I got no help from the Lightning guys. Hope this forum gets some ideas.

Here's the deal, my bud has a 98 reg cab short bed F150 in excellent condition. I want to help him do as much as possible to his suspension to get it as close as possible to the Lighting ride. He wants to use stock Ford parts, not aftermarket. From what I understand the Lighting has special SVT lower control arms. What about the rear springs. Here's what he has right now:

8.8" rear (will the stock Lightning rear leaf springs bolt right up to this.
18" Wheels with 285/60/18 Toyo Proxes
He's got the stock Bilstien shocks from a 2001 Lighting.

Here's what I think he needs:

SVT lower control arms
SVT coil springs
Rear leaf springs (SVT???)
Sway bars ( Will these mount up to a 98)

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

the only difference in the control arms is the steering stops on them to keep the wide front wheels/tires from hitting the suspension

whether the springs are different or not, i am trying to figure this out myself, as they are the same thickness/height as a set of regular f150 springs somebody i know has lying around.

as far as the rear springs i don't know.

he should look into the roush suspension kit, as it is a full system designed to work together and for under $1000. it hanldes better and rides lower than a stock L.

otherwise look in the classifieds on www.nloc.net for used stock lightning suspension parts. should be able to find stock springs and sways. i would think it would all swap, but i am not positive on that.

 

I know this id an old post, but can someone else answer this? Will the swap bars F/R off an L bolt right up to a regular F-150, even if it has the 8.8 rear? I'm looking to do the same thing.

Thanks,

Ian

 

This is total assumption: But I would assume that they will. Becuase all of the suspension lowering kits and aftermarket sway bars state f-150 reg cab/ lightning or something like that. I have been looking at getting a Hotchkis TVS. Highly recomended by some in the lightning forum for a comlete matched suspension kit. You should check them out at Hotchkis.com I think.

scott

 

Go to www.lightningforceperformance.com and talk to Mark. He should be able to hook you up.
Also visit www.chickenears.com and talk to them.
These places have after market suspension parts and sway bars that a lot of Lightning owners use.
Looking for the stock parts can be a waste of time plus they are used. Why buy something that is used and that is usually upgraded to something else?