Sleeper cars

[G.Q. Jeeper]

Here are my choices in various categories:

STOCK SLEEPERS:

Classic / Old School

1985-87 Dodge Omni GLH / GLHS 2.2 Turbo
1990 Ford Taurus SHO
1991 Dodge Spirit 3.0L and Turbo

LATER MODEL SLEEPERS:

Dodge SRT-4
Ford Taurus DOHC
Dodge Intrepid R/T

REAL SLEEPER@ 1978 Chrysler Town and Country 440-4BBL full house with a blower! ahahaha

Jeff

 

[BBeach]

Deff suby wagons with the ej25 swap or whatever, i think thats the STi 2.5 liter turbo engine, srt-4s minus the spoiler, SHOs, a lot of s13's that look pretty crappy but with engine swaps are quick cause of their lightness. One i saw the other day was a i think 99 or so buick regal, whichever has the supercharged engine in it. (The GS is motivated by the supercharged edition, with 240 horsepower and 280 pounds-feet of torque.).

 

[motorcityxj]

GMC Safari, and it was likely a 4.3 liter. I had no idea they built a 5-speed version, though. :dunno:

-----Matt-----

the old school early astros and safaris you could get a 5 speed. I think it was only on the 4 banger or 2.8 v6 so the 4.3 was a swap.

a 350 V8 or stroked to 383 would be better

 

[XJoshua]

Buy my 1986 Toyota Cressida, and put in a 7M-GTE. Or get a 1989 Toyota Cressida and put a 2JZ-GTE in, they make a good 9.58sec car, and look sexy. Worlds fastest Cressida lives in AussieLand!

 

[motorcityxj]

Here are my choices in various categories:

STOCK SLEEPERS:

Classic / Old School

1985-87 Dodge Omni GLH / GLHS 2.2 Turbo
1990 Ford Taurus SHO
1991 Dodge Spirit 3.0L and Turbo

LATER MODEL SLEEPERS:

Dodge SRT-4
Ford Taurus DOHC
Dodge Intrepid R/T

REAL SLEEPER@ 1978 Chrysler Town and Country 440-4BBL full house with a blower! ahahaha

Jeff

good old school sleepers with the omni, taurus, and spirit, though i would include any first gen 5 speed taurus when they have the sweet yamaha engine. Nothing taurus second gen is a total POS. The spirit rt was a 2.2 or 2.5 4 banger turbo i thought not a 3.0.

My suggestion fergie was if you want a classic bmw go 1980s 6 series

or a 1995 ish bmw 540i

you can pick up a 6 speed and v8 for a real bargain like 12 grand.

I really like the way these looked pre bangle, looked modern but definately bmw with the old school individual head lights

my old man has a 86 BMW M5 and he is up past 330,000 miles, no engine work. Original tranny, just went through a few clutches, no rebuilds.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

It took me a while to find this pic, but here's my buddy's Dinan M5:

-----Matt-----

 

[Kittrell]

Those are some slick lookin' taillights Matt.................

 

[IXNAYXJ]

Those are some slick lookin' taillights Matt.................

Well, it all most people see of that car.

I was going for the badges more than the entire car in that pic. Do you know who Steve Dinan is? I'll try to find the picture of me driving it, dialing in full opposite lock at 35 mph. :firedevil

-----Matt-----

 

[RichP]

Back in 68 when I bought my 66 GT350 the shelby dealer, Morristown Ford or Shelbyville East, had a bunch of 67 ford 2 door torino's, all copper with tan vinyl tops, stock hub caps and bench seats, that was before they got big. Came equipped with a 427 side oiler, 4 speed, ford rear with a detroit, we called em taxicab rears, they had shelby drive trains, open the door and look down on the sill and there was the KR.... they did pound the floor pan up under the seats to fit the dual mufflers and rear wheel well work to fit the narrowed rear and blue streak tires... Never seen them mentioned in the shelby history books though.
Then there were the 66 and 67 Mercury Cyclones, another family looking midsize car with a 427 and 4 speed...handled like crap but straight line wooooohoo....then there was the 69 Nova SS with either a 396or 427 [rare]
The new ones have come a long way, not so much performance wise but handling and traction.

 

[gbaronetXCR]

Did the s10 deal.. 90 shortbox.
383 sbc, carb then fuelie.Seen 425 rwhp 700 r4 shit kit, 4 link posi.
Next wsil be a awd blazer with an ls1. wheel spin in the truck is a big deal, but was a blast to drive.

 

[XJCasper]

"High End" and sleeper don't work in my book.

After I read through the thread I will give you my answers.

 

[casm]

"High End" and sleeper don't work in my book.

Dunno - I was passed the other day by an early-to-mid '70s vintage Mercedes 350 SEL (IIRC) with the 6.3-litre V8 in it. Thing was positively flying along - it wasn't until I caught up with it in traffic and saw the the '6.3' badge on the back that it made sense. Small body, big engine, old so looks slow, but lotsa speed. Need to watch out for the air suspension on them, though.

One project I've had in mind for some time is a Rover P6 fitted with a later de-smogged Range Rover 4.6-litre V8 - essentially the last iteration of Rover's licence-built version of the Buick 215, and with some tweaking can put out enourmous amounts of power. Again, not exactly what's being asked for here, but the idea of a virtually-unknown (in the US, at least) British car picking off most everything else at the lights is rather appealing to me.

 

[G.Q. Jeeper]

I do think the true meaning of a sleeper is just that a car that has no business dusting off high end cars or fast cars all together.

BMW's Mercedes, stuff like that are not exactally sleepers, I mean you do not get many people thinking they are nothing cars, but if you get a Turbo Charged Omni and blow the gaskets out of a RX-7 I personally think you just found yourself a sleeper...

To me a sleeper is something that looks like it belongs in Grandma's driveway but is hiding a secret weapon under it's hood!

Soupy Socks

Jeff

 

[XJCasper]

Ok, All of my Sleeper cars have been mentioned.

Little more detail:
1989 and 1990 Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan had a 2.5 T1 option. Awesome sleeper, but not what this guy is looking for.

Since no one has posted pics of the GLH/S, here we go:

My cousin's GLHS next to my GLH. Daily drivers.

 

[casm]

I do think the true meaning of a sleeper is just that a car that has no business dusting off high end cars or fast cars all together.

Agreed. But by the same token, there is such a thing as the sleeper high-end car. More:

BMW's Mercedes, stuff like that are not exactally sleepers, I mean you do not get many people thinking they are nothing cars

Point taken - but if you take a model that's known for being a slug, particularly if it's older, and make a rocket out of it, more power to ya. A BMW 2002 properly turboed (and I'm not referring to the factory turbo models) is a great example; ditto a 6.3-litre Mercedes, or a well-set-up 2.6-litre 190E. Shoehorn a Fiat 124 2-litre twin-cam into a Fiat 850 (driven one with exactly that setup) and you'll surprise the crap out of damn near everyone.

For total perversity value, I'd go with my last car - a 1989 Peugeot 405 Mi16. Kiss passing smog goodbye, but there's a massive aftermarket for them in Europe. What better sleeper in the US than a French car?

To me a sleeper is something that looks like it belongs in Grandma's driveway but is hiding a secret weapon under it's hood!

Totally agreed - it's just that there's a lot of ways to do that. The GLH-S is proof

 

[Fergie]

Some of you girls are over-analyzing the "sleeper" moniker a bit.

To me, a sleeper is anything you dont expect, be it a minivan, or a de-badged M5.

 

[89Daytona]

Here is a really nice omni (I think it had a Porsche drivetrain transplant)

To me, a sleeper is anything you dont expect, be it a minivan, or a de-badged M5.

So these are all sleepers then....

 

[goodburbon]

you suck at the internet

 

[89Daytona]

you suck at the internet

Do the images not show up for you? They show up for me...

 

[98XJSport]

Makes perfect sense, the red x's make em look slow...

Seriously though the idea of a sleeper to me is a looks slow goes fast car. Miata with a v8 swap type of thing. I never mess with euro cars just because I know nothing about them, but they have huge potential to destroy my car, which is only at best quick. I have the opposite of a sleeper, looks fast but isn't lol.