Building a Lightning, sort-of
 

I have a super clean 96 F150 E/B 2wd, regular cab, short bed, 5.0, 4R70W. So far my modifications are: Lightning rear springs (2.5" drop), extended rear shackels (1" drop), removed front spring seats (2" drop), side exit stainless exaust, factory tinted sliding rear window, removed front fuel tank, removed cab weight, removed front sway bar mount, and tinted windows. Waiting to be installed is: 351W with P-heads, AOD-E, 4.L10 rear end, rear sway bar, and Lightning front air-dam. Some parts I still need are a Flareside bed & rear bumper, chrome 99 Lightning rims, 99-04 4.6 car torque convertor, 79 or 85 Mustang crankshaft pully, an air meter from a 7.5 liter truck, and an aluminium driveshaft. Feel free to give me any input that you think might be useful to me. I also need an EEC-V ECU for a 96 truck or a 96-97 van with a 5.0 or 5.8 and an automatic transmission.

i think you should make it look like a regular lowered f-150 in my honest opinion.just build the motor.my last truck looked like a typical lowered single cab truck but under the hood i had a built lq9 6.0 motor in it with 150 shot of nitrous,built tranny and posi,etc,etc.people never expected it and their looks were priceless.just my .02

That's sorta what I was going for, a stockish looking Flareside that will break into the 13's. The 2nd Gen Lightning rims are doughtful, I kindof like my stock aluminium 15's. Oh, I forgot to mention that I have a wet kit to ensure 13's , but I hope I don't need it.

ahhh..i was gettin at that you were trying to make it look like a lightning as well.and about the wet kit,mine was just there in case i was losing a street race.i never ran the track unfortunately though but would have scared the crap outta me if i had im sure.next up was a turbo, i just ran out of funds and lost my job.how much of a shot are you doin on it?

It,s just a compucar 90 shot. Yea, I'm not trying to make it look like a Lightning, only perform simular but better.

well thats good.thats what i would do as well.just make a clean truck that outperforms other cars.especially when its a vette.the ones with vettes out here have such a big ego and when you race them and blow by them they hate you with a passion.quiet hilarious.

It is funny you should mention Vette's. I've got a mid 13: Windsor/6speed Lincoln M-7. I was out on a relaxing Sunday drive in 5th gear on the 4-lane in the edge of town when a 50-60 year old guy in a early 90's convertable Coravette eased up on my left, looked at me, then throttled on with a look of disrespect for me driving the 35mph speed limit. You should have seen the look on his face as I stabbed 2nd and barked the tires, and pulled on him. And believe me, he was giving it all it had.

haha.ya i love most of those vette guys.too bad i drive a huge excursion now and i cant do that anymore :(

My F150 project is coming along nicely. I got my truck in December-08 and made my first improvements on Christmas eve. Since I have joined here, and shortly thereafter made this post, I have been making what I think are some good changes to my truck. My mods since last are: FlareSide bed and rear bumper, Lightning air-dam installed, 92-95 stile front bumper without cutouts, Paint job, Rear drop hangers, 85 Mustang crank pully, and a Taurus electric fan.

I'm doing a similar project. I have a 95 regular cab SWB XLT with the 4.9 auto. I bought a wrecked rolling chassis 93 Lightning (minus the engine and trans) and swapped the complete suspension over as well as the interior. The seats out of the L are second to none. I would like to find a Flareside bed but have not been lucky enough yet. Good luck with your project.

Scott

If you want to do a Lightning 351 swap into that thing, I have almost everything you would need.

Maybe someday. The project is for my son that will be turning 16 next year. I think for the time being I will have him try the 4.9 for awhile and then maybe step him up. Where are you located anyway?