They're like little time capsules lol. I see nice Gen 2 Lightnings once in a while still. But I NEVER see nice Gen 1s. When I do, they're rusted out and the paint's all f*cked up. It's great to watch these & see the cars in their day when they weren't junk heaps lol
+texan176 Good times. I remember going to the dealership with my dad on a few occassions. Seeing a red lightning like this one, a Thunderbird SC, Fox body Cobra and an obscene sticker price on a loaded Probe GT, $5-6k over the Cobra price. I have a 94 Probe GT now. I get why the price was so high, the options list is ridiculous and the handling would never be compared to an F-150s.
Update... I now have a 94 and, brace yourselves, the ride of the future, in 94... a 95 Probe GT. White with black leather interior and white 93/94 GT rims. $650.
Matt Sivert not really. The price is the same when you adjust for inflation. Only reason you say that is because now days youre getting paid a lil more than when this truck was released 25 years ago
Grandpa bought one brand new! Then grandma made him trade it in for a taurus 6 moths later, i eventually was handed down the taurus which i loved because it was a free car, but just think i could have possibly been given this awesome truck lol ahhhh life's mean little twists of fate!
A friend of mine got the old Ziebart rust protection on his 95' when he bought it as an 18yo in 2004(we live in Ohio). It was his daily and only vehicle for around 6-7 years. He sold that truck in 2017, at which point it had been KB blown, had seen many track passes, and had over 200k miles. We looked under it, and barely any degradation had even taken place. Good protection and underbody washing will do absolute wonders for protecting a vehicle from falling apart.
I'm going to disagree and I'll tell you why. At this point 19 and 20 inch tires are considered a part of an automobiles standard safety features. They definitely aren't going much higher as anything over 22 inches begins to effect stability and it makes even the best cars look like clown rides. I happen to think 20 inches is the perfect size for heavy performance. There's also precedent for this kind of thing. Back in the 1990's when I started to drive most cars had 14 to 16 inch rims and tires. However, performance vehicles started coming with 17 and 18 inch chrome rims like my 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am that I got at 17 in '96. Soon after that 17 inch rims started to become standard and 18 inch was the goto for performance. My 2002 Firehawk came with 18 inch rims in 02. As we pushed further into the 2000's cars started to only come in at 20 inches. The Dodge Challenger RT *as an example and up all come with 20 inch rims as standard from 2008 until right now.
A guy in my town still has his daily driven 94 Lightning, in black. This was a really cool time for trucks. People had been modding their S10s and full sized trucks for yrs before this truck came out. Once the factories got involved, they created an entire market that still is in demand today. 1 only has to look at the original Lightning, 454 SS, Dakota R/Ts, Ram SSTs and Pace Truck editions, Xtreme GMC S15s, Typhoons, etc and 1 will see the lineage. Now we have way more power even in the most mundane trucks, but that idea was built back then.
I really like these trucks. I haven't seen one in ages though, not a lot of 90's vintage trucks left in New England, rust got most of them years ago. At one point they made white ones too, when I was a kid I worked at a gas station in the mid 90's and there was a guy with a white one that would come in once in a while. I really liked it in white, what a cool truck. And 7.2 is pretty respectable for a 0-60 time. The hp isn't that great, but I bet that thing had a killer torque curve. The next gen Lightnings were beats, I remember seeing one run a low 13 at the drag strip, which was super fast for '01. I wonder if Ford offers the ecoboost in a 2wd reg cab shortbed truck, that would be a good modern Lightning candidate.
Michael Smith I know this comment is over a year old, but there is actually a modern candidate: The Tremor. Ford F-150 Tremor. Exactly what you described.
Which one was more practical though? Don't get me wrong. I'd take the Cyclone over the lightning too but I'd also look to see which is more practical as a truck too, just in case, ya know?
MODeration nXS: The 300 hp SVT 351 and 371 hp Saleen S351 and the Jack Roush EA and EB GT Falcon 305 hp 351 Windsor engines were in development from 1987, when Jack Roush made a 375 hp twin turbo Mustang Aniversary 5.8 litet engine. Ford eventually had assisted Roush and Kenny Brown and Steve Saleen to get emissions certification in all variants, even the 425 hp Supercharged Saleen S351. Yet again, Ford buckled over creating another 1969 style GM Ford Mopar AMC (woops, now Jeep), horsepower war. Operation Desert Storm and some restraint was excerised. There was always another 130 hp hidden in the 5.8 liter with GT40 heads and G52 intake but Ford under Jac Nasser werent able to push it through. The gearbox issue was that Ford stopped making 500 hp capable Bull Nose Top Loader 4 speed's in 1977. That was Ford USA's last true manual gearbox before Dearborn outsourced every stick shift trans to third party suppliers due to the insane cost of tooling up for a 8500 GVW capable trans. The Borg Warner T56, Tremec 3550/T550/650 and Corvette ZR1 spec ZF 6 speed weren't able to cope with accidental clutch and shift articulation under even 315 lb-ft in an SUV, let alone an 8500 GVW truck. 4.2 or 4.9 liter sixes took Mazda and ZF gearboxes and lasted fine with 165 hp. Even the 340 foot pounds from the Lightening 5.8 placed too many demands on the need for driver cleamancy on a stick shift.Back in 1989, people were Power shifting 375 hp King of the Hill ZR1 Corvettes with ZF 6 speeds to low 12 second quarter miles and still breaking gearboxes. The F150 weighed another 800 pounds and had a 1.5 ton payload capacity. No way a ZF would have survived Sustained Urban Vamp duty....
My special friend, Dr. B. Newsome, who I known him back in middle school is now a superintendent at Orangeburg Preparatory Schools took me a ride in his 2013 F-150 while I was job shadowing on March 24, 2016! I felt like a bad boy when I rode in it and I felt more accommodating than my mother's 2004 Explorer. Thanks for posting this review!
@@Cuhh346 It would have been quite interesting with a V-10 Ram in the mix! I wish they would have at least offered that V-10 in a non-SRT half-ton, for people who either couldn't afford the Viper truck, or those (like me), who would've bought it for the sleeper aspect. I own a '95 Ram 2500 4x4 with the V-10 & it still pulls strong to this day with 192,000 miles on it!
I had a good friend who owned this very same truck,he put a fiberglass front cap on it,under drive pullies on the engine and a paxton supercharger.He was going to the racetrack every weekend for quite awhile regularly running low 11 second 1/4 mile times at 140 plus miles per hour. The trucks only weakness was the E4OD trans would fail about once a year. I guess all that extra power was too much for the trans. to take. I know it was scary fast and would pin you to the seat. He kept trying to find more power and finally destroyed the engine. Oh well,it was fun for a good long time and he whipped many,many Chevys.
240hp in 1993? It was okay and given how weak the 1993 and 1994 Mustangs it makes sense to say it was "powerful." Of course at the time GM was just murdering them left and right in the power game. I believe the Mustang GT had something like 215hp while the 93' Camaro/Firebird (no Trans-Am until 94) were making 275hp and 300hp depending on the package. I can't remember if an SS was offered in 1993.
I’ve always loved Ford trucks (not just their tv ads) from childhood to now, but weirdly never even noticed this Lightning until the 99-04 Lightnings came out. Now I understand why Lady Gaga drives one. It’s my personal FAV muscle truck.
Lightning F-150 is awesome ....”A Mustang GT with a cargo bed ....” I dig that , mind you I’ve got a 79 F-100 with a 351 Cleveland/750Holley/C6/9”Ford/LSD/Sway bar 5.8 it’s an awesome size displacement V8
I wonder if anyone's done a Coyote swap on this yet?? It’s a decent amount of work but it’s worth it, you get twice the performance right out the box before any power adders or tuners, might sit a little bit higher under the hood but it should easily fit. It’ll definitely add weight though the hp/wt ratio will still improve dramatically.
Wyatt Klingensmith quite a shame too I hate it when you start actually noticing way less of a certain vehicle on the road, 90s cars are getting seriously endangered in the central Canada area I’m in
My senior year in high school! I wanted one of these SO badly! lol Now my DD is a 395HP 407lbft RAM 4 door which with its heavier weight and MANY more features would hang with this Lightning.
Better looking?eh, That's personal choice, the gen 1s are beautiful to me... but as far as performance? Of course the gen 2s are better! Supercharged 5.4 liters compared to the stock 351 with gt40 heads? But they are both masterpieces to me. Love lightning's!
It's cool and all, but you could just get the shortest wheelbase F-250 so you have a stiff suspension, the 460 V8 which makes a bit more power and a lot more torque than the 351 in the lightning and it could be had with a 5 speed manual and low gearing. Probably costs less too.
Put that engine in a Foxbody Mustang with a heavy duty 6 speed manual transmission. About 15 years ago I was using my tow bar to tow one of my 80’s F150’s with another 80’s F150. I stopped at a grocery store to buy salt bags to put in the back of the leading truck. A guy stopped to chat and told me about his totaled 85 F150 with the 351w H.O. roller cam engine which had only 7,000 miles. He said he was thinking about selling the engine. I left him my number but he never called. That would be a perfect engine for a Foxbody Mustang.
I would love to see a old review of the 1999-2005 vw jetta, any trim really but would love to see the 2001 wolfsburg 1.8t 5speed. Itwas the first brand new car I bought when I was 20. still have it today and would love to see what people though of it back then once again.
Truck prices are high today, and most people can not afford them you will see a change where they won't be able to sell 60 thousand dollar trucks like cars
I can't deal with this right now. The graphics.... the claim that it handles like a Mustang GT (which plays off more as a huge demerit to the Mustang than a complement lmao).... this is a wild one. Good find guys
Yea the whole truck was lowered and they dont handle as bad as you would think my dad has one and it handles like its on rails. Its not bad for a pickup truck.
According to owner surveys the handling was one of the best aspects of the Lightning, also it ran circles around the 454SS in the handling department. You aren't the brightest crayon in the box eh?
srcej6 Running circles around a pickup truck is hardly a huge accomplishment. And very few people who drop money on something as expensive as a car will come out and say it sucks. But you are the smartest guy in the room right?
Had one in high school black with 29k nearly wrecked it barely applying throttle in the rain into a school bus I wish I could ask the bus driver if they peed thier paints like me, raced a chick in an SVT mustang totally smoked her. That thing would fire right up and idle great. Only mod was a hard tonneau cover. I saw it sold the guy was pumping gas I felt like saying what’s the mileage now like 32k? You have to force her a bit but she’ll lay a solid posi burnout, awesome truck this guys complaining way too much it’s comfortable to drive except yes you don’t want to go slalom racing in it, you have to redline that baby holding 1-2 manually, and power brake for fat serpentine burnouts shame they could rev that baby up
LOL I was thinking the exact same thing! Ford really dropped the ball with the Marauder. It could have been a real beast if they gave it a proper engine, or at least supercharged it like the prototype model.
Mike Flit. its called inflation, today it would cost a bit under 40K for this truck and the Raptor today is priced at almost exactly 50K with its 4wd and significant suspension mods. if ford put out a reg cab 2wd pickup today with street oriented suspension it could conceivably come in around 40K just like the 1G lightning.
Mike Flit A few years ago Ford had the F150 Tremor. Single Cab street performance truck. Conveniently priced at 40k which is just about right for inflation.
All Daewoos would be ultimately folded into their respective sized GM platforms: LEGANZA-VERONA-MALIBU NUBIRA-(Suzuki) FORENZA / RENO -CRUZE (sedán and hatch) LANOS-SONIC ...and MATIZ-SPARK (1st wasn't sold in USDM, the latter is and still made in Daewoo's former SKR factories)
I don't know if it's just weight, torque management or programming, but it's weird how 90s cars managed 1/4 times pretty close to modern ones with 100 less hp. Take a brand new 5.3l chevy 15.3@89 mph... with 355hp. That's about what this truck runs with 240hp. Or for apples to apples take a 225hp 5.0 mustang, mid 14s @ 93, a new ecoboost mustang is 305hp and runs low 14s@97? It's only a few 100lbs heavier!
You want quiet and smooth drive then buy a Lincoln! Tiring exhaust Lol. Should a performance vehicle sound like a sewing machine? Even the magazines started to get written really dumb with comparison tests.
Josh Nixon I do. I have a 82 Ranger that I hit a wild biar in last summer and drove away in. I told a lady at a gas station down the road so she could have the highway patrol move it out of the road and she told me to be thankful as they're known total out new cars and trucks.
These were dark times for Detroit They half assed everything they made from 1973-2011 The last decade and from 1950-1970 have probably been the best years for American cars ever. Obviously there are lots of exceptions within those timeframes though CZcams friends!
Still, 240 hp from 5.4 liters wasn't really impressive. Less than 50 hp/liter. My old Saab 99 from 1983 made 100 hp from a carbureted 2 liter 4 cylinder.
I have no idea what I'm talking about. Do you concur? That was a joke that brought the word 'concur' into familiarity for those that don't get it and watch these videos in their entirety.
Awesome to see this footage , thank you so much , those were the best era for me , I was a teenager, I remember all those trucks when they came along , great era for trucks with 454SS , Sportside C-1500 , FlareSide F-150 , Supercabs , Dodge Ram , it was awesome, the only one that leaves up to it now it’s Ford because ohh my God Dodge lost its coolness , and Chevy is trying to hard .... this Lightning looks awesome with the colour coded bumpers and grille, it should’ve been offered in FlareSide bed tube as well .
Leandro Machado, yeah, 1990s decade era of pickups sports trucks. Chevy 454SS, Sportside C1500, Flareside F150. I love this Chevy trucks. Best trucks with force and resistence
I was 24 when this came out and remember thinking a fast pickup?? hehehe. Later Lightnings had supercharged engines. Actually the same engine in the Ford GT super car.
Daehawk You think Top Gear is factual? The Lightning uses an iron block 2 valve per cylinder SOHC 5.4L, The GT uses a unique aluminum block and 4 valve per cylinder DOHC 5.4L. The Lightning makes 360hp-380hp, the GT makes 550hp. The only thing they have in common is displacement. Research before making yourself look like an idiot.
I know there's a limit of these retro reviews.... But, DAMN, I enjoy them more than your current ones. Keep 'em coming!
I do too
They're like little time capsules lol. I see nice Gen 2 Lightnings once in a while still. But I NEVER see nice Gen 1s. When I do, they're rusted out and the paint's all f*cked up. It's great to watch these & see the cars in their day when they weren't junk heaps lol
Before the Raptor, there was the lighting........
ibanezbass671 even though they are 2 completely different styles of trucks lol
I wish they would make a raptor ranger lol. Maybe use the eco boost
Jaymobe07 Surprise they are making one.
ightning was about speed and handling raptor is an off road package.
True, but both trucks are classics in their own ways. The Lightning is a tire smoking muscle truck and the Raptor is a Baja desert racing truck
Officially an old man now; I remember when this aired as a new show; YIKES! I was 14 at the time.
+texan176 same here
+texan176 Good times. I remember going to the dealership with my dad on a few occassions. Seeing a red lightning like this one, a Thunderbird SC, Fox body Cobra and an obscene sticker price on a loaded Probe GT, $5-6k over the Cobra price. I have a 94 Probe GT now. I get why the price was so high, the options list is ridiculous and the handling would never be compared to an F-150s.
+texan176 Haha, yup, I remember when this truck came out, I was the same age as you.
Update... I now have a 94 and, brace yourselves, the ride of the future, in 94... a 95 Probe GT. White with black leather interior and white 93/94 GT rims. $650.
texan176 I bet you were like I want that truck so bad back then lol
Hey back when you could afford a new truck !
Matt Sivert not really. The price is the same when you adjust for inflation. Only reason you say that is because now days youre getting paid a lil more than when this truck was released 25 years ago
@@johngotti3589 thats around $37,000 today. You get way more options in a truck today but you wont get anything close to top of the line for $37,000
ajs19822
you also won’t get a limited production muscle truck!
And let’s see what $36k buys you in a truck today!
@@dodgeguyzMaybe A factory Ranger now, And Rangers used to cost about $18k and they were a loaded 4x4 back then.
Minimum wage was $4 back then lol
Grandpa bought one brand new! Then grandma made him trade it in for a taurus 6 moths later, i eventually was handed down the taurus which i loved because it was a free car, but just think i could have possibly been given this awesome truck lol ahhhh life's mean little twists of fate!
rocco hill She deffinatly had his balls
F that.. Gpa needed to tell Gma.. You buy the Taurus.. And better be a SHO
Yep... his balls were in her purse! Poor guy.
He should have told her NO & kept it!
wow the original lightening looks so savage
They really need to make more Street Sport Trucks. I really miss them.
So sad to see such a great vehicle go through that salt and winter crap. Screw winter.
A friend of mine got the old Ziebart rust protection on his 95' when he bought it as an 18yo in 2004(we live in Ohio). It was his daily and only vehicle for around 6-7 years. He sold that truck in 2017, at which point it had been KB blown, had seen many track passes, and had over 200k miles. We looked under it, and barely any degradation had even taken place. Good protection and underbody washing will do absolute wonders for protecting a vehicle from falling apart.
I’m a diehard JDM fan, but even I love this truck. Love the styling and everything about it. I want one!
"Massive 17" tires...." lol I love seeing these old school reviews. Crazy to think cars of today will be seen as the same as this video one day...
C SMITH yeah as it’s turned towards the camera looking like a 185mm width 😂
I'm going to disagree and I'll tell you why. At this point 19 and 20 inch tires are considered a part of an automobiles standard safety features. They definitely aren't going much higher as anything over 22 inches begins to effect stability and it makes even the best cars look like clown rides. I happen to think 20 inches is the perfect size for heavy performance. There's also precedent for this kind of thing.
Back in the 1990's when I started to drive most cars had 14 to 16 inch rims and tires. However, performance vehicles started coming with 17 and 18 inch chrome rims like my 1994 25th Anniversary Trans-Am that I got at 17 in '96. Soon after that 17 inch rims started to become standard and 18 inch was the goto for performance. My 2002 Firehawk came with 18 inch rims in 02. As we pushed further into the 2000's cars started to only come in at 20 inches. The Dodge Challenger RT *as an example and up all come with 20 inch rims as standard from 2008 until right now.
@@Sinn0100 no i agree - i was just pointing out a 275/60 17" wheel was thought as "Massive" back in the 90's
A guy in my town still has his daily driven 94 Lightning, in black. This was a really cool time for trucks. People had been modding their S10s and full sized trucks for yrs before this truck came out. Once the factories got involved, they created an entire market that still is in demand today. 1 only has to look at the original Lightning, 454 SS, Dakota R/Ts, Ram SSTs and Pace Truck editions, Xtreme GMC S15s, Typhoons, etc and 1 will see the lineage. Now we have way more power even in the most mundane trucks, but that idea was built back then.
Think of this as a Mustang GT that can haul building materials AND ass at the same time!!!!!!!!
If you take easy on the junk food the truck won't have such a hard time
"The exhaust rumble grew tiring" What a nerd.
I really like these trucks. I haven't seen one in ages though, not a lot of 90's vintage trucks left in New England, rust got most of them years ago. At one point they made white ones too, when I was a kid I worked at a gas station in the mid 90's and there was a guy with a white one that would come in once in a while. I really liked it in white, what a cool truck. And 7.2 is pretty respectable for a 0-60 time. The hp isn't that great, but I bet that thing had a killer torque curve. The next gen Lightnings were beats, I remember seeing one run a low 13 at the drag strip, which was super fast for '01. I wonder if Ford offers the ecoboost in a 2wd reg cab shortbed truck, that would be a good modern Lightning candidate.
Michael Smith I know this comment is over a year old, but there is actually a modern candidate: The Tremor. Ford F-150 Tremor. Exactly what you described.
Todays 2.3 ranger in 4x2 will hit 13s easikyb
My buddy in high school had one brand new of the lot black with lightning on the side.It would run like a car.
I'd rather own this one than the newer one from the early 2000s. But truth be told I'd rather just own a Syclone.
me too. the cyclone was much more fun in my opinion. fords just have a corporate cheap feel, never liked them. still don't.
Which one was more practical though? Don't get me wrong. I'd take the Cyclone over the lightning too but I'd also look to see which is more practical as a truck too, just in case, ya know?
Nope can't compare a one those to a lightning..Idc if it was faster or not back in the day..
I wonder why this truck was never offered in a 5-speed manual.
+Butchcub75 My '90 F150 300 I-6 had a Mazda sourced 5 speed.
Butchcub75 Yes they did, all of the HD 5 speeds
Those were truck shifters though, you can't have too much fun with a super-heavy clutch and a slow transmission.
Because Americans can't drive manual😂😂😂
The manual was strong in the light mustang but weak in the heavy F150 with that kind of power!
Here's a MotorWeek Retro Review of the Ford F-150 Lightning from 1993.
I love my 1993 lightning ⚡⚡
I always loved the lightning's. What was holding this engine back? It seems like this 5.8 could have been at least 300hp.
MODeration nXS: The 300 hp SVT 351 and 371 hp Saleen S351 and the Jack Roush EA and EB GT Falcon 305 hp 351 Windsor engines were in development from 1987, when Jack Roush made a 375 hp twin turbo Mustang Aniversary 5.8 litet engine. Ford eventually had assisted Roush and Kenny Brown and Steve Saleen to get emissions certification in all variants, even the 425 hp Supercharged Saleen S351. Yet again, Ford buckled over creating another 1969 style GM Ford Mopar AMC (woops, now Jeep), horsepower war. Operation Desert Storm and some restraint was excerised. There was always another 130 hp hidden in the 5.8 liter with GT40 heads and G52 intake but Ford under Jac Nasser werent able to push it through. The gearbox issue was that Ford stopped making 500 hp capable Bull Nose Top Loader 4 speed's in 1977. That was Ford USA's last true manual gearbox before Dearborn outsourced every stick shift trans to third party suppliers due to the insane cost of tooling up for a 8500 GVW capable trans. The Borg Warner T56, Tremec 3550/T550/650 and Corvette ZR1 spec ZF 6 speed weren't able to cope with accidental clutch and shift articulation under even 315 lb-ft in an SUV, let alone an 8500 GVW truck. 4.2 or 4.9 liter sixes took Mazda and ZF gearboxes and lasted fine with 165 hp. Even the 340 foot pounds from the Lightening 5.8 placed too many demands on the need for driver cleamancy on a stick shift.Back in 1989, people were Power shifting 375 hp King of the Hill ZR1 Corvettes with ZF 6 speeds to low 12 second quarter miles and still breaking gearboxes. The F150 weighed another 800 pounds and had a 1.5 ton payload capacity. No way a ZF would have survived Sustained Urban Vamp duty....
My special friend, Dr. B. Newsome, who I known him back in middle school is now a superintendent at Orangeburg Preparatory Schools took me a ride in his 2013 F-150 while I was job shadowing on March 24, 2016! I felt like a bad boy when I rode in it and I felt more accommodating than my mother's 2004 Explorer. Thanks for posting this review!
"handles as well as a mustang GT" So it drives off the road when encountering a leaf? LOL
Nathan Adkins idiot
It goes through a fence upon seeing a fence
I remember working at the dealer these engines launching spark plugs.
I am just now learning these existed. Saw plenty of Lightnings of the next generation.
I would've liked to have seen a 3-way comparison between the (1st gen) F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet 454SS & the Dodge Ram SS/T with the 360 Magnum V-8.
In mexico they had a single cab v10 ram
@@Cuhh346 It would have been quite interesting with a V-10 Ram in the mix! I wish they would have at least offered that V-10 in a non-SRT half-ton, for people who either couldn't afford the Viper truck, or those (like me), who would've bought it for the sleeper aspect. I own a '95 Ram 2500 4x4 with the V-10 & it still pulls strong to this day with 192,000 miles on it!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I STILL LOVE THE OLDER LIGHTNINGS!!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!!
I had a good friend who owned this very same truck,he put a fiberglass front cap on it,under drive pullies on the engine and a paxton supercharger.He was going to the racetrack every weekend for quite awhile regularly running low 11 second 1/4 mile times at 140 plus miles per hour. The trucks only weakness was the E4OD trans would fail about once a year. I guess all that extra power was too much for the trans. to take. I know it was scary fast and would pin you to the seat. He kept trying to find more power and finally destroyed the engine. Oh well,it was fun for a good long time and he whipped many,many Chevys.
Lawnmowerman lawnmowerman Cool story bro.
1:00 Man, when THIS was a full-sized pickup. Long time ago, now even Rangers and Tacomas dwarf this this thing
I have a 1990 f150, I don’t believe they made the lightning then but I would love to convert it
Wyatt Klingensmith nope. They didn’t. 1993 was the first year ever for the Lightning.
I saw one of these being used as a work truck a while ago :(
"Bolt of charged air"....and future lightnings got forced induction...once again...stumbled into it unknowingly.
these retro reviews are great
I love Ford F150 Lightning
240hp in 1993? It was okay and given how weak the 1993 and 1994 Mustangs it makes sense to say it was "powerful." Of course at the time GM was just murdering them left and right in the power game. I believe the Mustang GT had something like 215hp while the 93' Camaro/Firebird (no Trans-Am until 94) were making 275hp and 300hp depending on the package. I can't remember if an SS was offered in 1993.
It's neat (kinda like the later one in the fast and the furious) but I like the Syclone/Typhoon better
I’ve always loved Ford trucks (not just their tv ads) from childhood to now, but weirdly never even noticed this Lightning until the 99-04 Lightnings came out. Now I understand why Lady Gaga drives one. It’s my personal FAV muscle truck.
Can you imagine back in the day dropping so much cash to purchase the Lightning when you could have bought an SS 454?????? Cant imagine doing that.
i would love to own one of these and drop a 2nd gen lightning engine in it. one day..
JOSEC760 you'd have to do a complete harness and way swap as well.
It would be easier to source a supercharger and install a slightly larger cam
I have one. Thinking of selling
Nooo, keep that wonderful Windsor in there.
Okay Now I Could Use Something Like This In A Drag Race. LOL
Ford needs to bring back the lightning
its baaaaaack, only trash ev now
Lightning F-150 is awesome ....”A Mustang GT with a cargo bed ....” I dig that , mind you I’ve got a 79 F-100 with a 351 Cleveland/750Holley/C6/9”Ford/LSD/Sway bar 5.8 it’s an awesome size displacement V8
I wonder if anyone's done a Coyote swap on this yet?? It’s a decent amount of work but it’s worth it, you get twice the performance right out the box before any power adders or tuners, might sit a little bit higher under the hood but it should easily fit. It’ll definitely add weight though the hp/wt ratio will still improve dramatically.
I would love to have a lightning of this era you dont see them anywhere
Wyatt Klingensmith quite a shame too I hate it when you start actually noticing way less of a certain vehicle on the road, 90s cars are getting seriously endangered in the central Canada area I’m in
Yes another retro review, thanks Motorweek!
You gotta post your review of the 454ss season 9 ep 14!
My senior year in high school! I wanted one of these SO badly! lol Now my DD is a 395HP 407lbft RAM 4 door which with its heavier weight and MANY more features would hang with this Lightning.
+4gasem hang? it would smoke this old lightning.
Arthur Olij Ditto!
john Redbarley Yeah, I don't think my 4 door, 4x4 runs 0-60 in 7.2 but it's pretty stout.
Yeah, no way my truck is that fast even with the 3.92 LSD I have.
Yup. Still a Ford fan but love my RAM! Ditto to everything you said!
And now the F150 Lightning is electric and substantially faster than a Mustang GT.
Not a bad looking truck but I personally think the 1999-2004 lightning were better looking and better performance for the enthusiast.
Better looking?eh, That's personal choice, the gen 1s are beautiful to me... but as far as performance? Of course the gen 2s are better! Supercharged 5.4 liters compared to the stock 351 with gt40 heads? But they are both masterpieces to me. Love lightning's!
It's cool and all, but you could just get the shortest wheelbase F-250 so you have a stiff suspension, the 460 V8 which makes a bit more power and a lot more torque than the 351 in the lightning and it could be had with a 5 speed manual and low gearing. Probably costs less too.
you buy a lightning simply because you pay for the name. if you have the lightning money then making it faster or handle better isn’t a problem
Put that engine in a Foxbody Mustang with a heavy duty 6 speed manual transmission.
About 15 years ago I was using my tow bar to tow one of my 80’s F150’s with another 80’s F150. I stopped at a grocery store to buy salt bags to put in the back of the leading truck. A guy stopped to chat and told me about his totaled 85 F150 with the 351w H.O. roller cam engine which had only 7,000 miles. He said he was thinking about selling the engine. I left him my number but he never called. That would be a perfect engine for a Foxbody Mustang.
I would love to see a old review of the 1999-2005 vw jetta, any trim really but would love to see the 2001 wolfsburg 1.8t 5speed. Itwas the first brand new car I bought when I was 20. still have it today and would love to see what people though of it back then once again.
Do you have the motor trend review of the 1998 ford expedition?
A 351W is capable of 400+ HP with minimal mods. I can't get my head around this one only making 245.
Some don't last long but its sport looking f150
Full-size then, compact now
Truck prices are high today, and most people can not afford them you will see a change where they won't be able to sell 60 thousand dollar trucks like cars
V8 Mustang territory? With a 2.73 and AOD and convertible? The AOD had a 2.4 first gear and 1.4 second. In case any body forgot.
For me, a stiff ride and rumbling exhaust are plusses.
Love my 93 svt
I love the front air dam
Trucks were affordable back then and looked good. Even lady Gaga has one
With twin I beam front suspension...
That's 90's as hell
I can't deal with this right now. The graphics.... the claim that it handles like a Mustang GT (which plays off more as a huge demerit to the Mustang than a complement lmao).... this is a wild one. Good find guys
There were a lot of live axle sports cars that didn't handle like trucks. Mustang was special in that regard lol.
Yea the whole truck was lowered and they dont handle as bad as you would think my dad has one and it handles like its on rails. Its not bad for a pickup truck.
The Mass Debator. someone doesnt know what a live axle is lol.
According to owner surveys the handling was one of the best aspects of the Lightning, also it ran circles around the 454SS in the handling department. You aren't the brightest crayon in the box eh?
srcej6 Running circles around a pickup truck is hardly a huge accomplishment. And very few people who drop money on something as expensive as a car will come out and say it sucks. But you are the smartest guy in the room right?
I'm really a Chevy guy but they should make another lighting!
Put 4-4.5 degrees of caster into a Lightning,
major improvement in response and handling.
2000cobraguy
caster?????
You add 4 degrees of caster it will track real straight but not want to turn. I think you are referring to camber.
That's parked on the side of my house I love it
Bring it back. Raptor for off-road, Lightning for street.
right before i was born. love ford though. every company has made bad stuff but im not biased.
Had one in high school black with 29k nearly wrecked it barely applying throttle in the rain into a school bus I wish I could ask the bus driver if they peed thier paints like me, raced a chick in an SVT mustang totally smoked her. That thing would fire right up and idle great. Only mod was a hard tonneau cover. I saw it sold the guy was pumping gas I felt like saying what’s the mileage now like 32k? You have to force her a bit but she’ll lay a solid posi burnout, awesome truck this guys complaining way too much it’s comfortable to drive except yes you don’t want to go slalom racing in it, you have to redline that baby holding 1-2 manually, and power brake for fat serpentine burnouts shame they could rev that baby up
Who’s here after the new Lightning?
240 HP 0 - 60 7.2 seconds... '03 Marauder 302 HP 7.5 seconds...
Wonder if that Panther was even heavier than the OG Lightning...
LOL I was thinking the exact same thing! Ford really dropped the ball with the Marauder. It could have been a real beast if they gave it a proper engine, or at least supercharged it like the prototype model.
the lighting has 410 gears
Lightning has more torque and better gearing
Wasn’t this truck in the First ‘The Fast and The Furious’ movie?
I can't believe this thing was only 21 grand back in the day. If Ford built this same sort of truck today it would easily be $50k.
Mike Flit. its called inflation, today it would cost a bit under 40K for this truck and the Raptor today is priced at almost exactly 50K with its 4wd and significant suspension mods.
if ford put out a reg cab 2wd pickup today with street oriented suspension it could conceivably come in around 40K just like the 1G lightning.
Mike Flit A few years ago Ford had the F150 Tremor. Single Cab street performance truck. Conveniently priced at 40k which is just about right for inflation.
Mike Flit more than that. Their top of the line f150 cost almost 70k
If they would build the 90's lightning today for that price, they couldn't build enough of them!
Retro review of the three daewoo’s
All Daewoos would be ultimately folded into their respective sized GM platforms:
LEGANZA-VERONA-MALIBU NUBIRA-(Suzuki) FORENZA / RENO -CRUZE (sedán and hatch) LANOS-SONIC
...and
MATIZ-SPARK (1st wasn't sold in USDM, the latter is and still made in Daewoo's former SKR factories)
I don't know if it's just weight, torque management or programming, but it's weird how 90s cars managed 1/4 times pretty close to modern ones with 100 less hp. Take a brand new 5.3l chevy 15.3@89 mph... with 355hp. That's about what this truck runs with 240hp.
Or for apples to apples take a 225hp 5.0 mustang, mid 14s @ 93, a new ecoboost mustang is 305hp and runs low 14s@97?
It's only a few 100lbs heavier!
Matt Farrar I noticed that too.
I believe testing methods are a bit different.
Motorweek,care to chime in?
That sticker is the intimidator ..
Awesome!
Why didn't you do a review of the new for 91 escort GT or the tempo GLS v6 for 92?
I never noticed the dual tanks on the Lightning, but then again, it probably needed it to keep from filling up ever 100 miles lol.
Needed a 5spd manual stick shift standard trans
You want quiet and smooth drive then buy a Lincoln! Tiring exhaust Lol. Should a performance vehicle sound like a sewing machine? Even the magazines started to get written really dumb with comparison tests.
1:32 already rust on the suspension parts on a BRAND NEW truck. Nobody misses 90s American car quality....
Josh Nixon I do. I have a 82 Ranger that I hit a wild biar in last summer and drove away in.
I told a lady at a gas station down the road so she could have the highway patrol move it out of the road and she told me to be thankful as they're known total out new cars and trucks.
take a look at all the problems with the $50,000+ new trucks .... actually ill take the 90s rust issues
Go to any GM lot with new trucks. Guarantee you'll see brand new 2018 trucks w/ rust forming on the frames or suspension parts.
did not know this existed.
interesting.
Lol me neither...
These were dark times for Detroit
They half assed everything they made from 1973-2011
The last decade and from 1950-1970 have probably been the best years for American cars ever.
Obviously there are lots of exceptions within those timeframes though CZcams friends!
Nah, the 3V GTs, Cobras, LT1/LS1 Camaros were good
The best Lightning.
Ford has the new V8 F150-- Got one today and love it.
Il buy a 454 thanks
Still, 240 hp from 5.4 liters wasn't really impressive. Less than 50 hp/liter.
My old Saab 99 from 1983 made 100 hp from a carbureted 2 liter 4 cylinder.
700 lb payload and middling 5000 towing. 😮
love these review s
I have no idea what I'm talking about. Do you concur? That was a joke that brought the word 'concur' into familiarity for those that don't get it and watch these videos in their entirety.
Anybody remember the Nite?
Awesome to see this footage , thank you so much , those were the best era for me , I was a teenager, I remember all those trucks when they came along , great era for trucks with 454SS , Sportside C-1500 , FlareSide F-150 , Supercabs , Dodge Ram , it was awesome, the only one that leaves up to it now it’s Ford because ohh my God Dodge lost its coolness , and Chevy is trying to hard .... this Lightning looks awesome with the colour coded bumpers and grille, it should’ve been offered in FlareSide bed tube as well .
Leandro Machado, yeah, 1990s decade era of pickups sports trucks. Chevy 454SS, Sportside C1500, Flareside F150. I love this Chevy trucks. Best trucks with force and resistence
It's sad that my ST has the same power.
Back when the mustang was based on a truck......
I almost traded my 1987 LX 5.0 (my 1st new car) for a 1993 Red Lighting.... almost
I really liked it but wasn’t quite the performance I wanted and a $400 payment.. ugh! Back in the day that was huge!
The 1st gens weren’t actually done by svt, only marketed
yikes! down to 700lbs of payload, cool rig though for the time!
I was 24 when this came out and remember thinking a fast pickup?? hehehe. Later Lightnings had supercharged engines. Actually the same engine in the Ford GT super car.
Daehawk You think Top Gear is factual? The Lightning uses an iron block 2 valve per cylinder SOHC 5.4L, The GT uses a unique aluminum block and 4 valve per cylinder DOHC 5.4L. The Lightning makes 360hp-380hp, the GT makes 550hp. The only thing they have in common is displacement. Research before making yourself look like an idiot.
srcej6 it wouldn't hurt to inform people without calling them an idiot :/
Turns out it wasn’t a fast pickup. 0-60 in 7.2. No one knew what fast was back then.
MY 351 CLEVELAND IN MY MUSTANG MADE 375 HORSE