Have seen some in the past , early 60’s fury my dad bought at A local junkyard , was an unmarked ex police car , 383 with dual point distributor, don’t recall carb manufacture, but a four barrel , three on the tree . Had a hell of a top end , well past 120mph . I had a 55 Ford short bed step side , , cow shiit brown with white painted rims and mud grips in the back , 289 high performance with a 500 cfm Holley two barrel , don’t know why but from stop light to stop light MFer was quick , left a lot of people scratching their heads , bought it like that . Cousins boyfriend bought a 61 , I think it was , one owner Chevy impala off an old woman , turns out it was a 327-300 , three on the column , he was the neighborhood nerd till he got that car and started shutting down the joe cools in the neighborhood . The guy I bought the 55 from had a plain Jane looking 66 Ford with a 460 Lincoln motor built with some crazy horse power and later added nitro, nothing was ever enough for him . Why he chose a pickup for this power plant was beyond me . Did nothing to the suspension , it was a scary ride , running 90 mph , drop that autotrans into 2nd , hit the nitro and light the tires up , shift to drive, speed ometor buried so far you couldn’t see the needle at the pivot , truck floating all over the road . One ride was enough , stock truck wasn’t made for that kind of speed . Kenneth
If I remember correctly back in the late 1960's Baldwin Chevolet in Detroit MI put modified 427 chevy motors in new plain, no chrome, taxi cab looking Biscayne sedans and sold them from their auto dealership as the ultimate sleeper street machine.
IIRC Paul Newman had a Volvo station wagon equipped with a V-8 that harbored something like 400 ponies … back in the day when the Volvo was de rigueur for soccer moms. Pretty good sleeper.
He also had his Corvette Killer VW Bug convertible with a built 351 I think. Full works suspension In a tech school somewhere now.
I remember Dad had a Baby Blue, '62 Ford Ranchero with a 289, 3 speed that would scoot pretty well. He also had an early 60s Rambler American, 4 door sedan , factory V8 that surprised a couple of drivers. A Ford LTD wagon with fake wood on the sides, factory high compression 429 with quiet dual exhaust..
Sleepers is what he drove every day, Miss you Dad!
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
There are more than a few fox body Ford cars that aren’t mustangs. Fairmont comes to mind. Anything done one one can be done on the other.
An old man 4 door bel air or biscayne b-body with the autogear m23 4-speed and a stout big block with rearend gears that can be driven not raced... that’s something I could get my mind around.
Back in 1974/75(?) was traveling to outside DC area a lot. I would rent AMC Gremlin X cars because they had huge gas tanks and I could avoid the long lines at gas stations for fillups.
The Gremlin X had a V8 prolly 305ci. And it was fast (albeit ugly as hell). Restore one and put a turbo on it!
Way back in 73 I took a 72 Vega Kammback and blew the engine in it driving back and forth from Fort Lewis to my home in Oregon every weekend. So, I did the only logical thing I could- I put a V8 in it. Built a 327 with a 302 crank and cam of unknown quantity. But it put out about 450-500 hp and was a kick in the ass to drive with the built Turbo 400 . It would kill 69 Camaro Z28's and SS's all day long.... had to sell it for a big loss when I went overseas and my dad didn't want it stored at his house....
Last edited by Sheister; 06/20/21.
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability.
Not a mechanic/fabricator/welder...don't pretend to be one in real life either.
However, based on a current thread for building a car, I've thought about somehow dropping a V8 in my '98 Ranger. Keep everything on the outside looking as stock as possible and smoking the doors off the unsuspecting. Just a pipe dream...
Anyone build a sleeper?
I've never done it - but your post reminds me of a vehicle I happened upon several years ago.. A mid-90s Ford Ranger.. I don't know what he had in that thing - and it appeared to be just a normal small pickup.. But when the light changed he took off like a ROCKET.. I swear he was at 100 mph before he went two blocks... I wish I could have seen what he did with that truck, but it was pretty cool to watch..
I had a bone stock 1992 Ranger STX that was very quick for a stock truck of the era. It had an early 4.0 V6.(the first 2 years of the 4.0 had slightly higher compression and made peak torque at pretty low RPMs.) It was a 2WD, 5 speed manual with a short bed. It had highway gears (3.08), but would still roll out damn quick. 0-60 in the high 7 second range, which doesn't sound like much, but this was when the Ford Lighting and Chevy 454 SS were running 0-60 at around 7.4-7.5 seconds.
That Ranger would smolder the tires in 1st, get good rubber hitting 2nd at 35 and still get a chirp when I hit 3rd quickly enough at 60. Entering the highway with some aggression would bury the 85 MPH speedo in 3rd, but the truck didn't have much more than that, because it was limited to a max of about 109 MPH.
It easily ate every stock 4.3 S-10 and 4.0 Jeep it ever encountered and ran light to light to light one night with a Monte Carlo SS.
It was a fun truck and I'm glad to have survived owning it.
Now that you can get 427 cammer parts aftermarket, I've been tempted to put one in something - maybe an old Galaxie? 800hp and 3400 lbs is faster than a LOT of cars. Of course the "6-pack in a dryer" idle would warn anyone with half a brain what was about to happen...
Now that you can get 427 cammer parts aftermarket, I've been tempted to put one in something - maybe an old Galaxie? 800hp and 3400 lbs is faster than a LOT of cars. Of course the "6-pack in a dryer" idle would warn anyone with half a brain what was about to happen...
Hope you have very deep pockets- those cammer parts are extremely expensive. Last guy I talked to who had one built was telling me they start at $35K to have one done and up from there...
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability.
A buddy had a 64 Chevy II with the 6 cylinder symbol on the side and 4 lug wheels in front. Inside was a built 327 and 4 speed. He was good with the 4 speed, he ran brackets every week. Tore several rear ends out of it before putting in a Chrysler 8 3/4". He cleaned up down on Colfax on Saturday nights.
We all know advertising works, we just don’t think it works on US!
Biden's most truthful quote ever came during his first press conference, 03/25/21. Drum roll please...... "I don't know, to be clear." and THAT is one promise he's kept!!!
God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter
God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
I would simply remove the ZL1 emblems from my Camaro. If I added different rear tires, changed a pulley, and had a tune it would easily be a 10 second car. Other option would be to add a supercharger to a SS sedan. These were made in Australia by Holden and badged as Chevys. Still miss my 2017.
My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost.