I need a little clarification on this. It seems like all I hear these days from all the player-haters out there (read: non-Lightning pilots) is:

"...yeah, those Lightnings are pretty fast, but you know Chevy/Dodge/whoever is coming out with the ****-O-Matic 2000 TSR 397 Turbo GT and Grease Gun Weekly reported that it's going to be faster/quicker/yellower than the Lightning and..."

Blah, blah, blah. None of this seems to be terribly credible. Take one wacky concept car photo, some hazy (mostly imagined) specs, a little gullibility, a little "wish it were so", and you have a "production certainty for next week, bargain-priced to boot".

For example, my almost-brother-in-law-in-law, the not-quite-really owner (read: lessee) of a 6-inch-lowered bare-bones stripped 4-cylinder S-10 (at $199 per month, but he can't drive it ever again for the next 18 months since he used up all of his alotted miles) took great glee recently in informing me:

"...yeah, this guy I know who has a Lightning is trading it in on this new faster Chevy, it's got a Corvette engine and rear end, but I don't know what it's called but it's a pickup truck..."

I'm assuming he's referring to the Chevrolet SSR concept car, which is at the same time butt-ugly, underpowered relative to the Lightning, and presumably nothing but a concept.

Are there any real threats out there that might ever see the light of day? It doesn't seem like it.

On another note, am I the only one who found the "Northside Baller" thing funny?

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Silver Y2K Lightning
Bone Stock w/ Duraliner, Ford Hitch Cover

Silver (matching) Y2K ML320 Benz
Burl (ML430) Shift ****

Beater 1992 Grand Prix
Commuter Mule

 

Actually, what your brother in law in law, or whatever is talking about is the Chevy Scorcher. It's the S10 platform, with the Corvette engine, (don't know about rear end), high performance everything else. Even comes stock with a cute little Flame Job on it, with a Cowl hood (not sure if it was blown, and cooled). Have pictures of it, somewhere in a drawer in my room. Overall. If it IS/was a production truck (which I doubt), it has potential to be quicker than the L (due to wieght difference). But like I said, I doubt it. And the Chevy SSR (which is in Limited production) with it's El Co. styling and electronic hood popper upper thingy, isn't quit as fast as the L. So, even though I'm still a Chevy fan ::Looks around for mean glares::, the Ford Lightning still reigns supreme.

 

The SSR is slated for production for next year. I think it sounds like a neat truck, but it is not really meant as competition for the L. For one it is not a real truck. Furthermore, I think chevys intent with the car was more of a "look at me" im a convertible truck with heritage styling...than a real road warrier.

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2000 Red Lightning
(no mods yet...just got it)
95 Saleen S-351 Convertible/Triple Black
97 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic

 

You would think with the Lightning going it its third year of production on a six year production plan, that one of the other major manufacturers would have come up with something comparable, if not better, than the Lightning by now.

Maybe their market research showed them that the market is not there. I have seen quite a few Lightnings sit around my local SVT dealer for a long time before they disappeared. Sometimes for months. And, this dealer is willing to deal below MSRP from jump. Located in a very rich (if not the richest) county in the USA as far as per capita income.

 

It really is kind of sad. You guys are stuck in no-mans land. Stock for stock you can hang, then the muscle cars out mod you and there's that whole wind resistence thing.

Wouldn't life be more interesting if GM or Mopar would stick a blower on their big V8 truck engine and send them to the showrooms?

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1999 F-150 Lariat 4x2
Reg cab Short box Styleside
5.4L 3.55LS
Dark Toreador Red/Gold
VentShades
Tow Pkg
Line-X
Stickers to make it go fast

Future mods:
More Stickers

 

Cant think of ANYTHING for less than $32,000 that can beat it... Am I missing something ??
I may have overlooked something that my 6'3" wouldnt fit in, or that I would rather puke than drive.....

Doug

 

Raoul,

I guess by reference to no-man's land, you mean that there is no competition. True, the L is a one of a kind, but there is competition, everything just a little bit faster and a little bit slower than the L. The fun part is that . . . its a truck!

 

Maybe if Chevy put that Vortec 8100 engine in a Silverado we'd have some more fun competition.

Those modded 5.9 R/T's can keep up pretty well too from what I gander...

I do have a question, what is the RAM 1500 SS/T truck? I see them around every once in a while... did they do something to the V8?

I love my Lightning. Stinks that winter is coming, I won't be able to do my daily drive to nowhere....

Daniel

 

The Dodge Ram SS/T is all show and no go. Nice wheels and stripes, but nothing done to the Magnum 5.9. They're slower than a Dakota R/T. When I started looking for a new truck I considered one for about .2 seconds. Even with the Mopar power packs (cam, exhaust, intake) they're still slugs compared to the L.

 

I was going to start another thread on sort of this same subject, but will save some band width by joining in on this one.

It has sort of gotten to the point where I am,that I get a lot of comments, and a lot of sort of complaints about the Lightning concept. And, bear in mind that my Moby has "tasteful" HobbyTown USA decals front and rear and on both flanks and is parked in front of my store every day in a very active shopping center. So, I get more than my share of tire kickers.

Guys with F bodies, Dak RTs, Chev SS454 trucks and a range of other pretty quick vehicles who basically say "it ain't fair, your truck is blown" or some such.

It has gotten to the point with me where I try to sit them down and say "Look, I paid just over $30K for a Ford F150 with a 5.4 litre engine that is factory equipped with a blower. That is both good and bad, in that it has to meet all sorts of EPA, NHTSA, CAFE and whatever else the Government can think of, regulations. But, it is blown and it does go pretty darn fast.

Please, consider to take your (fill in the blank) to your nearest speed shop and have them install a blower and a shift kit for your trannie, and you will likely have spent less than I did and only have to comply with the EPA regulations. Chances are you will have a vehicle that can beat mine (especially F bodies) by a good bit and for maybe less money."

Of course that does not solve the true showroom stock one on one situation, but most of my tire kicker buddies are not stock either any more than my Bolt is.

Guess what I am saying is, blow it, fix the trannie for durability and you could kick my butt more than likely. It is mostly a function of horsepower/torque/weight that determines who is faster.

Of course, I never mention that our pachyderm level of weight might give us just that leeeetle bit of advantage off the line.

Next.

Bill

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99.5 Lightning
Build #247
PSP Chip/Filter
Bassani full system
White/normal options
Tamiya 1/10 scale Bolt
Several old trucks/cars
Thunder & Lightning
Rag Doll Cats
E-mail MOSTOYSINC@AOL.com
Kennesaw, Ga. (Atlanta)

 

Chevy has been talking about the Silverado S/S for a while now...it probably will be produced this year or next. Rumor and speculation say that it will have as much horsepower as the L without using a blower. Only time will tell...

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Shopping for my Lightning
Gotta have one!

 

Me, being a dodge man.. have heard that in 2003 the new R/T's with have one of the following...
4.7L HO engine making 325HP?
5.7L Hemi making 32xHP
or a Blown 4.7...

I think the only way to tell is if you make decisions on producing these vehicles, or if you see one.... only time will tell...

as for me... I have a supercharged 97 Dakota club cab.. (not r/t) my best to date is 13.84@99.33... bought the truck used for $16000, prolly spent 4-5k in mods... (truck was a year old)... Its all up to the buyer, you drop a 5.0 in a ranger (saw a guy turn 13.65 in a stock 5.0 in a ranger) again, at the time, the L is the fastest *STOCK* production truck...

$30000+ for a fast *** full size or $20000+ for (just example) R/T and have 5-10k to spend on mods... (not to start anything) but you make what you buy do what you want...

 

Thanks, CoolVa:

I supported you before and I do again.

It seems to me that the argument "we" have is sort of oriented around someone at Ford deciding that they will offer, for the present, the fastest full size pickup on the planet more or less off the showroom floor.
That said pickup is specced to beat in certain performance parameters most of the more commonly perceived performance oriented coupes/pickups/sedans may have been in their thought process or it may not have been.

Bottom line is for me, they did it and it seems to have worked. And, at a fairly reasonable price for a vehicle that does more or less what it is supposed to do, and to a reasonable extent is covered by warranty if you don't stupidly exceed the limits of Ford's patience.

That General Motors, Chrysler or several offshore players could/can offer the same performance package is more or less without question. It is a matter of Corporate commitment. If I were to choose a sleeper, I believe the Toyota V-8 suitably massaged and without a terrible price penalty could be something that present Lightning owners might well consider.

Next:

 

well I have questioned this for a while now.im not going about this the way some of you do.I feel stock for stock ,Our trucks are almost as fast as most everything out there including GTs,Cobras,trans am's,z28s and such.on another note with a little cheating you take a stock lightning add a simple chip/filter combo and almost NOTHING stock besides a Z06,Viper,will touch it.At my track i have a chip and filtered lightning.I can say truthfully that There is NOTHING at all stock that can beat or even stay with me other thn a viper or now the z06.Im basing this on 13.3 in the quarter.to be fair.I have run 12.9 but Im trying to be fair.There is nothing (at least at my track) that runs as fast as me stock.Even lightly Modded TAs are not as fast.

 

the lightning,isn,t all about straight line performance,it,s a preety special ride to me,not only is it fast for a truck,but it handles like a dream,drives like a dream,looks bad a$$,and its limited production,i say $29760,well spent.and what i like most is that you dont see them everyday,like the mustangs and the fbodys,there a dime a dozen around here,and how ugly is that dang dodge dakota r/t,<sorry mopar boys>just my opinion.long live the lightning.

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00blacklightning,oo5.0explorer,ooZ71 5.3.