Help Me Find the "Sleeper" Threshold

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/a-6-speed-fleetwood-brougham-who-did-this/129501/page1/

this get's my vote..........

In reply to 759NRNG :

Is it really a sleeper if a new minivan can keep up with it? 

EDIT: Speaking of Minivan.

720hp H22 swapped Honda Odyssey

I'm still tired of the word sleeper, but dumb things going fast is still cool.

If there's a public build thread, is it still a sleeper?  I have one project I'm holding out on making a thread out of, because I don't want everyone to peer behind the curtain, or tell me how dumb I am lol.

Prob one of my favs.  How about a plain old B body LeSabre....that runs 9's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iyhB3FjMHo

I remember a sleeper that completely blew me away. It was a '68 Impala, looked stock, stock tires on stock steelies. Had some primer spots like a typical "resto-beater" or a car mid-rebuild. Quiet exhaust, didn't sound like it had a big cam or anything. The only minor tip off was the 2" cowl induction hood, but it was primer and nothing too menacing. It took off the line easy, then just hauled ass. If I remember right it did 11s, at a time when 12's was a "quick" street car.

A friend of mine has a very boosted Legacy Outback wagon. Beige. Stock wheels. Stock ride height. Exhaust is large but has a turndown so it looks small and is tucked under the bumper, behind the trailer hitch. It moves out quite nicely, and looks like your typical "canoe trip" Outback wagon.

Vigo said:

All the sleeper-ness of my sleepers has been based almost totally on make and model and most people having an inherently low opinion of said make/model. 

THIS. No one expects to get raw timed by a Korean Sedan. Or pick up.

Everyone has there own definition. People ask if my wagons a sleeper and get all heartbroke when i tell them no, its actually slow. Amazingly putting aluminum wheels on it has cut down on that question alot.

To me, a sleeper is anything that ends up being suprisingly fast  compared to how it appears or you what you would normally expect.

So if I put an f2t in my courier, and keep the exhaust quite, it'd be a bit of a sleeper despite being quite low and having some nice wheels. People just don't expect a mid 80s ute to be any semblance of fast. It would suprise alot of people.

My definition of a sleeper:

Exterior changes:  Powder coat stock wheels to black, install Mustang fuel door.

Interior changes: None

Suspension changes:  Complete SVT suspension and brakes.

Engine changes:  Numerous, increasing FWHP from 108 stock to 223, including air to water intercooled supercharger.
 

Nobody has questioned the now 5-stud wheels on my Firefly.

I've had a fuel laughs at the "roll cage" with the "automatic."

I think the reaction of the driver that you blew the doors off of is telling. My Galant VR4 has elicited  some pretty funny reactions. When the driver and passenger of a "faster" car laugh and cheer you as you fly by, you have a sleeper. When you convince the driver of a new, powerful luxury car that his car must be broken, you have a sleeper. 

A guy I know drives a GMT920 Police Intercepter Tahoe. It has the cop wheels, rubber interior and the searchlight. It also has a very large bottom mount turbo, hidden intercooler and an e85 tune. It puts over 600 to the wheels before the tires start to spin on the dyno. Big, cushy, boring and fast as hell. His interstate kill stories are always entertaining.

I'm also a big fan of Shaken and Stirred which would be a sleeper without the stickers. I love the 18" wheels that use 15" hubcaps and look like 15s.

In reply to buzzboy :

I've seen that car in person twice and didn't notice the wheels. Interesting.

I wish I could find a better photo that shows the wheels. I forgot to take a photo when I was there. There is a really cool detail on the hubcap that is two smaller Pontiac logos and one bigger one that resembles the Three Pedals logo. The wheels are called Deluxe Wheels and they aren't cheap.

Here's the best photo I could find on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcSqqmmnZ5I/?taken-at=1021210290

Bob the REAL oil guy. said:

Vigo said:

All the sleeper-ness of my sleepers has been based almost totally on make and model and most people having an inherently low opinion of said make/model. 

THIS. No one expects to get raw timed by a Korean Sedan. Or pick up.

Or a Miata.

We owned a 91 GMC Syclone that would qualify. Even folks that knew were surprised by how it would launch and 1/8 mile. Recently a magazine tested a bone stock new Chevy 3500 drw crew cab high country 4wd. Ran 15 flat in the quarter and 0 to 60 in 6 seconds. Not so bad for close to 10,000 lbs. There was n S4 wagon (?) on a silly TV show a few years back that was QUICK and FAST. Maybe that car without the badging would describe a sleeper...  

People would tell me my car is a sleeper even tho it has an obviously non factory exhaust, but it was multiple colours and not loud at idle. Down side, its not fast from a dead stop, goes good from a roll. I am hoping to lose the 'sleeper' stigma when it comes out of paint and body in the sping.

For me, the key trait to being a sleeper is that somebody has intentionally gone to some lengths to hide the level of performance that it's capable of. Starting with an unsuspecting vehicle is a great start, but if it's got visible cues that quickly give it away, or noticeable cam lope and loud exhaust, then it loses a lot of the sleeper vibe. At that point, it's just an unusual platform choice. Of course, that doesn't mean that it's not a cool, unique vehicle, but it loses a lot of sleeper cred.

In reply to Crackers :

You mentioned the bumper.  It made me think of this car:

1962 Biscayne built by Rad rides by Troy.  Note the tucked rear bumper, shaved locks (the turn signal rotates to unlatch the trunk), trim delete, etc.  I think it is past what I would call a "sleeper", but has amazing wormanship.

Here is the stock look:

Back in the day I wanted to build a mid-sixties Rambler coupe w/ SBC or BBC. Keep the patina, steelies w/ dog dish hubcaps. LS would be the go to now.

'79 Z-28 build. Ditched the Target 350 engine for a healthy, rebuilt '70 350 w/ headers and duals, I cut and welded the factory exhaust tail pipes to the duals. Everybody knew the factory exhaust was a Y-pipe into single cat to a rear Y-pipe w/ slash cut exits, i.e. dog. That fooled a lot of people and got me harassed into races w/ TA's and Mustang GT's of the day. They shut down around 120. 

Yea, that was kind of a sleeper. 

BTW, Troy Trepanier told me he had over 100 hours in the modifications to the rear bumper on that '62.

That's a LOT of work for a bumper!

In reply to SVreX :

That's pretty much exactly what I'm planning to do. 

Fortunately for me, the bumper on the Rambler is practically dead straight. 

If it's too much for a sleeper, I don't really care. C'est la vie.

SVreX said:

BTW, Troy Trepanier told me he had over 100 hours in the modifications to the rear bumper on that '62.

That's a LOT of work for a bumper!

That sounds a little high for a pro shop, but not surprising if it includes the panel work that needs to be done to accommodate the tuck. 

In reply to Crackers :

It probably does. 

I have no idea what he was specifically referring to. I just know what the man told me. 

Knowing Troy Boy's level of craftsmanship, it seems totally legit. Wasn't that car a Riddler contender?