1993 SVT Lightning Gets Prerunner Makeover
Tough and functional modifications invite high speeds on desert terrain.
Performance Hit
Hacking up a perfectly good SVT Lightning is enough to make most enthusiasts cringe, although its prerunner makeover does offer some redemption. Designed by Ford's Special Vehicle Team, the F-150 Lightning was the Motor Company's 1993 entry into the performance truck market. It was a hit. The standard cab, short-box, two-wheel drive pickup ushered in a new era of muscle.
Photos: BaT
Team Style
Once a tarmac terror, this 1993 SVT Lightning is now Baja-bound. But, what exactly is a prerunner anyway? According to Motortrend and as the name implies, a prerunner is any vehicle used to 'pre-run' an off-road racecourse. For Ford, the tough and functional style gained traction with the Rough Riders—their co-sponsored Ford/BFGoodrich, trophy-grabbing, desert racing team.
Critical Speeds
Offroadium, an online magazine dedicated to documenting modern off-road culture, qualifies that a preunner is a “certain truck modification or 'style' that features off-road racing-inspired upgrades.” They specify that prerunners are meant to be driven at “high speeds on desert terrain.” The magazine also stresses that suspension travel and damping, more than ground clearance, are of critical importance.
Travel Ingredient
Counter to expectations, two-wheel drive trucks are the preferred choice for prerunner builds. With no front drive axle or transfer case, they are lighter than their 4x4 equivalents and the front end is easier to modify for longer suspension travel. The 1993 SVT Lightning was issued as a two-wheel drive truck with one other key ingredient for a desert-racer makeover.
Production Response
Along with a raised front suspension, the other crucial requirement of a prerunner build is a powerful engine. The SVT Lightning ticked that box and then some. It came with a production 351 Windsor, or 5.8 liter V8, but Ford engineers fitted the motor with high-flow GT40 heads and slotted in hyper eutectic aluminum racing pistons to increase response and output.
Proving Highlights
The SVT Lightning, and all other F-series and Broncos of the age, benefited from Ford's Rough Riders sponsorship. The race program was used as a proving ground for production components. One of the highlights was testing the E4OD automatic transmission. Coupled with the electronically-controlled unit is a 4.10:1 limited-slip differential that has been capped with a finned Mag-Hytec cover.
Polished Bounce
Traction is the name of the game for a prerunner. This modified SVT gets Nitto Terra Grappler All Terrain tires wrapped around polished 15'' Mickey Thompson beadlock wheels. Aftermarket components were fitted to the Twin-Traction Beam front end for longer travel. Dual front RaceRunner shocks with limiter straps and KYB shocks at the rear take care of bounce and rebound.
Worthy Name
A custom six-point roll cage completes the race package. Other prerunner features include wide fenders in fiberglass, a tubular front bumper with a RaceRunner skid plate, removable tailgate bars, and a full-size spare mounted in the bed. Vinyl graphics and Hella driving lights leave no doubt that this prerunner makeover is still a muscle truck worthy of the Lightning name.
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