Here's my .02 on the subject.

A Lightning was a limited production vehicle....and is as unique as they come in the marketplace , both then and now.

I have a 1994 (Black) Lightning , that I purchased just for the shear novelty of what it is.

Sure...a short bed standard cab F-150 of the era can be built along the lines of a Lightning...but it will still be an F-150 by VIN and judged as a Mod Vehicle in terms of value.

I would much rather have a "Real McCoy" as opposed to a hybrid....based on marketing and limited availability alone.

The cost and labor to get a standard F-150 to do what a Lightning will do from stock is going to be hefty and very much labor intense in my opinion...I would take the bite and spend the extra upfront to obtain a Lightning Vs a project truck....simply put, when the Gen 1's are gone?.....that's it , regular F-150's will still be around for a long time. latch on to a fine piece of Ford SVT history and enjoy the investment. You won't hate yourself later.