Well this is my theory.Remember there were only to be about 24000 Lightning engines on their contract? Ive been doing some thinking.The way i figure it and judging on the way Ford does things This is what i think.This is also my reasoning why there are 7000 Lightnings being produced this year too.

99.........4000
2000.......5000
2001.......7000
2002.......7000
total.......23000 engines and trucks .alot closer than 30000 if they kept them til 03.

One more thing.If it took ford 3 years to make a new lightning,Why would they keep making them with the old engines and new body style just for 1 year??? This does not make sense!! This will not happen. I figure 2002 is the last year and then they will come out with a new one after the new body style has been produced if they come out with one at all after all the bitchen we do.....I really dont see ford going through the tooling and trouble just to make it for one year in the new body.I also think the new one (if we are so lucky) will be a 4 valve motor.

 

The engines weren't pre-built. Its just a contract for a minumum number.

I think (and this is just my opinion) that the increase in production was due to a high demand, particularly in light of the active truck/SUV market. It also offsets reduced interest in the cobra.

They had no problem with changing intercooler design in 01 which required some substantial changes. The addition of 3v heads (I dont think there are any plans to make the truck 4v) may just cause them to re-vamp the supercharger packaging again.

That said, if the '03 truck is a complete re-design like the '97 F150, we might see a break in production.

Thats my 2c worth of unfounded speculation ...

 

I think both are correct. There will be a break in L-production when the new body comes out.

This gives the public some time to accept the new shape and the aftermarket some time to show FORD the direction the Lightning should go.

 

I can see all points of view on this. Blacklight, it looks as though history repeats itself with Ford and the L. Look at the Gen I and Gen II. The F-150 was around for a while before Ford came out with the L variants. The same should hold true for the '03 redesigning.
Given the performance gains we've seen from the 351 L engine(260HP) to the 5.4 L engine (360-380HP), who knows where the HP/TQ numbers will be for the Gen III !
Just my $.02 ....
btw, i see that we have a silver '01 here in Tulsa (NLOC.org - oilwell1415)

 

Well look at it this way, in 97 the new body style came out, then two years later the L'
s came out. it will mostlikely be the same way with the gen III. what was it with the Gen I's. too young to remember.

 

What it was with the Gen 1 is that they didn't sell worth squat! I remember when I bought my '94L early in '94. There were 5 of them sitting on the lot. They were great trucks...just didn't sell.

I don't have enough inside knowledget to guess if there will be a break in production.

However, I seriously doubt there is enough of a change in the '03 truck where they couldn't keep the current powertrain. Remember when Ford went from the 5.0 motor in the Mustang to the 4.6? That was in 1996. Right in the middle of the SN95 bodystyle (first one the scene in '94 and revised in '99). All it took was a different K-member and they put that 4.6 motor right where the 5.0 used to sit.

Unless they are moving the engine to the back of the truck, I just don't see it being that big of a problem.

That's not to say there won't be a stop in production...there very well might be. The bottom line is SALES. If they continue to sell well this year, then I bet some bean counters will do their best to keep the line going.

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Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.34 @ 115.8)--392rwhp/433rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.8)--364rwhp/447rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://hometown.aol.com/wa2fst/home.htm

 

I agree with Lightningquick. The numbers are sure adding up in that direction. I also, obtained--well, I'm not saying anything, but all I can say is your numbers do add up. I truly do not believe Ford increased the production numbers due to demand--heck demand is always high on a limited production vehicle. I truly believe 2002 will be it.

For those of you who think "no they would not discontinue a limited production good selling vehicle like the Lightning". Well, I will leave you with this thought: GMC Syclone, GMC Typhoon, Buick Grand National. How many years were those vehicles produced?

 

As long as these remain this popular, barring $5 a gallon for gas they will build them. They stopped the Gen 1's because they didn't sell.

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Red '00 Lightning,
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445 RWTQ,
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The Syclone and Typhoon were not great sellers at the time they were produced. They were very expensive (for their time), and there just wasn't a large enough market for them (at that time).

I also believe they were much more limited production than the L's are...meaning it cost more to produce one unit than it does to produce an L.

The Buick GN was just a souped up Regal T-type Turbo (although a very nice one!!) and those cars had been around for quite awhile.

If a vehicle is selling well and making good profit/cost ratios, then the bean counters will literally force the engineers to keep producing them. Remember, its the pencil pushers who actually fund the engineers projects.

This is the VERY reason why there is no FR500 Mustang and no legitimate Cobra (not holding breath on a '01 model). Ford doesn't believe the profit margin is high enough to put enough emphasis on building one of these _right_. Give SVT real control over the Cobra project and they will hit a homerun just like the Lightning...but if it doesn't make enough sense cost-wise, we'll never see it.

So far SVT has hit a grand slam with the Lightning, and my bet is that inside Ford they will WANT it to be produced as long as it sells. Still, I will not go out on a limb and say it will definitely be produced. Let's wait and see how well the 7000 '01 L's sell.

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Wes Tarbox
90 LX 5.0 (10.69 @ 134.7)--597rwhp/590rwtq
96 Cobra (12.34 @ 115.8)--392rwhp/433rwtq
99 Lightning (13.20 @ 103.8)--364rwhp/447rwtq
00 Expedition XLT 5.4
http://hometown.aol.com/wa2fst/home.htm

 

I cannot really rain on this parade as I am not qualified to do so from any sort of insider info, but!!!

According to the SVT dealers and wannabe SVT dealers I have contacted in the Atlanta area, the bloom is pretty much off the rose so to say.

The 99.5 models were in pretty much high demand due to the lack of that model for a few years and the addition of a supercharged engine. Most dealers seemed to be sold out for the better part of the model year.

The 2000 models enjoyed a similar "pent up" demand but not all allocations were sold out as we could see on this very board. New 2000's can still be picked up from here to there.

Obviously the 2001 upgrades have generated another surge of interest, but I suspect that a 75% increase in availability may result in rather a lot of 2001 vehicles sitting on dealer's lots.

With all due respect to all of us who made that purchase decision, there is a finite number of folk who will plunk down $30k plus for this kind of vehicle.

To be quite honest, I leased mine, I have a little over a year to go on the lease and I will not buy the one I have nor will I buy or lease another one. Fun it was, fun it is, but too many compromises and too many problems for this 60 year old evergreen hotrodder.

Frankly, I think Ford has to do another major revamp on the Lightning, fix the really simple quality problems and maybe even up the price a K or two and keep the numbers more in the 4-5 thousand range to maintain the mystique (sp?).
If they don't, the vehicle becomes another Z-28 or whatever that every paperboy that does well can drive. PS: I used to be a paperboy.
Bill

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99.5 Lightning
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