How To Make A Granny Sleeper Missile

Farm Truck

Farm Truck

Gargling Gas has always been obsessed with the sleeper carThere’s nothing more satisfying than driving a seemingly run-of-the-mill car, knowing you have serious power underneath your right foot.

Farm Truck’ from Street Outlaws is sometimes referred to as a ‘Sleeper’, but is it really? If I saw that beat old truck roll up with its tuned engine throbbing and its fat rear wheels, I’d know something was up, especially if they bet me money to race.

So what is the perfect wolf in sheep’s clothing?

I’ve written a whole host of sleeper-related articles, and this sleeper car link is a great example of them, as they are all A: Wagon/Estates, and B: Powerful and unassuming.

Granny With Power

Granny With Power

This led me to thinking about what other cars would make unsuspecting sleeper cars – after all, Gargling Gas’ sister site, Sleeper Cars, features many types of sleeper.

Nothing quite says ‘granny’ than the late 80s Nissan Bluebird. After a little research and luck (Nissan actually attached a turbo to this thing and called it the ZX Turbo), I discovered it would be quite easy to create a 0-60-mph in 6.5-secs granny missile.

That sounds rather optimistic, but considering the 1.8-L ZX Turbo possessed 140-bhp and the car itself weighed in at around 1200-KGs, what’s achievable with a little tweaking is pretty plausible. I tried comparing it with something a little younger and came across the Saxo VTS. I owned one of these fantastic pocket rockets, and it was quick. From its 1.6-L 120-bhp engine, it could hit 60-mph in a little over 7 seconds. It weighed in at just over a ton, but considering the Bluebird has the extra 20-bhp and a turbo, the 6.5 second figure could be achieved.

So basically, you want to take this:

Nissan Bluebird Turbo

Nissan Bluebird Turbo

Play around with this:

Nissan Bluebird Simple Engine Mods

Nissan Bluebird Simple Engine Mods

This is where a cold air intake comes in. Depending on budget, you could go further and fit a slightly bigger exhaust for better flow, but ensure it is well hidden so as to avoid being sprung as a sleeper.

You want to contain all the mods underneath, hidden and out of sight. The owner of this particular Bluebird installed a manual boost controller, and I’ve heard over 250-bhp can be hit, although for the size and weight, around 160-bhp is plenty to have fun with.

After all is done, remove all the ZX and Turbo badges or decals. Remove any sporty trim and try and replace with standard boring trim. You could even sell the alloys and fit standard wheels with dull trims.

Hopefully you’ll end up with something like this:

Boring But Fast Granny Mobile

Boring But Fast Granny Mobile

Probably one of the dullest looking cars on the road, but with a few sly touches here and there, capable of embarrassing cars way out of its league.

Let the fun and fury commence…

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What Oddball Car Would You Own?

Nissan March Super Turbo

Nissan March Super Turbo

If you’ve followed us for a while, you’ll have seen this little car before, an oddball of its generation for both technical and aesthetic reasons. It’s a little shopping cart capable of embarrassing all of the boy-racer hot-hatches of its time.

In a previous post, I detailed specifications on the Nissan March Super Turbo should you want to geek out of them like me. I praised the little March Super Turbo for its use of both a supercharger and turbocharger, but as this post isn’t about power, I’ll continue to give my other reasons as to why I would more than happily clear a space for this in my garage.

Nissan March Super Turbo

Nissan March Super Turbo

I love this quirky car because, despite its tiny supercharged and turbocharged 930cc engine and the fact its relatively quick, it isn’t shouting about it. Essentially, it’s the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing, a vehicle usually purchased by the blue-rinse brigade to pick up their shopping – at this point you should also know Gargling Gas’ sister page is devoted to Sleeper Cars . Aside from the rally-style fogs and small hood vent, the March’s boxy – and let’s face it, un-sexy – body help it pull on its deceiving wooly pull-over.

The guys from Mighty Car Mods featured it on one of their YouTube episodes, a great little snippet if you’re digging my choice of oddball car.

The Nissan March Super Turbo is my ‘oddball’ car, but what’s yours and why?

Drift Garage, Forsberg & Tuerck

If you are even remotely interested in the drift scene, whether you follow Formula Drift or you prefer mixing it up on the streets with your friends and your zip-tied missiles, you’ll have heard of the names Ryan Tuerck and Chris Forsberg. Not only are they Formula Drift pros, but they also spend time wrenching and hooning in their garage.

Drift Garage is a youtube venture featured on the Network @ channel. They promote all things cool and street like skating, BMX and Drifting. Should you want to delve further into what serious drifters do in their garages to push the sliding boundaries, the series of videos below will leave you wanting to rush out and find a cheap Nissan you can wrench on.

I especially liked the episode where they build a drift missile for $5000. Forsberg and Tuerck are both informative and amusing and it’s great to see two pros messing with relatively cheap cars – just look at the drift warrior above, for example, a car build purely for function and not form.

Check Drift Garage out if you are looking to satiate that need to slide and do something a little different.

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Dorothy’s Datsun 120Y

The following video is taken from fullBOOST.com.au, a site that loves sleepers just as much as Gargling Gas… which it A LOT!

Dorothy’s Datsun 120Y is the wolf in sheep’s clothing, an unassuming grocery getter from which you’d expect to see the curls of a blue rinse perm sticking up over the seat. The license plate reads an apt: NAN747. What people don’t know is there’s a 30-year old unopened Nissan VG30 3.0L V6 engine inside. Not happy with the power, this old girl boosts the engine with a Holset turbocharger, and fuel comes from a Tunnel Vision straight LPG system and a Haltech ECU.

Check fullBOOST out and watch the funny video below. The music is perfect, setting the tone for what is ultimately a drag monster.

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A Little Education, Culture & Total Carnage

If you are able to sneek away from the Saturday night Rom Com with your significant other, grab your mobile device, kickback on your bed or hide in the toilet, and behold this 94 minute movie on the origins of drifting.

Outsiders Japan Movie is filmed by the guys at Driftworks – and they know a thing or two. With 10 years sliding cars, Phil Morrison and James Robinson hit Japan and soak up the culture, the filmmaker Al Clark capturing the vibe through his discerning lens.

If you want to go straight to the action, start the vid at around the 30 minute mark. After watching the entire movie, it only makes me want to go to Japan even more. It looks like quite an intense and surreal experience, and I think a couple of weeks would probably be enough… but, then again, they feature a hi-tech heated toilet, so maybe a little longer?

JDM Dream Concept From Nissan

JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) fans and petrolheads into retro styling will trip over their tongues when they see the latest concept from Nissan and tuner gods NISMO. As soon as I spotted this I felt a pang of dread as I realised this was a concept and, although a similar model may hit the market in the next few years, it wouldn’t be exactly the same as the above… I want that one! I want I want I want!

Nissan are using the proportions and straight stance of a simple three-box shaped car design in their IDx Nismo, aiming to meet the needs of the younger generation. I love the idea and the fact all the latest technology is housed in a body reminiscent of the 70s Nissan Bluebird (Datsun 190B) or an early GT-R.

There is a similar model that wears its sensible trousers, but that isn’t worth talking about. It’s this sporty IDx Nismo that looks like something that’s just crashed out from from a gamer’s TV screen. Just check out those side mufflers! With a direct injection 1.6-L turbocharged engine and a six-speed CVT box, this little car should boast some satisfactory figures. And because Nismo have tinkered with it, it’s going to handle well on those gorgeous 225/40 19-inch rims.

One feature that stands out the most is the reverse-slanted nose seen on some muscle cars – it gives the IDx Nismo an aggressive and fast look. Those ultra cool side mufflers offer a pleasing exhaust note. The car also features modern touches such as front/rear and right/left aerodynamic spoilers and lightweight 225/40 19-inch tyres.

Overall I think this car will more than appeal to the younger generation; I reckon owners of the old school variety will also like a big slice of this car. JDM enthusiasts will revel in the upgrades and the potential for custom mods and body wraps. A turbo-charged 1.6-L engine should produce around 180-200-bhp, and combined with its light weight and compact size, it should attract the likes of the tuners.

I love this concept and really hope we see something like this from other big brands in the future.

Planning For My Drift Build

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Having drifted my WRX Wagon and my Prodrive, I am now seeking a more suitable drift machine, something RWD and a little tail happy.

I love the look of the more retro drift cars, such as the AE86 and the 180SX. Securing a half decent machine isn’t expensive, but it will usually come with high mileage. So I guess the first thing to do will be to check compression and give it a damn good servicing, perhaps adding performance plugs and leads. It will be a turbo so I’ll change for a CAI filter if it doesn’t already have one.

sx

Next up will be the brakes. If they are looking worst for wear, I’ll change them all round and go for a durable pad such as Yellow Stuff. Because the handbrake will be used to initiate a drift, extra attention needs to be given to the rear pads (maybe go for a harder pad?).

Now I should have an MOT worthy Nissan 180SX to throw around. But first I will need to add a strut brace to keep the chassis a little stiffer, and if my budget allows, I’ll invest in a set of coilovers, otherwise just a set of stiffer and lower springs – cutting springs seems arduous and not worth the effort.

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As this will be a toy and not my daily driver, I’ll literally tear everything out and replace the seats with two bucket seats and an extended drift handbrake lever.

The 180SX comes with an LSD (Limited Slip Differential), so that saves wielding the diff.

By this point, I should be ready to get sideways and hone my skills to link a few slides together.

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