Unless I missed it, no-one has really given a long term report on their Gen II Bolt yet and judging by the posts I see I may be the longest lived original owner of one on the board now. Mine is build #247 and was delivered on May 7, 1999.

Cosmetics: Paint is still good overall. I have one self inflicted scratch on the left front bumper but it is fixable. Upholstery has held up quite well also with just a few wear marks and stains in the creases. A good cleaning should clear that part up. Floor mats show normal wear.

Statistics: Odometer just turned 14,000 miles, 85% urban/suburban commuting, one round trip to Texas and a few shorter day trips. Mileage is consistently in the middle 12's which isn't bad.

Mechanical: Still on original radiator fill, original intercooler fluid is still there as well. Still have original brakes and 3 of 4 tires on the truck with about 50% tread left. All belts and hoses are original.
Fuel is always Texaco 92/3 octane except when on the road and I can't get it.

Maintenance: LOF every 3K miles, rotate and balance tires every other service. Clean the air filter every couple of months. Tire wear indicates a full alignment is due on next service.

Modifications: Have a Superchips early burn and a year newer PSP chip. Have run the Superchip for a year now as it is a little more forgiving on part throttle shifts and I rarely race anymore. The PSP is a great chip too BTW just shifts real hard. Have a PSP air filter setup as well as a complete Bassani exhaust. Exhaust sounds great but did not seem to add any power. Haven't seen any other mods that light my fire lately so will stick with what I've got. Seems like the truck should get into the low 13's set up this way and that is fast enough for me.

Problems: Boost gauge was inoperable on delivery. Turned out to be the vac hose was never hooked up. Famous clunk in front end and I just lube the stops once in a while. Instrument lights just quit working so I guess I have to get the dash pulled to fix. Cut down one tire on a curb (my fault). Lucky me, that is the sum total extent of problems in 2 years. Best Ford I have owned in that respect out of 6-7 in the last 5 years. Damn thing doesn't even have any rattles.

Overall impressions: The bolt continues to deliver what it promised. Fastest production truck around and is still a rush to drive. As I am a business owner, my life revolves around pretty much the same drive; the same roads and neighborhoods so I rarely street race anymore. I have HobbyTown USA graphics on front/back/both sides and the truck is very well known to the local hot shoes who know what Moby is capable of.

Wish list: After two years, I still have pretty much the same list I started with. Other than the seats themselves, the interior is sort of blah XL level. I would have liked to have had the later rear view mirror (interior), a better sound system with in=dash CD for example. I still do not like the appearance of the ultra low profile tires relative to filling the wheel wells and if I keep it I will go with much taller tires next time around. While I'm carping, for $30K I would have also rather have had the climate control type of AC instead of the manual one we have. I have two Lincolns in the stable and it is much more convenient.

Would I do it again? Yes and no I guess. Since I inherited the Town Car, I have sort of not worried about my phobia regarding the Regular Cab versus the SuperCab/Crew Cab issue. I have one year left on the lease and if nothing else comes up in a similar package I may buy Moby and just swap vehicles when I need more interior room. If Ford does do a similar vehicle with a larger cab config, I will certainly test drive one just to see the difference. The Town Car, by the way, will get seriously upgraded after the Christmas season when I have some mad money again and while not as fast as Moby she will be "sporty" enough. Who needs a Marauder?

Bill

------------------
99.5 Lightning
Build #247
PSP Chip/Filter
Bassani full system
White/normal options
2001 Focus Wagon
1992 Town Car
1998 Continental
1956 Ford F100 (2)
1969 Chevrolet (2)
E-mail: MOSTOYSINC@AOL.COM
Kennesaw, Ga (Atlanta)

 

Howdy Bill,
Congrats on being the first to report on two full years of ownership. Moby has had a good home. Although I'm well behind you in time (took delivery 3-6-00) I'm a bit ahead in mileage (29,500 today). My report would be very similar to yours, overall. Still on the original brakes, replaced the F1's at 23K, clunk that greasing the stops cured. My driver's side window got very balky until I sprayed silicone in the window track, and it's worked fine ever since. The power steering pump has some seepage, and my I/C has a slow leak, so I'm waiting for the new/improved version before taking it in. With chipnfilter it'll turn high 12's on street tires, and since it's my daily driver I really don't plan any other performance mods. Overall, I wouldn't say it's the greatest build quality, but it is better than the last FoMoCo product I owned ('91 Mustang GT). But there's still not another truck, and damn few cars that can hold a candle to it, so I can't say it was a bad choice. Cheers, and we'll do this again next year when you buy Moby and make him a permanent member of your stable.

------------------
'00 White Lightning #405
Born 2-21-00, delivered 3-6-00
371 RWHP, 450 ft-lbs torque
Best run 12.90 @ 105.84 on street tires.

[This message has been edited by Moonshine (edited 05-25-2001).]

 

Well as of Wed next week it will be 2 yrs for me also. I had a rocky start with mine but aside from the I/C leaking things have settled down. I had my engine go from the rolling tap at shifts, to a steady tap at 7000 miles. R&R engine assemby and most is well! I now have 18000 on the truck. This engine is stronger than the first. I had rear end chatter, nothing a clutch pack didn't cure. I also lost my dash instrument lights, nothing a new cluster couldn't handle. I am milking some life out of the original F-1s, but I have another set of tires and wheels waiting. Now that I think about it I lost most of the clear coat on my right rear wheel within 1500 miles. The replacement ,and the rest are fine.
Had clunk, greased it. Had wandering bolt on the lower arm, they tightened it twice and it's holding. Also had leaky tail lights, but not after they replaced them.
There might be some other little things but who cares, warranty is a great thing.
I worked on the assembly line for a little over a year in my late teens. It is an amazing thing to see, all these bins and racks of stuff finds its way to the right spot, and in the end it is a complete vehicle. The line is rolling, and just like a moving sidewalk or escalator, when you get to the end you now have to do it on your own power. The huge majority, and I mean huge, start right up and get driven off under their own power. This was in the late 70s with carbs ect. I don't get real worked up about things going wrong with mechanical stuff. I enjoy this truck more than any vehicle I have or do own. Although, the 01 Cobra convertible doesn't suck!
If I could keep this one I would get another right now!
It also lives outside and the paint looks pretty good. I have hauled stuff towed stuff, done everything a truck is supposed to do, but a lot faster! Last week I brought our Cobra home from the dealer, ~175 miles, on a trailer behind the truck. You sure can't do it the other way around!
Tom

 

Yall must be babying your trucks. Mine is on its third intercooler. Second set of tires, they're wearing even, just going away too fast. May be the heat down here in Texas eating them up, or the right foot. Replaced rear disc pads, fronts are squeaking, but they're not wearing, a little glazed. Maybe sticking calipers or something. Clunk is fixed by grease every other oil change. Have a squeak in back somewhere that I haven't found yet. Put the Bilstein shocks on, rides much nicer. Haven't had the dash lights quit. Sure hope I miss that one. Mine's a '99 with 30,000 miles.

 

Bill
Glad to see you're still around. I've had my Red 99 two years on May 12th. (#624 built April 26th). I had to have one intercooler and fuel pump replaced, and the clunk fixed. The odd thing is that my dash lights also stopped working several weeks ago. Took it to the dealership and they had to order a new instrumrent cluster which just arrived. Hope to get it installed next week. Speedo also stops about 75 now. Hope the cluster fixes that problem as well. Another guy at WFC had his speedo quit working while at the event. His only goes up to 20. Looks like another common Lightning problem is coming to pass. Love the truck anyway.

Lightning Bob

 

ive had mine since june 99 and have had no problems at all.the latest superchip ,pro m meter,and asp top pulley are by far the best mods ive done so far.jba headers didnt help and i wouldnt say the throttle body set the world on fire but sure does sound good at wot.twin 40 series flowmasters make it sound like it should but not too loud.jdm electric fan and 4.10 gears are next on the mod list.course i only have 5200 miles on it but its by far the best ford ive had in a long time.

 

I aquired mine in June of 99.
46,000 miles later, its still a blast to drive.

The miles have seen three sets of tires,
four sets of brake pads,
three sets of rotors,
three intercoolers,
and a swimming pool's worth of coolant.

I have the shift rattle and the front end clunk. I've had a superchip which took out my first PCM and after that switched to a PSP which has served me well with three subsequent reburns to correct pinging which seems very prominent on Texas winter gas.

Would I do it all again?

In a heartbeat.

 

Hi Bill,
Your issues sound fairly typical. My engine let go 1000 miles ago, right after an intercooler swap. Fresh tires as of yesterday at 15000. I am basically stock, and glad since they didn't have an excuse to balk at my engine. I tow a 3800 pound boat during the summer and have fun spanking the baby BMW's with an attitude. All belts and hoses orig, as are most everything else. I had the factory clunk fix, but it is coming back. Seat bolster is next problem. Dash lights still work!! I think I hold the record for minimal posts as a long time member. I'm not much of a talker I guess.
Kent

------------------
99 White Lightning
#2277, built 6-11-99
52 F2 Street Rod built from scratch-yes by me!