Friday, May 11, 2012

I want to build a subcompact sleeper.




 That's it. I want to build a sleeper. You know, a car that looks slow, blah, boring, but it's actually fast. Make that stupid fast. Why the sudden lust for a sleepy subcompact sleeper? I just watch a video of a 1,200 horsepower '72 Nova that looks like a pile of crap. But guess what? It's ridiculously fast. Make that redonkulously fast. 




I've seen some fast subcompact sleepers. Take the Micro Image's 12-second Yaris, for example. My Yaris, with intake, header, and exhaust is probably a high 16-second car at best. The Yaris above, although not exactly "sleepy" looking, likely surprises most people. Love it.



Or how about a 12.53 second Ford Festiva (no not Fiesta, Festiva) with a rear-mounted turbo. Yes, that would be a heck of a sleeper. Who the hell would expect that? Not me. Bonus points for the front wheel treatment.






Or how 'bout this: A V-8 shoehorned into a Suzuki Sidekick. Hmm ... who do I know that already has a Sidekick? (ME!). No one would expect that. Although, I'd likely opt for a 2WD version and keep the Teal Terror for my off-road toy (that 1.6-liter motor would feel mighty underpowered after driving one with a V-8).


However, if I had the ability, I'd probably take a Mitsubishi Expo LRV and swap in a 4G63T out of a turbocharged Eclipse or EVO. They've offered these overseas from the factory; it's essentially an EVO III with mini minivan body. However, I'd keep mine FWD and make it look as close to a grocery getter as possible,






So who's with me?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like to do the thing. My ideal choice would be a 1st gen neon coupe with an SRT swap.

However, I have an urge to have a mid 90s buick century sleeper..lol. not sure of mods or engine choice though.

Duke said...

5th Gen Civic, 4-door. I know, it's been done to hell and back. But you can build 'em fast, reliable, and cheap. A turbo B18 would be fast but then you'd have that intercooler to deal with and it would ruin your sleeper surprise. So I say go for an H22 swap. And keep the rest of the car bone stock. Put in adjustable shocks but keep the stock ride height. No fart can exhaust. Use a stock style muffler. No one will suspect a thing when you roll up on plastic wheel covers. They'll think you borrowed your Mom's grocery carrier.