I wonder how many years or decades it’ll be before a “new” Ford Lightning EV pickup shows its dusty face on Barn Finds? Until then, we give you this 1994 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning! The seller has this one posted here on craigslist in the Artesia, California area, and they’re asking $15,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for sending in this tip!
It’ll be fun to see that first Ford Lightning EV here, or it will be for me as I’m a fan of all things unusual. I’m picturing it being hidden away in a garage somewhere, needing who knows what kind of specialized work in order for it to move under its own power again. By that time, EVs will most likely be a done deal, we’ll all be used to seeing them and owning them and the present charging and range issues will be a thing of the past. Or, I hope they will be.
Still, for me, there’s something about the first-generation Ford SVT Lightning, which was introduced in late 1992 as a 1993 model ninth-generation F-150 special edition in either white, black, or red as seen here. They were made until 1995 and then the line went into hibernation until 1999 at which point they were faster, but for my money, not as cool as the early square trucks were.
There are a few flaws on this SVT Lightning as you can see from the exterior photos. And, the price seems downright reasonable, given the crazy prices for almost everything else. Hagerty is at $10,100 for a #4 fair-condition truck and $23,500 for a #3 good truck. This one has to be somewhere between those two numbers, as you can see some rust repairs around the rear wheel wells and cab corners, etc. The interior looks great and this truck has a whopping 170,000 miles on it, according to the seller. I love to see these vehicles being used rather than stored away as future investments!
The engine isn’t quite ready for its glamor shots debut, looking more pragmatic than designed for symmetry and looks as a lot of underhood views are today. It’s Ford’s 351-cu.in. V8 with 240 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 times aren’t much better than a new minivan, but that isn’t the point. Have any of you owned or driven a first-gen Ford SVT Lightning?
170k miles and poor rust repair price is to high
Mine is a ’94 white with 88K miles on it and California plates from my taking ownership with 4K miles in 1996. It would clean up well. An identical white ’94 with 6K miles in pretty much brand new condition recently sold on BaT for $65K, so the ask on this one is quite reasonable even if the plates indicate he’s another California flipper (aren’t they all?) He probably bought it from some unfortunate infirm old guy for $3K just last week…
I remember these trucks where cool and fast and the dealership always jack the price up on anything that was a special! Chrysler did it with the Vipers and anything Viper related. This Lighting is a used truck needs work high mileage. A fair price for this $10,000. Good luck to the seller. 🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
My ’93’s MSRP was $21,400. The dealer was asking $24,000. It sat on their for over a year, and they marked it down to $17,999. I did some research, and to the best of my knowledge was $65 under sealer invoice. I added a Bassani exhaust and swapped out the speed density ecu for a mass air setup. Those really woke the motor up.
My brother bought a red 94 in about 98. Added Borla side exit exhaust. It was fun.
I may be wrong but 1st Gen wheels did not look like that. They were Lighting Specific only to that 1st Gen, 16 inch. Very hard to locate today.
You are correct except they were 17″ with specific Firestone Firehawk tires that are unobtainable today. People may be swapping out the wheels due to unavailability of tires to fit the original rims. Last time I bought tires for mine in 2016, I had a hard time finding anything and ended up going with Toyo Proxes STs which are a directional tire in offset sizes 255/60R17V front (smaller than stock) and 285/60R17V (larger than stock) in the rear. Looks pretty mean but they cannot be rotated and the Lightning eats its front tires for breakfast. Who even knows if Toyo is still making 17″ performance radials at this point.
Good eye, Jim, I should have mentioned the wheels. Thanks for bringing that up.
A good friend of mine bought a black 93. Excellent runner. We drove up by Royal Oak Michigan same year with a 28 ft car trailer with Adrondack chairs to a Flea market. Got one town away and the ujoint broke a mile from a small town Ford dealer. We thought we were stuck. Dealer pulled a drives haft from a new truck and installed it. Good deal then Ford dealer
Those don’t look like the right wheels. They’re from a later model year