinking a Slow ,just a guy with nice ride clueless clown,
then fired up smelling Race gas or Alky Saying more likely Not what it appears..

Most here are not aware pre-1963 there was a few builders experimenting and building over 460 cid out of Chevy 283 sbc's !!

 

The wheel police may be after me but I think this fits the bill.

 

Very Cool DD And A Definition Of The Sleeper...Thanks...

 

That one took a while

 

With a tip of the hat to Moriarity, my opinion of 'sleeper' is much quicker than expected, and that at this time, anything HAMB friendly is suspect. In 2024, what is immediately judged and dismissed as a slow car is not going to be 59 plus years old, period.
That 65 and earlier car at the local cruise night or prowling the gathering of fast cars on the midnight course is expected to have more than stock stuff underhood because it's old enough to need a rebuild, has lasted this long and just being out there is an indication of owner's pride and intent.
Experience has proven that wolves in sheep's clothing are out there, and often are older, lightweight cars. The hidden wolf these days would be a 30 year old Basic Transport Unit for a soccer mom that is not an easy swap away from kicking butt.

 

According to Hoyle, sleepers don't have 5 spokes, no white letter tires, no roll bar, no tach in the windshield, no hood scoop, no side pipes, no flamboyant paint job, no narrowed rear end, no shackles, no slapper bars, no excessive trim, no laying frame, no loud exhaust. Plain jane, with a shit load under the hood.

 

Probably not the most traditional, but this guy crammed a blown 427 cammer into this Model T pickup at a 45-degree angle.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/1926-ford-pickup-find-427-sohc-ford-motor/

 

The Best sleeper I ever saw was a friend's full size OT Mopar ragtop with a built 440 and torqueflite by one of the best torqueflite guys in the country. 11 second time slips from Bremerton dragstrip with a couple of quicker ones when he turned the bottle on. That was after he towed his buddy's race car 180+ miles to the strip with it. The race car was Hamb Friendly and about 3 seconds slower but did well in it's class.

 

That is the recipe.

 

Bingo!

 

In my town Sunland/Tujunga Ca. in 1957 a guy named Fontleroy had a 37 Plymouth coupe with a brand new Dual quad 57 Cadillac engine. The only giveaway was the engine was set back and you had to see the driver thru the quarter window. Fontleroy had a real "Sleeper" .