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Tripper

Older and more rusted every day!
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
14,144
Location
Central Tejas
Back in the day... I was *really* into sleepers! I loved building a car that looked like a pile but could beat most cars on the street. I LOVED the look on guy's faces at the next light after I smoked their baby to their great surprise! It probably also had a lot to do with the fact I usually spent all my money on a hot engine & never had enough left over for a real paint job! If you have one now or pictures of your old sleeper... please share! [ddd:eek::eek:[ddd

BoB
 
Good idea! I used to work for guy that was a race driver on our roundy round tracks here when I was younger. He had a 70 Ranchero with a stock brown color, kinda bland looking. He stripped the car of all trim and made it look just plain jane then added 289 emblems to the sides. He was actually running a hot 429/4 speed under the hood and took real pleasure from smoking those guys that thought they had runners...wish I had a pic , sorry!
 
Good idea! I used to work for guy that was a race driver on our roundy round tracks here when I was younger. He had a 70 Ranchero with a stock brown color, kinda bland looking. He stripped the car of all trim and made it look just plain jane then added 289 emblems to the sides. He was actually running a hot 429/4 speed under the hood and took real pleasure from smoking those guys that thought they had runners...wish I had a pic , sorry!

A friend of my brother used to run a 70-71 4 door sedan Ford Torino with that same set up smallfoot. Blackwall tires. Dog dish hubcaps. S*** Brindle brown paint job.....LOL
Too bad we didn't have digital cameras back then.
Torchie
 
In the late 50s, early 60s, my folks had a 56 Ford Country Sedan, Red and White fourdoor wagon. It had the T-Bird 292-4V with a Ford-O-Matic. I could take a lot of similar vintage Chevys that were much prettier.
 
How old does it have to be? my current sleeper is only 26 years old...[P
 


In 1958-59 we had a car club called the Sleepers. Instead of metal plaques we had window stickers like the one pictured. We were high school kids with no money and were lucky to have beaters. But we all dreamed of the day when we could have a sleeper.
 
Not mine but in late 80s old man had a 69 FD Vauxhall Victor ( Google image it) 2000 badges 13x5 mags with 165/70s hiding a very healthy SBC and powerglide. Even a new GSXR750 at the time couldn't match it. I remember it going off a 90mph speedo in one place with no brakes. I would love to own my own one but very very rare over here now
 
old one

Back in the early 60's My twin brother and I were taking an auto body class at college. a buddy;s little brother wrecked the front end on his 56 Ford 2 door. Since the car was still drivable we had to take it home each night, The car had a real 57 thunderbird 312 that came from the factory with the Isky cam and 2 '4's/ The kid paid for the engine when the wrecker bid on the car but when they raised the bird hood he demanded another $75 for the 2 4's. My buddy didn't have the extra cash so the wrecker gave him a stock 4 barrel manifold and gaskets and let him find a carb. HE took a carter AFB off a 392 hemi.
our college roomates wanted to see how fast it was. WE did not have the front fenders or hood on and the aprons were holding the rad support in place. WE drove on some back roads and saw a 58 and 59 chevy line up side by side. they waved us to go by but we said we wanted to watch the race. I lined up behind them. and passed both of them . I had to slow down because the fan was tinging on the radiator, WE stopped and they looked at the engine . dirty black valve covers and the air cleaner said 272 Cu in 145 horsepower. Later when working in las vegas we found a factory 2 -4 setup for $ 75.
 
1981 Ford Granada. I'm thinking this one might be in the sleeper category. Sure had a lot of fun with this car .... recall one young lady coming up and telling me "My Grandpa had on just like that .. but it didn't go like that!" Still have the car .. but the good power train (408 stroker, etc) isn't in it anymore. I do have a 460 that I think would look pretty good under the hood. :D
 

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Sleeper

Here's the closest thing to a sleeper I have... it's a little grandma looking 62 ChevyII wagon we've had since the early 90's. When we bought it, it was totally original and belonged to a little old lady who bought it new and she had recently passed away when we got it. It had 16,xxx actual miles on it when we got it (yeah you read that right). My wife drove it as a daily driver before we had kids but once the 1st kid came along we discovered the door lock requiring the key to lock it was hassle with a baby in your arms (along with all the stuff that goes along with babies) so it was parked for a newer style daily driver. Over the years, I converted it to 5 lugs with disc brakes up front and ditched the 194 6cyl and 3 speed. It now has an old school stroked SBC in it with a TKO600 5 speed and a Ford 9" under the back. Best it ran at the track the few times I took it was a 11.77 at 117 mph in the 1/4 mile.

I don't get it out as much over the last several years but it's a hoot to drive when I do.:D

Oh and it still has less than 50,xxx miles on it:cool:
 

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My sleeper

This is my shop truck sleeper. 85 s10 with a 91 5.0 HO ford. Have owned this truck sense new. Was originally a 2.5 4speed. Lots more fun this way. Gets a lot of double takes and comments at CruiseIn. By the way that is rust not paint.
 

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I've had a few sleepers in my time...

but the best I've ever seen was a buddy's 63 Ford Custom with a 406 4spd, dog dish caps and bench seat...
 
but the best I've ever seen was a buddy's 63 Ford Custom with a 406 4spd, dog dish caps and bench seat...

Haha... in high school a friend had a '58 Impala with a 409 & B&M shift kit installed. He changed all the badges to 348 badges & used to take people's $$$ on a regular basis! Before racing, people wanted to know what was under the hood & he'd pop it & let them see... haha! [ddd

BoB
 
Had a 58 Chevy 348... had that turbo glide trans...

Haha... in high school a friend had a '58 Impala with a 409 & B&M shift kit installed. He changed all the badges to 348 badges & used to take people's $$$ on a regular basis! Before racing, people wanted to know what was under the hood & he'd pop it & let them see... haha! [ddd

BoB

Reverse was at the bottom of the column shift.... can't tell you how many times I had the trans out of that thing replacing the planetary section or the trans depending on how fast I was going when I trying to grab low gear (G) for Grade...lol and grabbed reverse instead
 
I'm a little younger than some here... anyhow, when I was a punk kid working at a service station, the station's mechanic had a rough '74 Olds Cutlass. I didn't think much of the car or him... until the day he left the station in a cloud of smoke, two strips of rubber left as evidence. I shook my head and thought, what in the hell was that?

Next time I spoke with the mechanic, I asked him, "What's under the hood?"

He explained, "455 Rocket from my '69 442." Long story short... the mechanic had a little drinking problem, wrecked his 442, put the 455 and trans in the crappy '74 and eventually, sold me the car for $400.

At the time, I had my '67 Impala SS with a 327 and four speed. The big Impala was no slouch, but the big Olds would eat it alive in 60 feet... likewise, the rat crap Olds destroyed 5.0 Mustangs by the dozen.

I took great pleasure in cruising the strip with the Olds... girls didn't like it, guys liked it much less. [ddd

.
 
Are you sure it was the car the girls didn’t like , I think my car was the problem with the girls to
 
A few years back, I had a '70 AMC Rebel four door. Just plain ole original light blue, little chrome ans a six banger. I lost reverse and couldn't find anyone that wanted to rebuild that tranny. It wasn't but 30 years old at the time. Anyway, I had a good running Olds Rocket and decided to stick that in the Rebel. It ran pretty strong even with the six stock rear end. Well, I got broke again and had to sell the Rocket and tranny. After going back to work and getting a few spare pennies, I rebuilt an older 460 Ford and stuck it in the AMC. It wasn't much off the line but a waste of a few right rear tires, but at about 40mph, it was tough. I raced a young lady with a new Hemi pickup, from a 30 roll, let her get about ten lengths ahead and flew by her at about 100. I told her to take her new Hemi truck home and tell her husband that she just got beat by a 35 year old Rambler. I pulled the motor/tans and junked the car after a late night run to see what kind of top end it had. The speedometer was way past he 120, the fenders flopping in the wind and hardly any steering control, I figured the Rambler had had enough.
But, the memories of the Mustangs, Dodges, and a few unknowns, in my rearview mirror will last forever. I have a little precautionary respect for old four door cars now. You never know for sure.
 

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