That's why you just don't tell the DMV what your doing with it so just give them the door vin if that's all they are asking unless they want more don't give them any more info then what's asked of you. What's the update on the truck? Banging it out quick then went silent.

 

The door or firewall plates would be used as secondary locations if the primary VIN is illegible. The title / VIN combo belong to the chassis not the engine or body components so if the VIN on the frame is readable that is the one that matters. NC has the same criteria, so in order for this project to be road legal it would have to be titled as a salvaged 2002 F150, not a 1969 F100. Also altering or knowingly destroying a VIN on a road going vehicle is a felony in most states and a violation of the United States Code. Yes those laws are designed to fight chop shops but if it were me I'd rather not have to explain myself in court. No I'm not an attorney but just doing a little reading of the DMV policies and motor vehicle code gave me enough pause that I wouldn't have gone this route.

What I meant about not seeing the benefits was the cost involved in the body swap vs adding IFS and the lightning drivetrain to the 5G F100 chassis. I completely agree that the 10G F150 chassis is much better than the 5G F100's, but I don't think it's that much better than a properly sorted 5G chassis with an IFS swap.

Additionally Ford only made around 29,000 2nd generation Lightnings; conversely Ford built about 1.7 Million 5th generation F100's (not including the heavier duty variants). So the project is taking a nice classic truck and merging it with a wrecked yet repairable low production truck and ending up with one vehicle. Like I said before if it were me I'd find a different donor F100 if I had to have a bump side Lightning, keeping the black truck original. Honestly though if the Lightning was straight enough to swap, then it was straight enough to fix.

The CHP is who verifies VIN's here in CA, not the DMV. It doesn't matter what the registration says if the officer wants to take a closer look he has the authority since the CHP is charged with enforcement. Even if you did get it by initially, it would suck to have your new hot rod impounded sometime down the road. Yes people get away with stuff all the time, but I wouldn't take the chance with it.

 

not necessarily... Having a shop do any build IFS with labor plus engine swap to fuel injected like the owner wanted, or chassis swap would not be cheep and the swap is not as hard as looks when you already have a road map. I started my 1972 onto 2002 chassis back in Sept 2011 and already showed how it could be done. These guys did their research and saw my build and have the skills to attack it with the man power to complete the job far faster than me myself and I... the "one man wrecking crew"...lol. Also when it comes to cost it all depends on what the cost of the donor truck is. I found mine so cheep that I was able to part out all the unwanted parts and the project paid me... no joke. I still have a ton to do but their truck doesn't need body work and paint so huge savings right there for the owner.

That's if you leave it a bone stock 2002 chassis and the truck I started with was no Lightning but was fully loaded with the bigger brakes and it handled and drove very nice. Way better than my F250 Yes theirs is a F100 so it didn't ride like the brick that mine did. My point is there are upgrades for the 2002 chassis if it isn't good enough for the owner later.

I don't know the owner or what their budget is but starting with a clean truck will defiantly keep the over all cost down. Paint and body only skyrocket the overall budget and if the owner has had the truck a long time they have enjoyed all of the originality but now it's time in their mind to move on to something else but still keep the same look, then so be it.

yes in CA and some other states that would be a problem but I know many states that it only matters what the vin says so the frame swap makes no difference at all. Here in WA I know of many chassis swaps that are still registered as the original body not the frame and they had to go through inspection before they could get back on the road. So this is not for you but I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying this swap based off of the concerns you brought up other than to make sure you know what your state requires before you start.

This is to everyone else who has a problem with this build...
Original and clean are very cool but nobody here knows the history of this 69 except the owner. As far as we all know it could be 4 or 5 different trucks all combined with a 1/4" inch of bondo to make it look nice with a junk yard motor. Most likely not the case but we don't know so it is silly to sit here and say what we would or wouldn't do without knowing. We all love these trucks for one reason or another and we all use them for our own uses so I say to each their own and so be it.

 

I see guys on here all the time doing the C/V,T-bird/Cougar/Mark,Long bed shortened,EFI,4.6L,Cobra 32V,ETC. How is that different than a Bump on a Lightning chassis?

 

As long as a man is happy parting with this money and seeing where it goes then it's all good.

Orich

 

Sorry for the lapse in time with the postings... we've been doing a lot of traveling and stuff, so I finally got a few minutes to post some updates.

The crew was pretty impressed how the wheel fit in the front wheel well, and it didn't look like very much fore-aft adjustment would be needed.

The cab is still not all the way down on the frame in this picture, so this is not ride height.



Bringing down the cab left this fitment:

 

With the cab "in the ballpark", the crew was eager to test fit the '69 bed on the Lightning chassis. We knew the wheelbase of the Lightning was approximately 5 inches longer than the 1969 truck, so we anticipated a fitment issue there. The crew unbolted the '69 bed and carried it into the Lightning chassis.






Once they set the '69 bed on the Lightning chassis, it became obvious that some modifications would be needed to have it fitted properly. The Lightning frame kicks up approximately 3 to 4 inches, raising the bed far above its original orientation to the cab.

 

We also noted that this the gap between the cab and the bed was approximately 5 inches, so the crew began to strategize on how to make this fit.






At this point, it was determined that perhaps the cab should be "locked down" into its final position before the crew made any changes to the frame to fit the bed. Little spacers were made to simulate cab mounts to pick up the backside of the cab, and the cab was located longitudinally on the Lightning frame.

 

This truck will not be using the Lightning wheels when completed, but it will use wheels of the same size to utilize the stock Lightning tire dimensions. This way, we will be sure that the gear ratio will match that is designed for the lighting.



It turns out that the front cab amounts will be usable on the Lightning chassis, and the crew position and '69 cab over these. Holes will have to be drilled for the mounts, but if it should work.

 

The crew rolled the chassis truck outside to be able to step away and look at it.

 

With the cab bolted in place at the front cab mounts, the crew felt it was safe to begin addressing the wheelbase situation. They drilled out and ground off the rivets holding the stock leaf spring mounts to the chassis, and measured the frame to see if the rear suspension could be moved forward to shorten the wheelbase. When the wheelbase seemed to be in the right place, they tack welded the brackets back on the frame to evaluate.






Next, the crew needed to address the bed height situation. This was done by grinding notches in the transverse supports below the bed.

 

Cutting the notches allowed the bed to come down approximately 2 inches, which helped, but was not quite enough. Next, the crew shim the back of the cab upwards to make up the difference in height. At this point, the wheelbase is nearly correct, the cab in bed are in alignment, and the truck has a slight rake which is exactly what the customer wanted.





We were all pleased at how quickly the major pieces came together on this project. It is far from finished or driving, but it is really coming together nicely. The rear track which fits under the bed, the front wheels fit comfortably in the front fender wells, in the truck looks natural. At this point, it looks like a '69 truck with Lightning wheels! This one is going to surprise more than a few people!

 

Regarding the "why's" of this project... does anyone really need to justify a hot rod project?

Having said that, the decision to use the Lightning chassis vs. updating the original '69 was extensively researched and considered. In the end, it was determined that:

- Customer got a great deal on a totalled-out Lightning that still ran and drove
- Where he lives, he won't have a problem with registration.
- The cost to upgrade the '69 chassis to drive & handle like the '02 would have been extensive... engine upgrades, EFI, fuel system, supercharger, suspension, wheels, tires, brakes, overdrive, gears, etc... this all came with the donor truck.
- When finished, all the factory Lightning stuff will work as it did in '02, down to the ABS.
- This truck is meant to DRIVE, so availability of parts for the '02 came into play. Sure you can get all the maintenance and repair parts for a '69 F100, but anyone has '02 brake pads, bearings, tires, etc. in stock.
- The cool factor... who doesn't want something unique?

The build is moving quickly, so this is not going to be an uber-expensive truck to build. We're not touching the outside at all, so the key was to get a good price on the '02 donor, which the owner did.

 

LOOKING GOOD !

 

Looks great even in the unfinished state. It will definitely surprise many.