There’s something about collector vehicles turning up in neglected, abandoned condition – I wouldn’t call it beautiful, but whatever it is, it explains why I tend to buy special cars that haven’t been treated as such. This Lightning is a prime example of the sort of collector vehicle I’d pick up if it crossed my path, as it’s not past the point of returning it to the collector truck that it is – but this one hides some secrets and will need some work beyond the typical tune-up tasks. Find the Lightning here on eBay with bidding to $3,550 and no reserve.

The seller speculates – and I agree – that the bed was damaged in a previous accident, and that the doors were also impacted. The seller replaced the damaged bed with a clean flareside box and also replaced the doors. The paint is still mismatched and obviously there are questions regarding just how bad the damage was to cause those parts to need replacement. The Lightning hadn’t been run in several years when the seller got his hands on it, so clearly, it underwent a tumultuous spell where it was involved in an accident and then parked.

The engine bay is stock but obviously not as clean as you’d like to see on a rare truck like this. Still, it’s encouraging that the seller essentially checked the fluids, dropped in a new battery, and heard the Lightning fire right up. That’s a good sign that the truck wasn’t heavily abused or otherwise broken before it went into storage, but the seller has only taken the Lightning on short drives. During that time, he noted that most all of the accessories still work, including the air conditioning and the cruise control.

Now, the Lightning does comd with a salvage title, which can mean a few different things. It was possibly hit later in life when values had dropped off, or it was hit and only flagged as a generic F150 by the insurance company – in either scenario, the next owner will have to assess whether they want to take a chance on a damaged trunk like this rare Lightning, or wait for a better one. If the insurance company only totaled it because it was an older truck with moderate damage, then there’s a good chance it can be saved – but I’d want to see how deep this sill rust goes first.