First post here and long.
I'm not just kicking tires. I'm fully committed now. I just paid for and am awaiting delivery of a fully dressed '01 Lightning motor. It even had the trans attached, but I asked the seller to remove and keep it to save me shipping and hassle. It wasn't exactly cheap, but if I rounded up all the Lightning-specific parts, it would cost me a lot more more.
It's a 96,000 mile unit from a northern rust bucket truck that was supposedly running fine when the frame rotted away. Rod shop says it was slated for a very modified fox-body Mustang. I assume Covid happened and the guy couldn't proceed. I didn't want to ask financial questions.
I have the first year very anemic non-PI head 5.4 in my F250 SD (regular cab long bed). Stock 235hp and 330lb. :-(
I ordered it new in '98 and it's clocked a gentle 130k on it in the past 22 years. Now with a 3" lift and 35's on it in the past few years, it lost what little balls it ever had. Used for occasional light towing and some fun but not extreme offroading. Aside from lack of power, I've got it like I want it. Installed Detroit Lockers front and rear with .373 gears, upgraded manual locking hubs, custom grille with offroad lights in it, Rino-liner on bumpers, etc., etc.
Yes, I've done my homework (researching on and off for 10+ years for the best way to get at least another 100+ power and torque).
I looked at 6.2L swap, custom twin turbo, PD Supercharger, etc., etc. None of those seemed to be a good dollar to horsepower return. Plus a bunch of unknowns and known hurdles to overcome (veritable valve timing, drive by wire, different fuel system, lack of space due to transfer case, and the list goes on.
My truck is a unicorn made prior to several changes in March of '99 (like P.I. heads!). No one ever made an exact fit power adder kit (or lift kit but that's a story for a different day!) for my truck due to early production and low numbers.
It has the ZF S5-42 (420ft/lb rating) 5-speed so it can handle the added torque. This same trans was used behind the early 7.3 Diesels. Tests have shown it's good for double its rating and I plan to be WAY under that.
So about me. My dad worked at Dearborn Assembly for 43 years. Mostly Mustangs but his last few years were at the new truck plant from the day it opened. He started out on the assembly line putting headliners in '65 Mustangs!
I have a stock low miles '97 Cobra so I speak fluent SVT. I've owned two '67 Mustangs (still have a convertible), have owned numerous other Mustangs over the years. My 5 current vehicles are all Ford. I've only ever owned one non-Ford in my life and that was a Porsche Boxster I had for a few years before we got too old to roll out of it.
And I have the best local resource I could ever dream of. My local gunsmith/machinist and now close friend I met a few years back is a retired Ford SVT R&D guy from the Dearborn engine development building. He was on the team for both generation Lightnings (plus several other products from turbo Escorts, SVT Contours, Marauder, etc). He's forgotten more about them than most people will ever know. He convinced me that the Lightning swap was the best and simplest way to go.
I've found 3 different complete write-ups with pics and or video of this being done successfully so I'm not re-inventing the wheel with an untried one-off.
So aside from a few minor upgrades like fuel pump and fuel filter, larger exhaust (I've already ordered a 4" cat back and a 4" high flow cat), a little metal cut from under the cowl, a couple wire extension pigtails, it's supposed to be like a basic engine replacement. I've read the throttle and cruise cables require some reworking. That's about it.
My local tuner (Blue Oval Classics) has a dyno and only works on Fords. He didn't even blink when I asked him about finishing and tuning this. He routinely puts Coyote's in classics. This should be nothing for him.
Since it's a manual trans, tuning should be pretty straight forward. Everyone says to just re-flash the original ECU since the Lightning ECU is set up for auto trans, etc.
So all that to say I might need to ask an occasional question about how and where things are mounted to the fender wells, maybe some wiring details, etc. from 'legitimate' Lightning owners. Hopefully I can find most of what I need in the how-to's.
My goal is to put about $10k or a bit more into my truck that's been paid off for nearly 20 years and be happy with it. I could drop $70 or $80k in a brand new one and would probably hate it. No manual trans available and too many useless (to me) bells and whistles.
Thanks for having me!
I'm not just kicking tires. I'm fully committed now. I just paid for and am awaiting delivery of a fully dressed '01 Lightning motor. It even had the trans attached, but I asked the seller to remove and keep it to save me shipping and hassle. It wasn't exactly cheap, but if I rounded up all the Lightning-specific parts, it would cost me a lot more more.
It's a 96,000 mile unit from a northern rust bucket truck that was supposedly running fine when the frame rotted away. Rod shop says it was slated for a very modified fox-body Mustang. I assume Covid happened and the guy couldn't proceed. I didn't want to ask financial questions.
I have the first year very anemic non-PI head 5.4 in my F250 SD (regular cab long bed). Stock 235hp and 330lb. :-(
I ordered it new in '98 and it's clocked a gentle 130k on it in the past 22 years. Now with a 3" lift and 35's on it in the past few years, it lost what little balls it ever had. Used for occasional light towing and some fun but not extreme offroading. Aside from lack of power, I've got it like I want it. Installed Detroit Lockers front and rear with .373 gears, upgraded manual locking hubs, custom grille with offroad lights in it, Rino-liner on bumpers, etc., etc.
Yes, I've done my homework (researching on and off for 10+ years for the best way to get at least another 100+ power and torque).
I looked at 6.2L swap, custom twin turbo, PD Supercharger, etc., etc. None of those seemed to be a good dollar to horsepower return. Plus a bunch of unknowns and known hurdles to overcome (veritable valve timing, drive by wire, different fuel system, lack of space due to transfer case, and the list goes on.
My truck is a unicorn made prior to several changes in March of '99 (like P.I. heads!). No one ever made an exact fit power adder kit (or lift kit but that's a story for a different day!) for my truck due to early production and low numbers.
It has the ZF S5-42 (420ft/lb rating) 5-speed so it can handle the added torque. This same trans was used behind the early 7.3 Diesels. Tests have shown it's good for double its rating and I plan to be WAY under that.
So about me. My dad worked at Dearborn Assembly for 43 years. Mostly Mustangs but his last few years were at the new truck plant from the day it opened. He started out on the assembly line putting headliners in '65 Mustangs!
I have a stock low miles '97 Cobra so I speak fluent SVT. I've owned two '67 Mustangs (still have a convertible), have owned numerous other Mustangs over the years. My 5 current vehicles are all Ford. I've only ever owned one non-Ford in my life and that was a Porsche Boxster I had for a few years before we got too old to roll out of it.
And I have the best local resource I could ever dream of. My local gunsmith/machinist and now close friend I met a few years back is a retired Ford SVT R&D guy from the Dearborn engine development building. He was on the team for both generation Lightnings (plus several other products from turbo Escorts, SVT Contours, Marauder, etc). He's forgotten more about them than most people will ever know. He convinced me that the Lightning swap was the best and simplest way to go.
I've found 3 different complete write-ups with pics and or video of this being done successfully so I'm not re-inventing the wheel with an untried one-off.
So aside from a few minor upgrades like fuel pump and fuel filter, larger exhaust (I've already ordered a 4" cat back and a 4" high flow cat), a little metal cut from under the cowl, a couple wire extension pigtails, it's supposed to be like a basic engine replacement. I've read the throttle and cruise cables require some reworking. That's about it.
My local tuner (Blue Oval Classics) has a dyno and only works on Fords. He didn't even blink when I asked him about finishing and tuning this. He routinely puts Coyote's in classics. This should be nothing for him.
Since it's a manual trans, tuning should be pretty straight forward. Everyone says to just re-flash the original ECU since the Lightning ECU is set up for auto trans, etc.
So all that to say I might need to ask an occasional question about how and where things are mounted to the fender wells, maybe some wiring details, etc. from 'legitimate' Lightning owners. Hopefully I can find most of what I need in the how-to's.
My goal is to put about $10k or a bit more into my truck that's been paid off for nearly 20 years and be happy with it. I could drop $70 or $80k in a brand new one and would probably hate it. No manual trans available and too many useless (to me) bells and whistles.
Thanks for having me!
