If you were building a car with the soul intent being to go out and take people's money... What would it be and what would it consist of?
Remember, it has to look like something that nobody would expect to even be quick, much less fast.
say you have a $7500 budget, including initial car purchase
I'm thinking:
80's LTD with:
-460 with forged rods and pistons
-Kasse heads
-good intake and carb, unsure on brand
-good cam, again, unsure on brand
-built c6 with transbrake
-31 spline spool and axles, 4.10 gears
-tubular rear control arms
-widened stock wheels with 275/60 drag radials
throw in a healthy diet to get the weight of the car down and it should be in the 10's...
I know this is a ford forum, but I always liked the idea of a chevette with a 3.8 turbo (GN style) drivetrain.
I would really like to see a Tempo RWD conversion. Nobody would like to get spanked by a Tempo lol. A friend of mine had a 440 in a Dodge Shadow, that was a beast. Not a sleeper though, you could tell by looking at it that it would give you a run for your money.
It would be a little hard to hide the 460 with the other parts on it, To make people think its slow.
sho tempo. bolts in, looks oem, you can get it over 300 hp.
there is a guy around here that has a 2 door dirty 30. an old bmw 325I that he shoehorned a dohc cobra motor in it. it was stock from the outside and it didn't show any signs of being modified
I personally would put a 2.3 turbo in a pinto wagon. big turbo, intercooler, all the bells and whistles
mid-70s Pinto/Bobcat hatch or wagon comes to mind. Add a turbo to the 2.3L and you have a light weight rear drive car with good power-to-weight ratio that can run skinny enough tires to pull off the sleeper look. :) An older econoline panel van that's been gutted might also do the trick, as would a lowered Ranger.
I have thought about dropping a 302, C4 and narrowed rear in a mid 90 model year escort.
I'm surprised turbo anything is being mentioned as a sleeper....... Between the turbo hanging off the side of the block, the intercooler, and the whistle the only person that's going to think it's just a grandma car is the 16 year olds that have a civic with a fart can on it that somehow turns into a supercar because of said fart can.
Had 2 of those :mullet:
1st was a 74' wagon that had a 69' 429/C6 wedged in there. 8" of the engine was set back into the firewall :evilgrin: Fender-well headers, narrowed mopar 8.75 rear. Although it was quiet, you couldn't hide the N-50s hiding in the rear and the pizza cutters up front.
2nd was a 76' wagon with the port holes and a built 69' 351W/built C4, 68 cougar 9" rear, Granada rotors w/gm calipers. V6 Pinto sway bar up front and a unknown aftermarket rear sway bar. It had 14X9 slots all the way around.
a Ford Van.......
I like to be different
Just for kicks and GIGGLES an LS powered MUSTANG comes to mind. OH shiznit NOW I DID IT!!!
How about a MIATA with a 302 I always loved that setup for sure it is a bad ass SLEEPER !!
:hick::mullet::burnout:
Late 80s daytona z dakota rear diff efi 318 5 speed. 78 fairmont or zephyr with a very nicley built 302. The rustier the better.
A sleeper to me s somthing that appears stock and sacked out. People around here are dumb. If it looks like t must be slow, right?
I have a cousin that has a Gen 1 Miata with a 347 stroker. It still has the original wheels and it's totally quiet :evilgrin: Of course he also has a Buel that hits over 200 MPH. He's an Ex-Superbike racer.
CoogarXR - a friend of my brother's had a Chevette with a 3.8 turbo in it. His father owned a junkyard and he got his pick of just about everything that came in, so he built that GN/Chevette thing. It was silly fast until he climbed a tree with it...
A guy around here had a nice sleeper for sale recently: A first generation (mid 80's) Plymouth Voyager cargo van (no windows) painted in grey primer and converted to RWD with a 340 in it. That was pretty much the definition of sleeper.
'Nother time, years ago when I had my Trans Am, I had my ass handed to me by a Dodge 600 convertible in a stoplight drag, right in front of everyone. He came back to the parking lot we were all hanging around in, laughing his head off. He opened his hood and there was a turbo 2.2 built to the nuts. The turbo on that thing looked like it belonged on a Peterbilt - the compressor was the size of a dinner plate.
Myself, I'd like to do up a Fairmont wagon with an '86 Mustang front clip. Drivetrain wouldn't matter as long as it was fast, but I want a Mustang wagon...
Haha! The "Monster Miata"
Fairmont, fox LTD or fox Marquis wagon with a warmed up 302HO EFI motor in it and a 5 speed would be a fun sleeper.
The ultimate sleeper that you dont have to reinvent the wheel to make faster....1989-1990 Dodge turbo minivan...with some work down...to the 11's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haPCQKOyMTo
Also some people are having luck swapping in the SRT4 engine....lots better factory head.
Travis
I want to get a 2000 to 04 Taurus wagon with a floor shift, and transplant a 3rd gen SHO V8, transplant the front SARC struts, dummy the SARC system to work w/o the rears, swap the SHO wheels and exhaust, maybe get some magnaflows on it and then TURBO. Those engines LOVE forced air. Maybe I'd swap the seats, too. Those seats are nice. Then leave it white and stock looking otherwise. Not even window tint. I'd go out on the streets and destroy everybody.
I'd like to do this with my Hoopie '96 F-150...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=zcPHHEea3lE&NR=1
I know its a GM vehicle, but a Pontiac Solstice with the Aluminum LS7 427(7.0L) from a Z06.
I've always wanted to put an LS7 in an 80s S-10, or a Terminator motor in a Ranger. I want my '53 Chevy to be a sleeper, but I know I will make that thing sharp all the way around.
I wanted to do that in the 90's , but I wanted to use my '84 Mercury Lynx (same as Escort)
I loved that little car.
Got 35 mpg all day long with the a/c on....carbed...no efi.
*Flamesuit* LS motor with turbo
Or a 4.6 with turbo's if keeping it ford. Parts for chevy seem so much cheaper. Home grown turbo kit, especially with holsets can make big power on the cheap.
You can hear if it's a cammed 460 under the hood.
What's really sleeper is turbo. Dampening the exhaust noise and shoots away like a f'ing rocket! So a turbo 351 stroked to 427 under the hood of an LTD ;)
There is an awesome sleeper where I live, 80s Volvo Wagon with a Turbo'd LSX. If he didn't have a 1320 Video decal or an LSX badge you would never know until he really gets into the throttle. I've seen it many times and it took me along time to figure out it was even modded like that, today is when I figured out it was turbocharged. He got all over it and I could hear it spool and the Blow Off Valve.
People say the SHO's are fast, but I have yet to have the pleasure of driving or riding in one. Only one I have ever seen in person had the passenger side doors pushed over even with the drivers seat and the passengers seat was hanging out in the rear dash area... It had brains and blood all over the interior. Supposedly the driver had slid sideways into a tree at 120+ mph
I had a 3rd gen. I had the heads off for valves, and I installed a Magnaflow y-pipe at the same time. Sold it shortly after, but with the heads back on and the freer flowing cats, that thing went like stink. 120 was easy, not as easy as the bird, but she's lighter and has more engine. The thing I miss most is the wail. With the intake resonator off and with 2 1/4 Dynomax's the thing sounded like shag with a hot Italian chick in puppiesan. Especially after the IMRC opens at 3400 rpm.
How about an AMC Pacer. with an lsx supercharged.
if it were me, crown vic wagon with a 351 based stroker.
Sleepers are my favorite kind of cars. I'm always mentioning to my wife how good of a sleeper I think something would make. Minivans, small cars, big cars, wagons... you can pretty much sleep anything!
I think a late 80s Oldsmobile with a completely stock exterior and a beefed up L67 swap would be pretty badass and not too hard to do. Something like this...
(http://www.iowamotors.com/assets/inventory/1634/9463/97006E35-90A6-9ED0-1E4A31AE880F5312-1989-oldsmobile-98-regency-brougham-4dr---dk.-blue-001_x.jpg)
A fox Cougar could also be pretty sleepy if kept stock looking and quiet...
Here is an LS1 Pacer I saw on LS1tech a while back.
(http://imgur.com/7Qekgl.jpg)
That is GREAT! but it needs the steel wheels with hubcaps and the pine scent air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror.. I may just have to steal the drivetrain from the wifes 06 GTO and do it.
White ford ranger rusted rockers and a ladder rack with a used 306 and a t5
All stock f150 lers with cut outs
Box bird grandpa special as plush as they made them. 302 with 289 crank and rods, 4r70w, roller block ome decent cam, gt40 heads, 4.10's spool and lsc turbines with a 5lug swap or crown vic turbines.
86 lincoln continental with a beefy efi 351
My slightly lifted 98 ranger with a supercharged 302 has surprised more than a few truck owners.
A sleeper idea i've always liked is a 03-04 mercury grand marquis with a 4v 4.6 cobra terminator swap. Upgrade the blower and the fuel system, and you have a reliable daily with 600-650 rwhp.
I saw a mercury marauder at the track running high 10s with a terminator swap. Motor was fully built to handle more boost. The car would have looked stock if it didn't have big wrinkle wall tires on it. As for me my thunderbird has been a decent sleeper. People aren't afraid to race it until they hear the turbo spool and by then its too late. Most people probably figure its a waste of time to even race an 80s tbird. Lol. I'd love to build a crown Vic sleeper because my first car was an 84. Now that I'm older and more skilled, I'd love to find out what could have been. The build would be simple. A low budget small block with some boost. Maybe a t56. Not crazy fast, but would definitely surprise some people.
My t-bird is my main sleeper currently, way too much fun since the fart can imports can't leave it alone. I guess a beat to hell t-bird with significant hail damage and a rattle can paint job can't actually be fast.
My only two obvious give aways are my exhaust note, 2.5" duals with glasspacks, exiting in front of the rear tires; and my wheels, 04 svt cobra 17's. Import guys never seem to catch on, but i've had some mustang owners notice something isn't right. I guess you just have to learn the difference to a rusted off ler vs a healthy 5.0 idling.
Chris
My TC is a sleeper to most besides the bigs and littles
It's sad but most people don't even know what a TC is uhh lol
I'm currently driving a Subaru Legacy Outback. My 1 co-worker thinks we should get a wrecked WRX and swap the engine and manual trans into it :)