FishingPirate Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 2003 Ford Lightning Ive heard everything from redneckalicious-whitetrashhero truck to "youz ned teh race at'thar truckk!" What do you all think? Quote
Super User .dsaavedra. Posted April 25, 2009 Super User Posted April 25, 2009 i prefer a bicycle minus handlebars Quote
Daniel A. Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 i prefer a bicycle minus handlebars I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars... Quote
Super User Catt Posted April 25, 2009 Super User Posted April 25, 2009 i prefer a bicycle minus handlebars Well Duh you aint old enough to drive Ford Lightings were factory built hot rods and anytime you look at buying a used hot rod my first question is who owned it and was it dogged. If it was bought for daddy's boy I would run from it or if it was bought by some urban cowboy I would be leery. Other than that there aint nothing wrong with a Cajun Cadillac Quote
CFFF 1.5 Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Just buy a regular f150 if you have to buy a ford. Quote
bassdocktor Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 My neighbor has the Harley (might even be the same year) which is basically a 4 door version of the ligtning. It's a little heavier and one of the pulleys sizes is changed giving it about 40 less HP I beleive. Both he and his wife love the truck. Last summer I was helping him find some parts and did alot of reading about both trucks. People that own them seem to love them. The one thing I can say is I do see less and less of them now. No idea why. I'm not sure if he's still around but I do believe that member Lightninrod has or had one. Quote
Eddie Munster Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Fellas it's okay to ride a bike without handlebars, just don't try riding it with no seat or one of the mods here will be forced to ban you.......I hope. Quote
Super User retiredbosn Posted April 25, 2009 Super User Posted April 25, 2009 The lightin was built for speed and looks. Don't know how it would do for towing, a bass boat should be fine though. Do a carfax on the vehicle, and find out if you can the owner history, many people try to hotrod these trucks, it would be a car to keep as the resale in the future will be higher, limited edition and there will be a market with collectors in the future, like 20-30 years. Quote
bassdocktor Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Just want to add something to what retiredbosn just said. They can tow, but I dont know any specs. I've seen guys over on scream and fly using them to tow their boats. But those are usually some pretty light boats they are towing. I've also seen them to be pretty popular for pulling 2 jetskis which is probably close to 1500lbs. But, that's only what I've observed. Quote
HossFly Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Supercharged, or turbo-charged? Replacements can be costly. I, personally, prefer cubic inches for power; not that i'm a bit "partial" to my leetle Dodge Dakota with a 360 in it.... 8-) Quote
Fisher of Men Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 There used to be a fella around here (Lightingrod, I think) who was crazy about his. Catt is right. I'd be careful to check it out real good before pursuing a purchase. Word of caution: Unless you have another mode of transportation, it's hard to hot rod a vehicle and use it on a daily basis. I had a 1972 Chevy shortbed fleetside back in HS and always had problems from the modifications that I made (overheating, alternator belts coming off after installing headers, starter problems, etc.) Hindsite, I'd have bought me a cheap little truck to drive to and from school and kept the hot rod project on the side. Quote
BassnMan Mike Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 There is nothing wrong with having a performance truck as a daily driver as well as a bass boat hauler if done right. Like others have said the Lightning was designed to be pretty much a sport truck. Me personally, I've got a 2005 Chevy Silverado VHO, LQ9 6.0 with 4 inch stroke crank, bored to 4.030, which turns the stock 364cid into a 408cid. I then added a custom ground Crane Cam, GM Performance Products L92 Heads and placed a Magna Charger 122 Radix on top of it. To handle the power I have a built L480E transmission with a Yank Torque Converter followed by a Detroit Tru Track rear end with APR studs covered by a T/A Performance differential cover. For stopping power I've got the 15 inch drilled and slotted Baer Eradispeed rotors. The suspension mods include a 2/3 inch Bell Tech drop with front and rear sway bars and Street Performance Shocks. Quote
FordNFishinLover Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 Pretty truck Mike. Only thing is id take off that topper Quote
FordNFishinLover Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 i prefer a bicycle minus handlebars I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuK2A1ZqoWs Quote
Super User MALTESE FALCON Posted April 27, 2009 Super User Posted April 27, 2009 That's a sweet ride you got there Mike. To answer your original question, I have a buddy that towed his 21' center console with his lightning. Never had a problem. Falcon Quote
Captain Obvious Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 I can keep a beat with no metronome,no metronome, no metronome Quote
Super User cart7t Posted April 27, 2009 Super User Posted April 27, 2009 The lightning is rated for 5000lb towing with 800lb payload capacity. A typical 2wd F150 for that year with a 5.4l engine is rated for roughly 8500lbs (range varies per axle ratio) and payload at 2,265. I believe a lot of the difference is the Lightning's frame is not quite as beefy as a regular F-150. Quote
Palomar Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 It would have to be cheap, if not get a regular f150 The Lightnings didn't look good IMO Quote
Bull Hurley Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 The lightning is rated for 5000lb towing with 800lb payload capacity. A typical 2wd F150 for that year with a 5.4l engine is rated for roughly 8500lbs (range varies per axle ratio) and payload at 2,265. I believe a lot of the difference is the Lightning's frame is not quite as beefy as a regular F-150. They are built on the same frame and have the same towing capacity the only difference is the engine performance mods that the Lightning has. In the F-150 line the heaviest weight rating that Ford had was a special 7700 edition that had, of course, a 7700 lb. towing capacity and a beefed up front suspension designed to handle the addition of a snowplow. The lightning is the 5.4 supercharged and uses the same internal components in the transmission that the pwerstroke diesel uses. In 2003 the cargo capacity actually increased on the Lightning from 800 to 1400 because of a few suspension upgrades but the towing capacity stay the same at 5000. Pirate you could tow any fishing boat you want with this truck and not worry about it. Even the heaviest Ranger Z21 Comanche and Skeeter 22i are under 2000 lbs. Fully loaded at max capacities for weight they will still be under 3500. Quote
FishingPirate Posted April 28, 2009 Author Posted April 28, 2009 Thanks fellas, sorry for the slow reply. Great responses on here. I appreciate it. Dave, I have a bike with broken handlebars. My neighbor and I have almost died trying to ride it ;D If I can get it cheap? How about Ive had it for a while as a birthday present 8-)(long story) Bassman, nice ride! Ill get some pics on here in the next day or two. It has some bird poo that needs to be removed Quote
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