Chevy push rod LS motors were putting out the same horsepower naturally aspirated at that time. Ford could have really showed out, but they always fell slightly behind. The terminator Cobras were the start of serious cars.
John Tate no they wasn’t. The LS1 in the corvette had around 350 hp and the ls6 in the zo6 was around 400. As for trucks the the biggest motor at the time was the 5.3 in the 1500 series that was around 270-300 depending on years. The vortemax didn’t come out till 2006 for around 345 hp. Ford had a hot product that’s why it was there faster production truck at the time.
I’m a Chevy guy but I’m a huge fan of the square body F150/250’s from the 80’s and 90’s these and terminator mustangs. They took a huge step down going from the 300/302/351 etc to the modular. My old company work truck was a 1996 F250 with a 351. That thing was bulletproof. It had 400,000 miles when I left there. I’m sure it’s still going
I remember working at a car lot back in 2015 and one if of these came in as a trade in. It has 57000 miles and the Truck literally looked brand spanking new. the seats weren't creased and there were no stains. They still have the plastic floor mats from the factory.The paint was flawless and it ran really good and was really fast. Same color
I had an 03 lightning. Raced a 02 camaro ss while hauling a couch and still gapped him. I've never seen someone's face get more red than that camaro owners face.
I call bs. Unless you raced a 6spd with someone that can't drive. Those camaros/pontiacs ate all mustangs and were neck and neck with cobras of the time. A 13.6-8 sec 1/4 truck gapped a 13.5 sec car while hauling a couch? in your dreams haha.
@@angelgjr1999 I don't think their driving was the best here. I had a 99 GT and people on the forums back in the day whined about the Lightning roasting our stangs! I think the quarter mile for a lightning was mid to low 13s if well driven
Of course technology gets better... BUT: after a few bolt on mods & a custom tune, my 01 Lightning put down 410 rwh & 525 lbs of torque & a 12.9 quarter mile on street tires in 85 degree weather😊
King Daniel i agree with u to a point... the new 5.3 that GM brought out in 2014 kinda sucked in the power department....but i did like the older vortec 5.3 (1999 to 2013)....One thing your forgetting is that gm has never put a supercharger on the 5.3 so comparing the power of a n.a engine vs a boosted engine is not fair....the fair thing to do is compare fords regular non supercharged 5.4 that really competed with the 5.3 from GM....right there u will see that the 5.3 made a bit more power over fords 5.4...and thats with the 5.3 using an old push rod engine design, where the fords 5.4 was a new modern modular engine design.....but now in 2018 i would have to say that ford has the better engine options, i especially love that 5.0 in the f150.....
Ford never used a supercharger on the 3v, which was only used in their truck and van lines, and I wasn't comparing it to the EcoBoost either. While, yes, the 5.3 made slightly more horsepower from factory, it was well below the 5.4 in torque. Also, as I'm sure is the case with the 5.3 as well, Ford intentionally tuned the 5.4 in their trucks to have the majority of its power low down in the rpm range, making it an excellent towing engine even today. With a simple tune, the 5.4 can easily gain 30+ horsepower and 50+ lb-ft. In comparison, Gm's 5.3 was basically at its limits without moderate modification.
working shlub sure, and if you chose to drop the 4x4 you would have gotten out a little closer to that 32 mark. I know it can be done I was just commenting on how difficult it is to get regular creature comforts in a truck at that price point.
I'm hardly an F-150 guy, but I appreciate this truck because it got manufacturers to consider producing performance pickups, or at least the relevant performance parts through a subsidiary (Mopar, TRD, etc.).
The only difference between the lightning and Harley engine was a different set of pulleys to produce less power than the lightning but that's a pretty easy fix lol
I love both, the Lighting and the Harley. My grandpa had a 2003 Lightning, he fixed it up and had it dynoed at 503 bhp and 532 lb-tq. And my great-grandpa (before he passed) had a 2004 Harley Davidson edition. Both of them was perfect. I grew up in that Lightning too..
2003: I’m 24 and just got laid off. Company gave me $2400 severance. Two days later signed that check over to Ford as Downpayment for a used ‘01 lightly modded with 16k miles for $27k out the door. I was broke but happy!!!
The current 3.5EB 2nd gen makes similar power and blasts the 2018 F150 supercrew in the same acceleration numbers, the 10 speed helps too..... I have my 2018 Supercrew tuned and I'm 0-60 in under 5s.... amazing where Technology has gone
My favorite truck to this date. I remember when it came out it was faster than the same year Mustang GT. What a wonderful truck this was without a doubt a Future Classic. I am sometimes tempted to buy one.
Yes! Ford! Y'all *definitely* need to make a new one of these!! A dealer not far from me here in north Georgia made a 2017 "Lightning" model -- it was basically a 2017 F-150 with a supercharger and a body kit. I'd like to see a real one from Ford. That'd be fantastic!
i wanted one of these sooo bad when i was 16 in 2000. now as an adult, i cant imagine having less than my 3/4 ton with 8 foot bed for practicality in my current life situation. thinking back, it would have always made more sense to just get a car as a modest performance car would still whoop this thing as it is after all a truck, and then just have a cheap truck for work. i was still young enough to think could have a truck for work AND still have something that was fun to drive all in one.
Love the truck /suv retro reviews! Please please do more Grand Wagoneer,Grand Cherokee retro reviews! Along with any pickup retro reviews! Thank you as always!
I bought one new in 2002 for 30k, I loved the truck with only four exceptions. The crank pulley assembly needed replacement due to a bad bearing within 35,000 mi., the Goodyear Eagle F1's were the ONLY tire available for the stock wheels and are now discontinued, the suede upholstery felt great but wasn't resilient, and it was undrivable with even a dusting of snow (because of the tire limitation). I didn't want aftermarket wheels so when I sold the truck in 2014 the tires were going for almost $400 each, and I couldn't find a full set new. Even though, I kind of wish I never sold it. SVT come back please! BTW, with very minor tweaks I got 417 hp on a dyno and 1/4 mi. @ 12.16
Ŕx ŘÅĮĐĘŔ yes. and also made a Ranger with a v8 and 4 full size doors. may have saved that line of trucks instead of being boring and underpowered from the beginning until the end.
That Contra Guy they made Explorer sports tracks. dodge had a small truck with 4 doors. the Tacoma was as well. ford missed the boat by not offering it.
Looked up the inflation calculator, hard to believe this truck is now 20 years old. Anyways, in 2021 dollars that $33,000 MSRP is about $50,000. Which is right where a loaded Camaro SS, 392 Challenger, and 5.0 V8 Mustang with all the performance options is priced at. The old F150 Lightning might be slower, but its what I'd want to daily drive. You sit up higher in more comfortable chairs, the bed has a cover over it and makes it the world's largest trunk. Replace that double din radio with a modern touch screen with bluetooth, it interfaces with your phone like a new car.
This truck shocked the pickup truck world ... I was living in Sydney Australia back then .... man those trucks where everywhere in Sydney... it was a massive hit down under ...
The funny thing is, a modern day RCSB 5.0 would be door to door with a stock lightning. And bolt-on for bolt-on the story is still the same. With a smaller, N/A engine......
Back in the early 2000's I was a driving instructor for SVT Owners Assc. I had a number of students attend these driving events with Lightings and I always was impressed by just how fast they were. One of our instructors had one and over time modified it with more boost and bigger brakes and tires. It was almost as fast as my 93R Cobra Mustang in the straights but of course I out cornered him.
Early 2000s Ford was the shit! Give me a Terminator Cobra, a Ford GT, and a Lightning and I'm set. Loved the colors too. Mystichrome, Screaming Yellow, Sonic Blue, Dark Shadow Gray.
Classic!! Wish they still made em. I know they have the raptor, but some people just want a simple truck with a ass load of hp!! Although, 2001 with a supercharger and only pumping out 380hp..... Tech has came a long way today.
Lol. Don't know if we would see that again. The 6.2L from the Raptor was available for regular F150s, but due to the 2V design I think it only makes like 411hp, and with a relatively small aftermarket its hard to find parts for them. A Hellion turbokit with get it up to like 600rwhp IIRC. An ecoboost 5.0 would definitely liven things up though. Would love to see that in a Mustang or F150.
Funny thing is this truck was just as fast as the 2001 Mustang Cobra. I'm betting if you put the average Joe in the truck, then the Mustang, he'd run better quarter mile times in the truck due to the automatic transmission. The manual in the Mustang, like all manuals requires a good bit of skill to extract the most from it.
