1994 Ford Lightning

This SVT Lightning was bought at a local auction 29 years ago (1997) by the current owner's son with 27,000 miles on it.

It originally came out of NY, where it was registered through a commercial lease.

The owner's husband was a through and through car guy and did most of the work himself, including regular oil changes and replacement of any worn parts, such as brakes, hoses, belts, etc. The only thing he didn't do was paint the front fender and left side door after a deer ran into it in 1998. 

It now has 167,000 miles on it but starts right up and runs like a top. It doesn't burn or leak oil but does have a power steering leak that I was able to identify as a split hard line (the cooler/return line that sits on the front lower crossmember). 

Approximately 20 years ago, Dad unofficially took over ownership of the truck  and used it as an around town work truck. He installed a bed liner and a light duty rack that he built.

His meticulous care continued and can be seen by the condition of the interior and undercarriage. The interior looks almost new. The Lightning emblazoned bolstered seats look great as does the dash and other touch points. The air bolsters and lumbar support still work as they should. The only thing I couldn't get to operate as it should was the non stock radio. There may be a trick to it as I literally couldn't find a power button.

The biggest fault is the typical Ford clear coat degradation on the Ultra Red paint. This would be a prime candidate for some of Derek Vieri's Vice Grip Garage clear coat, it would virtually eliminate the odd look of the current paint and would brighten it all evenly. 

As mentioned, the 270 HP/340 lb ft 351W, runs great and puts the power through a Ford E4OD automatic transmission and into a Ford 8.8 rear end with 4:10 gears and a limited slip. This got this 5K lb truck to 60 in just over 7 seconds.

To stop it, power disc brakes in front - drums in the back, did the job well.

Inside accoutrements include power windows, power locks, power steering, power brakes, power mirrors (these didn't seem to work correctly but the owner says they're bit finicky), tilt wheel, full gauges and the aforementioned seats. Only the bolster and lumbar adjustments are power, tilt-slide- and the lower leg support - are manual.

The rack is attached using the four standard bed "holes" and can be removed easily with a large philips head and a couple of guys. The widows husband relocated the spare tire from unde rth back and into a custom made, locked storage box now residing in the bed. He also pulled the rear bumper and replaced with a Smittybuilt tube/ light tow bumper, along with trailer wiring to work with his small yard trailer and the boat he'd haul to the local lakes for fishing.

The frame has some light scale/age rust but there is no rot in the frame or body. The front gas tank was removed (the widow doesn't know why), the rear tank was pulled and painted in a red oxide rust preventative primer as was the front part of the frame and suspension.

The tires are General Grabber HTS (275/60/R17) and were replaced in 2023.

In 1994 Ford lit up it's Special Vehicles Team (SVT) and ordered them to compete with GM's SS454 pick up and the Cyclone and Typhoon sport trucks.

GT40 high flow heads, shorty, equal length headers, aluminum driveshaft, 4:10-LS rear, all amounted to a truck that would woop the butts of many performance cars on the market back then. In 94, they only made 1165 of the Ultra Red SVT Lightnings, there are a lot less on the road today. This one, while having it's paint flaws, holds all the other specialty aspects well in hand and would be a great cruiser as is. A little work to make the paint look better and you'd have a truck welcome at most cruise nights and car shows.. all for a very cheap entry price into the classic/specialty car enthusiast world.

The widow is asking $7200 or best offer.

Any questions, to schedule a time to see it in person, or simply to make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for the interest!

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