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

Only if you sleep after the fact.

 

I had the pleasure of driving my younger brother's very ratty 1960 corvette. The Corvette looked like it had just come out of the local junk yard. It did not have shiny paint, no give away exhaust rumble, but it did have built 301"SBC, and a B & M 4 speed hydro. I was at a traffic light on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington, Connecticut and some young hot dog in an Oldsmobile 442 came up to me and starting revving his engine. I was about 28 years old at the time, a real old man to the young hot dog. When the light changed, I blew his doors off. He did not come up beside me at the next light.

 

Sleepers are what the viewer under rates based on their perception. I had a very nice street car with a 426 and a Dyers 671 on it. We couldn't pass tech for what the car could run so dialed in at 12 flat. Put hard numbers on the windows and a lot of people naturally presumed the car was a 12 second car. When street racing, a sleeper can be a car you think is a 12 second car. We were later thrown off the track for making a low 9 pass. It was all out in the open, but some people could only see the numbers on the windows. Personally, as I stated previously most of the posted cars could lead many people into thinking they were not driven fast. Not quick, but set on kill and wrung out.

 

Killer….. The ultimate sleepers made their runs at night thru the hills with a trunk full of “shine”

 

My '35 had a 60 over 327 with 69 202 heads headers and a 375 horse cam with 650 double pumper and built turbo 400 w 3.38 rear . A kid rolled up next to me in a newer gt mustang on a double lane between street lights and we had a go, I kicked his***** and at the next light he said " What the hell is in that thing ? I couldn't catch you" I said just a little 327 !

 

my Dad used to say according to hoyle all the time...

 

If ya ain’t paying attention, my school bus will gap ya off the line.

and if the wife ain’t paying attention, she’ll end up flipped upside down in her seat that’s not bolted down.

 

Mentioned in many threads, a perfect HAMB sleeper was Tom Beatty's blown Olds powered '40 Ford Panel push truck, which he'd occasionally race on the street!

 

That's sweet !

 

LOL! Good one.

Ben

 

As the 409 motors came out, it was over before it got started. No way a 280 hp Impala was going to blast by So, it was intimidating enough to look at and since it did not race anyone except for some fun challenges against the 58 Impala, that was all that it took to have fun and still be friends.

A real sleeper in a quiet mode…never raced at the drags, and only fun races against a black 58 Impala. ha!

Hello,

When we had our teenage cars from age 16 onward, one of our friends had access to all sorts of family cars, but did not want a car of his own until his senior year. We took him to several car dealers to see what was what. He did not want anything others had at our school. So, we had the Chevys covered from 54 to 58, with one 59 Impala in the last year, but it was a 283 family car.

So he wanted something different. We had already cruised around in “his” 1961 Ford T-bird, sport model…

other car for Friday and Saturday nights. No way it was being driven to school... yikes!

Our visits to the local Chevy dealer produced a 360 hp 409 Biscayne of our teenage friend. He could not drive a stick shift… wow, current teenage drivers have that problem… ha! But, we told him we could teach him to drive that new Biscayne. Besides, he had to have a car, first, then learn all about it. We would be happy to help him in his new adventure. 409, 4 Speed, 4:11 Positraction… perfect for a teenager’s first car!!!

Jnaki

It took him about several weeks of daily driving around after school and later on, at night. In the beginning we were patient and he learned all of the tricks to a stick shift car. Including the dreaded “hill start” procedure. But, he did not want to wreck his Biscayne, so he was anxious to get all the correct ways to drive.

He had been in the 57 Chevy Bel Air street drag car, my 58 Impala and “his” T-Bird, so he did have some experience being on the road. He learned most of what we could teach him and we were patient, but jokingly told him he was a lost cause. Ha!

He eventually was comfortable driving by himself. So, we went with him on Fridays just to give him some confidence. Who wouldn’t have confidence driving a 409 61 Biscayne that made a motor sound scaring his mom into not wanting to drive it anywhere… He learned to shift well, but still did not want to race at the drags or on the street. It was his new car and he was a good learner.

Note:

In the teenage gatherings and laughing camaraderie that happens all of the time, racing did come up. Everyone wanted to know if I would race the red 409. Giving him a 50-100 hp advantage, a 4 speed and times at the drags in the 13’s was nothing to laugh at anywhere. But, this red 409 was a daily driver and cruiser.

So, one time late at night, we were sitting around the 57 Chevy owner’s house. When the topic came up, we all wanted to find out what was going to happen. So, I knew what was going to happen and had planned on the procedure. The other driver had no clue and I was ready.

The C&O 1958 Impala got out so far in front at the start that the owner of the 409 Biscayne saw the 6 red taillights signaling the “race” was over. No quarter mile race, and close to an 1/8th mile, but a little sooner. I could see the 409 coming up fast, but, by then, the RED lights signaled it was over. Ha!

Almost 100 hp advantage was not something to challenge. Then and now. All smiles and great fun for all concerned. We all knew the outcome, but our 409 adventures ended up on the friendly side until we all left high school on our next adventures… But, for the time of our high school era, the 409 was the undisputed king, without any races under his belt. We all knew... YRMV

 

my sleeper

 

Ford did it too in 1954. HRP

 

Woah! Nailed it! I'll bet the young guns don't know what hit 'em.