Unlikely...The art of a good sleeper.

I've told this before. In high school, a friend used drive his dads 53 Ford half ton with a camper shell. Three of us are in it one night and a BRAND NEW 1968 PLYMOUTH ROADRUNNER with temporary paper plates is trying to "show off". Friend races him off at a light and tromps him BAD! Old truck had a full on 394 Olds and B & M Hydro Stick trans. I can't imagine how the Roadrunner owner felt after that. The friends dad used to drag race HUDSONS' and the truck was his tow rig.

 

Working on mine right now...4 door 89 caprice 9C1 police car/lt1 4l60e swap.

 

A friend of mine has had the same early 90's something Civic since he was 16 (Close to 10 years ago)

The car is white with patches of black primer, rust, etc. Covered in stickers, looks like a Welfare car.

Once he starts teaching his goal is to build the motor and suspension and leave the body the same, if not worse than it already is. JC Whitney spoiler, 3 Spinner Hub-Caps, fart can, vanity plates, underglow, and all the other "Stick-On" go-fast accesories he can find.

Sometimes stock just looks too su****ious, and we all know the slowwwwest cars are usually the ones covered in **** to make them look fast.

 

Here's a hint for a sleeper Ford...I'm always amazed that even many Ford guys cannot tell a 429/460 from a 351C. Heck, some can't even tell a 351C from a 289/302! Many Chevy guys are lucky if they can even identify a Ford engine as being a Ford...if its not painted blue, most can't.

And here's one I learned from my Pontiac street racer friends from the old days...most folks can't tell a 326 from a 455. They're the same outside dimensions.

One more...an Olds 455 responds very well to a small shot of nitrous. Its even more impressive when it has an Olds Rocket 350 air cleaner on it!

Those hints could (and have) lead to some great sleepers.

 

My little '66 Ford shop truck has made more than a few punks in their Mustang's and Camaro's think twice about jumping on an old truck. Boss 351 Cleveland under the hood gets it done just fine. Just looks like an old truck, especially from behind.... It has been 7.60's in the 1/8th spinning the whole way.

Kevin
Ooltewah Speed Shop

 

Just an old farm truck

Rusty exhaust tips and all

 

I want this..


So I could put a 427 windsor in it

 

The volvette. Late 80s volvo wagon. Sure it looks nicely cleaned up
Here it is out running a bike doing over 190 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBu6STlhh8Q
Car Domain link http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2196921 (actually there are a bunch of sleeper volvos out there )

And who could forget dave of dave's farm and his aries wagon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w525ZiSiRTY

(Yes i know these are a little new but hey sleepers are always awesome)

 

I really like that car for some reason, oh yeah, I like mopars and I like sleepers

 

My dad bought a '69 Chevy c20 when I was 12. The original owner had ordered it with a L88. He told my dad it was a 396. The first time I went driving on the highway with my pops (I was 13) I tried to negotiate a corner and he yelled "slow down!". My foot shot down and pushed the go petal right down onto the floor. We did my first ever power slide right across that intersection and buried the truck in the gravel of the shoulder.

My dad had to go to court because of the ticket. When he told the Judge what happened, the judge looked down and said, "I think I'd keep that boy off the highway 'til he's at least 15!"

Dirty red colored 3/4 ton truck with a white cab top, no special fender badges either. Good god that thing hauled ***!

 

i know you guys will laugh at me for this but this lil 4 cyl packs a wallop 415 hp 367 tq 1988 daytona shelby (k-car division)
we got mini vans that'll blow vipers away lol

www.therealpictures.com/zach

sorry the files are quite large and the forum server will not let me upload because of the size

 

This is back 'in the day', Abes' 57 burned up so he bought a '58 Anglia sedan as a driver. One day he showed up with a 283 out of a corvette so Mike (Abes' brother), Abe and i started cuttin the anglia and managed to put the 283 with a 4speed in that little sedan. It had a drivers' seat and rear bench seat, no p***enger seat, and the engine was mostly wide open. The windshield split the 2 4bbl carburators. The first time we got it fired the battery was dead and Mike and i pushed it to get it started and the timing was off when Abe let out the clutch and the car erupted into a ball of fire as Abe tumbeled out the door. The was a scortch mark on the cowl in front of the windshield and that the only thing that would give the car away.
We jacked the distributor a bit and got it running, pulled out on the main highway in front of the high school (Portland, Maine) and made it to the traffic light where a 57 Ford with a gl*** pack wanted some. When the light turned green Abe stalled it (he was the only one old enough to have a drivers' license), Mike and i piled out to push start it again and we caught up to the Ford at the next light. Abe was on the inside and saw the light turn yellow and went to the mat and side stepped the clutch. From the rear bench seat all Mike and i could see were the tops of telephone poles and pigeons on the wires. The car came down as quick as it went up and stalled where it sat. All three of us piled out the car and started walking around it and laughing and pointed at **** when we realized the Ford was still sitting where it was back at the light. I don't even know for sure they were called 'wheelstands' back then, but we sure did one that day.
That little car when on to become a terror, the dockyards were great places to race at night and people used to race that damn little car and we'd just wear them out and seems like they'd forget all about it the next night. We used to just tear up the same Mustang GT350H that guys would rent from hertz, most every friday and sat night until Abe graduated from high school and went into the Army.
That little thing really was a sleeper. When Abe left the engine was about toasted, the rear was fried and the car just sat and i bet it just went to the junkyard. But i'll never forget it.

 

Thee quintessential sleeper. My desire to possess it is etched deep into my DNA.

 

The Pusher is a sleeper. I've had a ton of sleepers over the years but the most current is the Pusher.

A couple of years back I was on my way to Mann's Speed shop with some parts that needed attention.

A kid in a '70s style Firebird rolled up next to me. You know what I'm talking about right? Fat tires sticking out in the back, skinnys in the front, big block Poncho, hot dawg stand paint? he wanted to hook up, the car was a stone kept falling on its face when he stabbed it.
So we were running about 30 or so and I dropped it into first and nailed it. Winged it to about 7K, no race. He followed me into the speed shop and got out wanted to know what i had in the truck. So I looked over the tail gate and said, oh I dunno, a 283 block a crank some pistons and a pair of heads. Grinned and walked inside. Don walked over to me and said, hey B..., ya screwin' with the local muscle car guys again? I just grinned " Who me?"

 

Here's a nice one...

 

That Pontiac is killer!!!!

 

Here was mine. '78 Volare wagon, built 318, Fairbanks race auto, posi rear, totally ugly, ran like a mofo. Showed a Viper its taillights real quick at the track. Sold to a HAMBer, I think he's using the guts in something kool.

 

Painting the redlines on the wheels is a great idea for that size. I had to look twice to tell they weren't standard 15" redline tires! Brilliant.

 

Thanks for the compliment.

I wanted something that looked stock that was different than anyone else's stuff. The placement of the bright red pinstripe on the rim lip of the 17" wheel is almost exactly where the red stripe would be on a 14" redline tire.

Worked out pretty well as the wheels do draw a lot of nice words from those who look close enough at the car.

 

My daily was an old Aussy police car, a 1980 XD Falcon. It was lowerd and had ****ty alloy wheels but packed a 496Rwhp 351 Clevland. On the odd times I got grip it would launch pretty well for what it was

 

i like this one too. sleepers don't have fat rear tires, roll cages or hood scoops.

here's my o/t sleeper. white lines, no outta place big block, no race car parts all junkyard. i brake for bingo bumper sticker, baby seat (our 8 y/o daughter has been down the 1/4 when she was 5), umbrella and kleenex box on rear package tray. even faster this season. let's go racin'

 

Wanna have fun against a kid in a ricer? You know the type, fart can exhaust and 180 MPH rear wing. Roll away from a stoplight next to him and wait till he shifts to second gear, then nail your anything V8. With RPM's down, a ricer in second gear is dead. If they do not launch with their super low gearing in first, they have no torque to recover but they'll still try to catch you. I lmao everytime I do this in my old work van.

 

vehicle is ot but a way kool sleeper nevertheless....A 1979 Chevy Chevette sand piper...stuffed with a 383 stroker. Car looks bone stock! closed up..right down to the factory tailpipe..runs low 11's nursing it off the line because of the 13 in tires:

 

Perfect example of a sleeper. Course I do have a profound love for Chevettes though.

 

Beige, it is amazing what effect that color has on people.
In the nineties, I drove a beige 86 S-10 with a 350/350, headman shorties into 2 1/4" head pipes into a merged collector through a 3" flowmaster. 3" mandrel bends all the way back over the axle, then stopped just short of being visible. I left the 2.8 badges on it and ran a set of 225 50/15's on Bart racing rims. I was amazed at how many people thought it was a V6 with a leaky exhaust. I should really put that ch***is under a fifties car / truck and go have some more fun.

 

My '88 S-10 is Yellow/Beige/****ernut lowered with black steelies, Little 2.5 and a 5 speed.

Had a guy in a riced out Saturn (Wings, body kit, fart can, etc.) swing out to p*** me and the SUV behind me, I was already cruising along at 70, and he made it around the SUV and he was still trying to get close enough to p*** me. I just dropped it in fourth scooted away with the 85 mph speedometer pegged while he tried to hang on behind me, it was hilarious.

 

Several yrs. ago, I spotted a '63 Ford Galaxie 4-door, at the AUTOFAIR swap meet in Charlotte, with the gold emblems on the front fenders. Walked over for a look, and found a faded, medium blue metallic mom'n'pop sedan, with a 385 hp 406 and 4-speed. The car was clean and original. My pals were trying to tell me the car was an old ATF car, but I could find no evidence that it had ever been in service, and I had never seen a cop car with a 4-speed. The car was for sale, but nobody was around it with any information, so I don't know what happened with it, but I do know that beast would make a SUPER SLEEPER!

 

As an 18 year old and the first time at the track with my new aluminum headed 400, I lined up against a brand new at the time 99 WS6 trans am. I had bench seat with plaid fabric and column shifter, otherwise the same as the picture. So we line up and the lights come down. We launch even and I start to pull. Second gear is where all mildly hopped up pontiacs shine and this is where I made some ground. I kept pulling all the way to the end to beat his 13.4 with my 13.2! He came up cussing at me and yelling. "I just spent 30 grand on this thing and you just walked away from me!" I responded, "It's my first time to the track." Then he laughed because he was at a complete loss for words. My dad walks up and the guy starts explaining he hadn't been to the track for a while and he summed me up to so he could make himself feel better about the race that was coming up. "Bench seat, column shifter. That kid aint getting out of the 15's." We all had a good laugh and made new friends that night.

 

I saw that tempest run over 200mph at maxton last year. He designed his own ignition system.

 

I build my Dad a '74 Chevy Luv with a camper shell. It had a 350/350 with a 9" drilled for the stock Luv bolt pattern. After the truck was finished, I drove it to work. After work, I was behind a new vette that was getting on the freeway. The vette floored it and at the bottom of the ramp, the guy looks in his rear view mirror and does a double take. I'm right behind him and change lanes to p*** him. Boy was he dumbfounded.........