Rough and Ugly F-150 Sleeper is Hiding a Twin-Turbo Surprise
None of the factory gauges in this beat-up 1988 F-150 Custom sleeper still function, but who cares? The twin turbos work just fine!
In the 1980s, the Lamborghini Countach was the poster car for exotic automobiles. Its low, wedge shape and extreme angles were the stuff of teenage automotive enthusiast dreams. The Jeep Wrangler, with its upright boxy dimensions and old-school military DNA, fills the same role for SUVs. The 1988 Ford F-150 you see here could very well be the poster truck for the term “sleeper.”
A sleeper is typically a nondescript or disheveled vehicle that gives no outward indication of the startling power under its hood…until it leaves a rival vehicle and its clueless driver in the dust. Bill Tumas from the CJ Pony Parts YouTube channel found the perfect example of one.
It belongs to a man named Brendan, a part of the outlet’s video team. His truck is 30 years old, but it could pass for older. Just look at it. Where the paint isn’t flat, it’s worn through or missing entirely. Then there’s that odd tile-like pattern and those yellow zigzags on the lower body. The faded beater sits on a set of anonymous black steel wheels wrapped in equally anonymous tires. The interior matches the outside not only in color, but in condition as well. The bench seat is ripped and torn. Tumas says, “Miles on this truck? Who knows. Odometer broke years ago. Half the stuff on the interior doesn’t even work.” Although that may sound like hyperbole, we completely believe him.
Clearly, the F-150 has the cosmetic half of being a sleeper covered. It has the mechanical half down, too. According to Tumas, when Brendan finished collecting random parts from a variety of sources and turning his wrenches, his Camaro-killer had a 306-cubic-inch V8 and a custom carburetor, “heavily massaged” heads, and a pair of turbos bolted to it. “This thing makes somewhere north of 450 to 500 horsepower.”
The 5-speed manual that engine is attached to has its own idiosyncrasies, only fully cooperating in certain gears. Even its shift knob is a bit particular – every time Tumas tries to grab a gear, it comes off in his hand. Then there are the factory gauges in the instrument cluster, which have given up completely.
Despite those issues, Tums does manage to have some fun. The small-block is a bit hesitant at the bottom end, but winding it up is worth the wait. As Tumas puts it, “Once it starts making some boost, it takes off.” Unfortunately, all of that power generates a lot of rear-end wheel hop so he can’t do any burnouts in it out of fear something might break. We hope Brendan fixes that issue because he has a lot of Chevy owners to shock and humiliate.
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