You Might See Me in My Brand New Whiiip
So I got a new truck. An 8 year old truck that looks like it's 1 year old.
As most of you know, I (for some weird reason) was in the market for a truck. The truck that appealed to me most was the F150, but I didn't want the F150 that you pass 76 times a day on the road. I wanted a unique one. So I got online and started researching.
While reading about F150s on www.fordf150.net I came across a "Lightning Clone" in the classifieds. It was in Ohio, looked super clean, and was really close to my budget.
Fast forward a few e-mails, calls, and weeks later to this Saturday... Kari's dad and I drove out to buy it. Even though the guy (Dan Mann) seemed nice and trustworthy and the photos looked amazing - I was nervous. I mean, if you travel 10 hours to get a car and it turns out to be a POS, what do you do? You turn around, drive home, and waste 20 hours plus gas money. But when we got there, it was even better than the photos. There's not a single ding or scratch on the entire vehicle. It's ridiculous. And the interior is just as spotless.
So here's the story of the truck. Dan does some work at a body shop as a painter. He likes to purchase wrecked vehicles and restore them as his own. In 2001 he bought a wrecked 1999 Ford XLT Stepside - a fairly rare truck. Upon restoring it, he decided that since it has the same base body style as the Ford Lightning, he'd just make a Lightning Clone.
Here's what he did in the conversion...
-Dropped the truck 2 inches
-Added factory lightning RIMS
-Changed the entire front fascia, bumper, grille, etc to factory lightning
-Added factory lightning ground effects
-Added a custom exhaust with flowmaster muffler
-Changed several interior panels
-Added Rousch seats
-Added Lightning steering wheel
-Changed all exterior lights
-Added factory lightning/SVT badges
-Added factory Ford Tonneau cover
-Tinted windows
-Dropped the back 2 more inches
-Added 20" Centerline wheels
He did some incredible work both in the restoration and maintenence. I really couldn't be happier with my new truck. It's really nice to have a vehicle that people stare at again.
Except, with these lightning badges, all the kids are gonna want to race, haha. And my truck is exactly 100hp shy of the Lightning (360hp). However, I should be able to make up for half of that really, really easily. It would be fun to make it faster than a lightning without having a supercharger, hmmm. Maybe I'll have MH help me tune it. Since his dad has a real lightning, I'm sure he knows all the ins and outs...
...
Pics.
As most of you know, I (for some weird reason) was in the market for a truck. The truck that appealed to me most was the F150, but I didn't want the F150 that you pass 76 times a day on the road. I wanted a unique one. So I got online and started researching.
While reading about F150s on www.fordf150.net I came across a "Lightning Clone" in the classifieds. It was in Ohio, looked super clean, and was really close to my budget.
Fast forward a few e-mails, calls, and weeks later to this Saturday... Kari's dad and I drove out to buy it. Even though the guy (Dan Mann) seemed nice and trustworthy and the photos looked amazing - I was nervous. I mean, if you travel 10 hours to get a car and it turns out to be a POS, what do you do? You turn around, drive home, and waste 20 hours plus gas money. But when we got there, it was even better than the photos. There's not a single ding or scratch on the entire vehicle. It's ridiculous. And the interior is just as spotless.
So here's the story of the truck. Dan does some work at a body shop as a painter. He likes to purchase wrecked vehicles and restore them as his own. In 2001 he bought a wrecked 1999 Ford XLT Stepside - a fairly rare truck. Upon restoring it, he decided that since it has the same base body style as the Ford Lightning, he'd just make a Lightning Clone.
Here's what he did in the conversion...
-Dropped the truck 2 inches
-Added factory lightning RIMS
-Changed the entire front fascia, bumper, grille, etc to factory lightning
-Added factory lightning ground effects
-Added a custom exhaust with flowmaster muffler
-Changed several interior panels
-Added Rousch seats
-Added Lightning steering wheel
-Changed all exterior lights
-Added factory lightning/SVT badges
-Added factory Ford Tonneau cover
-Tinted windows
-Dropped the back 2 more inches
-Added 20" Centerline wheels
He did some incredible work both in the restoration and maintenence. I really couldn't be happier with my new truck. It's really nice to have a vehicle that people stare at again.
Except, with these lightning badges, all the kids are gonna want to race, haha. And my truck is exactly 100hp shy of the Lightning (360hp). However, I should be able to make up for half of that really, really easily. It would be fun to make it faster than a lightning without having a supercharger, hmmm. Maybe I'll have MH help me tune it. Since his dad has a real lightning, I'm sure he knows all the ins and outs...
...
Pics.