Deciding on what to buy to build as a sleeper

[Macguyver]

What ever car you end up buying just remember there is more to a "sleeper" than just a strong engine.
Suspension is the key to having something fun to drive as well as safety.
We would be happy to help you "steer" your car in the right direction.

-Mac

 

[Ribbedroof]

Mine's a sleeper, cause it's been sleeping in a building for 4 years that I know of 😆

Seriously though, dog dishes on a shiny car are a dead giveaway. Full covers on a weathered sedan, THAT's a sleeper, as long as it's quiet at idle

 

[Ribbedroof]

I’m sure that wagon is not as nice as the owner is trying to make everyone believe. I was noticing some flaws in the re-paint job. However, that’s fairly typical of eBay cars.
Caveat emptor!

That Bonneville wagon has been painted everywhere, and poorly at that. All the door bumpers, jamb vents, etc. Also appears to have been a woody...looks like the strips that hold the ends of the vinyl on the doglegs have been removed, but the screw holes remain.
They do make nice rides, though.

 

[montecarlolady]

Did buy that Malibu,having a 383 stroke built for it.So far they upgraded the rear end to a 12 bolt and upgraded the front suspension as well.Also having a 4L60E transmission built from a reliable transmission rebuilder

 

[CopperNick]

94-96 Chevrolet B-Body, Rear wheel drive, ls motor, 4-door. Cops used them a lot back in the day. The best ones came with a police package that supposedly beefed up the suspension and handling as well as having a chip of some kind already plugged in. Grocery getter with a lot more getter to 'er.

 

[500/600]

Mine's a sleeper, cause it's been sleeping in a building for 4 years that I know of 😆

Seriously though, dog dishes on a shiny car are a dead giveaway. Full covers on a weathered sedan, THAT's a sleeper, as long as it's quiet at idle

When have you ever seen a ‘quiet’ SBC that was fast? How fast are we talking here? 15s? 14s? 13s? Faster?

 

[lilbowtie]

When have you ever seen a ‘quiet’ SBC that was fast? How fast are we talking here? 15s? 14s? 13s? Faster?

My little 350 is pretty quite.

 

[Ribbedroof]

I'm just saying the dog dishes on cars with 2 chamber flowmasters and tires 14 inches wide on the back and frontrunners are not "sleepers" in my definition.

A sleeper should draw no to little attention until the hammer goes down. Shiny paint, rumbly LOUD exhaust and racecar rubber do not generally go unnoticed

 

[500/600]

check out the 'Bingo Bomber' Cutlass on youtube.

 

[ck80]

When have you ever seen a ‘quiet’ SBC that was fast? How fast are we talking here? 15s? 14s? 13s? Faster?

I had a 327 we put a 283 crank into making our own 302. Camel humps, ram horn manifolds, holley up top.

It was quiet at idle, didn't sound like much, but man it made the c10 it was stuffed into MOVE. You can sacrifice some horsepower by not doing the typical headers and mufflers for the sake of being quiet while still making tons of power.

Max power for the buck is loud. But you can make great power while pretty quiet if you don't mind leaving a little on the table.