Here at Dragzine, we’ve got a soft spot for sleepers…but then again, who doesn’t? There’s something about a hot rod that looks or sounds tame but has a serious set of teeth. How someone obtains sleeper status can come in many forms and has become much easier these days due to advances in the technology and quality of even the cheapest of parts.

Josh Dillion and his 1973 Ford Maverick take old school blue oval parts and mix in a healthy dose of boost to make a car that looks normal, but will take a healthy bite out of about anything on the street or strip.

The Ford Maverick was introduced as a lightweight compact car that would be Ford’s entry into the small car market.  Having swooping lines that mimicked the first generation Mustang, the Maverick sold relatively well. Performance from the factory was not high on the list of options, as the biggest motor you could get was a 302 backed by a C4 slush box.

Dillon’s Maverick has a whole lot more than the stock 302 mill going for it, as it’s packing 468-inches of big block Ford under the hood. The engine itself still has the factory crank, rods, and pistons and the heads have been worked over by Dillon to allow more air to flow and match the Torker 2 intake manifold. A 950cfm blow-through carburetor feeds on boost that comes from a BorgWarner 75mm turbo. The transmission is a C6 with stock parts that are matched to a Dacco torque converter and puts the power down to a stock eight-inch rear that has a $15 used mini spool. In street trim and on just 12 lbs. of boost, the Maverick ran a 6.62 at 105 MPH — that’s a mid-10 second car if you run it out the back door. Dillon built this sleeper on a tight budget and his worked paid off in spades as his street car will catch most things by surprise, including a big tire bracket car in this video.