Besides almost anything with a tri shield emblem what makes a true sleeper to you? Does it have to have rust? Primer? Can it have any stripes? Nice mag wheels? Does it have to have 4 doors? Just pickin your brains out there in v8land. Patrick
IMO deception is the key to having a sleeper. Back in the 80s when I had my 64 Skylark with a 455, I put factory 300 valve cover stickers on the valve covers and a Wilcat 355 sticker on the chrome aircleaner top. At the time Buicks were so out in left field that no one ever questioned what kind of engine I had. Even with the 1 7/8ths primary tube headers on it. I had 14 inch Ralley wheels and externally it appeared stock other then the header collectors hanging low and the guages and tach. Any car can be made into a sleeper. Think how docile a 67 Skylark with fender skirts looks. Throw a built 455 in it and some stickey tires and a gear and that would be a pretty good sleeper. The best one I have seen though was at the BPG Nats. The Century wagon with the Turbo Regal drivetrain was great!!! It was running 12 somethings with 14 inch white wall tires and wire wheel caps. Perfect!!! :grin: EDIT *Sorry BPG Nats, Not BFG LOL*
IMO there are many types of sleepers, it just depends on the genere 1. bone stock car on the outside, and relitavely stock in the interior, maybe some loud exhaust, or possibly a quieter nearly stock exhasut...to add to the sleeper feel, but a seriously hopped up goodies under the hood. nearly impossible for the unsuspecting dupe to catch on that your car is anything different than what rolled off the assembly line...untill he gets it handed to him on a silver platter. 2. clean motor swap into unusual car. i.e. dumping a twin turbocharged lingenfelter corvette engine into a 75 datsun 280Z. roll up in that with non-chalaunt exhaust...and the guy next to you sipping his morning latte in his z06 is left cleaning all the coffe he spit all over the dash and windshield. 3. my personal favorite...the old junker. rust spots, primer...just a royal POS. looks like the owner pulled it out of a junk yard 2 days ago. thing idles like crazy...and you think thats because his motor is about to blow....all untill he steps on it and you realize that the engine has been cammed all to hell, and that rust bucket just blew the doors off your $60K "sports car" this can go for cars and trucks...both new and old alike. to me, the definition of a sleaper, is: " a vehicle that seems ordinary on the outside so as not to draw attention, or deceives the onlooker by appreaing shoddy and junked on the outside, but makes serious horsepower so that you never make the mistake of judging a car from what it looks like on the exterior again!"
Byron hit it on the head. The "looks like they pulled it from the junkyard 2 days ago" is a good analogy of it. Looking like a big pile of pos about to die and then being faster than a new corvette sums it up. Hubcaps are also a necessity for a sleeper image.
well, since i got rid of the skylark, i decided to go with a sleeper. I picked up this 1984 regal for 700 and we'll be picking it up next weekend. Its getting my dads 12 second gn motor, while he gets Patrick Smith's (Psmith on this board i believe, also, the purchaser of the skylark) 4.1 liter turbo motor that i witnessed a 6.88 in the 1/8th mile on saturday. That equates to a 10.6 1/4th, i believe that will be a sleeper as well since it will be street driven!
