Looking at buying 1st Gen... Any concerns? Pics

[broncobuddha]

Hello all. Long time Ford owner (mustangs) and am looking at buying a 1995 Lightning and was wanting know if there are some common issues I need to look for?

Here are the details.

1995 Red Supercharged F-150 Lightning
206,000 miles. Rebuilt at 140,000.
Powerdyne blower pushing 10lb boost
MSD ignition/boost retard
Autometer fuel pressure gauge with isolator
Autometer boost gauge
Factory Tech valve body, deep 4X4 tranny pan. New shift solenoids installed with valve body.
Gen 2 wheels
Gen 2 type exhaust
Has factory center seat
Cervini Ram Air hood
Tonneau cover
Alpine head unit, new front/rear speakers, 2 10's in Q logic box behind seat.
New FMS wires, plugs and new IAC installed last week. New emissions cert done today.
Dual electric fans.
Have traction bars, 2 new Belltech shocks and tow package not installed. Also have slicks mounted on wagon wheels

Guy claims to have reciepts on everything.

I've got him down to $8000. I'm going to see it in person this weekend. Worth it or no?

Thanks!
Brian

 

[ezernut9mm]

you suck for buying that. lol. i was seriously looking at that one myself...

 

[lightning666]

looks like a good deal, if the guy can prove the engine was rebuilt at 140K and if not it still has potential.

 

[John O'Donal]

To me, that seem kinda high for a truck with that mileage.
only you can be the real judge of the interior/exterior

anyway.

1) Rust? check wheelwells or rear cab panel, rear shackles?
2) pop passenger side kicker panel - Then look for broken tab on dash support. causes rattle - no big deal (you can fix)
3) check ball joints ok?
4) Check -underdash and engine compartment wiring
* look for burnt wires or alot of taped wires. AC work?
5) Carfax report?

The truck is very high mileage and you need to ensure the trans/engine and rear diff are in good condition, or you could be shelling out as much a $3000 or more in repairs.
goodluck.

 

[broncobuddha]

Got the truck. So far so good. AC blows extremely cold. No issues there. Didn't see any burnt wires. Ball joints look like they've been replaced, Didn't see any rust anywhere. Paint is in good shape. There's a few small dings, chips, something I would expect with the mileage anyhow.

You mentioned the passenger dash. Yep, it's loose and it rattles. Typical Ford interior. I'd be interested to hear how to fix. Just new body clips or what?

I've got a large legal envelope that's probably an inch thick with receipts. I'm in the process of going through them. There was even a floppy disk included that supposedly documents the engine build but the case was cracked. I swapped the guts into a new one but it wants to format the disk anytime I try to run it. I might not be able to get the data.

Thing looks like its still got the stock 19lb injectors. Surprised with the huffer on there.

Bed is in rough shape only in the fact that it looks like someone used Herculiner on it but put it on really thin and it's wearing off. I may re-do it or just go have it line-x'd.

The trans shifts nice when you baby it and nice and firm when you nail it. Both tanks worked and the gauge works for both.

I want to remove the Lightning banner on the windshield and put the factory side stickers on. Anyone know where I can get some and also the exact placement for these?

I have the carfax and also a CLUE report on it. (i'm in the auto insurance biz). The truck did rear-end someone once and both reports confirm this. It's what prompted the new hood. I checked and there's no frame damage, core support top and bottom are straight as a board. Damage appears to have been merely cosmetic.

Foglights also work. The sound system is nice.

The only other thing I found was the driver side latch part of the tailgate won't catch. It doesn't seem to be siezed or anything but it won't catch on that side.

All in all, I'm digging the truck. Going from a POS beater CRX I'm loving the SOTP difference and hating the mileage, but I don't mind...

Oh, one other thing, he gave me a brand new pair(uninstalled) of BellTech shocks for the rear. I'm going to put those on soon. The fronts are in need of replacement as well. Any idea what to go with here?

 

[ezernut9mm]

bilsteins on the shocks. you rlocal ford dealer sells a kit for the pass. side dash fix. it comes with instructions. do a search over on the nloc for the stickers. i think the factory originals are going pretty high nowadays, but not sure. there is someone reproducing them in several different colors too.

 

[John O'Donal]

It looks sorta like my truck with the Cervini hood and the side exit exhaust, I have the Gen2 wheels also though I run the chromed originals more nowadays for shows.

 

[broncobuddha]

Thanks, ezernut. Should I have just gone Bilsteins all around? The belltechs (installed this past weekend) seem to be fine. I pulled what looked to be the original Motorcraft shocks out from under there. 209k on them. Yikes. Fronts look to be the originals as well. I can't tell if this truck was lowered. I don't think so. Do you think it would be ok to run bilsteins up front with the belltech rears?

I'll check on the stickers. I've got the dash kit now, i just need to see some instructions from someone that's done it. I don't have a rivet gun so, I'm not sure if people have used other options.

 

[ezernut9mm]

KYB # KG5440 will work for the front (which is what i have), but for the money everyone seems to like the bilstiens although i have no personal experience with them. i know they were a nice upgrade from the factory motorcraft shocks on my gen 2. there was a noticeable ride difference between the two.

i can't really tell if the front has been lowered from the pics, but the rear looks like at least a 2" drop. it's hard to tell with those 18's on there.

 

[broncobuddha]

Yeah, it is hard to tell with the 18's. Any idea how much the Bilsteins are and where to get them?

I'm kind of leary of KYB simply because I've ridden in mustangs with those shocks and they were terrible. Perhaps their truck shocks are better?

 

[ezernut9mm]

straight from bilstein. http://www.bilstein.com/mistore/ymm...1&storedimg.y=1&storedimg=1&storeYMM=storeYMM

 

[broncobuddha]

Thanks

 

[TheBooger]

nice buy, that truck looks sick.

 

[broncobuddha]

Thanks again.

Ezernut, I think you can get Bilsteins cheaper from other sources. Think I saw them for $50 a piece opposed to the $60 or so they have them for there. I'll have to look.

 

[ezernut9mm]

yeah, i'm pretty sure you can too. check out some of the supporting vendors over on the nloc.

 

[broncobuddha]

I went to one of the local performance shops and they actually have BellTech shocks in stock. Since that's what I just put on the rears (came with the truck when I bought it) I figure why not stick with the same brand. I could switch to Bilsteins next time around.

 

[lightning_2000]

so how much did u wind up giving for it?

its a nice truck.
it needs smaller tires
the whole truck got repainted. did u notice the fender holes are shaved?
he use 2 post on nloc. DJ96GT was his username. i had thought of buying it. its nice and clean.

 

[broncobuddha]

It doesn't look like they painted the tailgate. There's quite a few chips where the paint has come off. There's also two dimples in the cowl that look like the hood was pushed into them that weren't really straightened. But, overall, it is a clean truck. The body just looks like it has 210k on it (it does) vs. what you think would be done if the entire truck were painted.

What tires do you think I should run? The speedo's off by maybe 3mph at 60. Not too bad. Plus, I like the look. I'm worried if I get a shorter tire, it wouldn't look as lowered as it does. It's got 285/60/18s on there now. Stock size for that gen2 rim is 295/45/18. I'm not sure what that would look like. It would cause the speedo to be off the other way. Probably read fast.

I paid $8000 for it. That's right at NADA (including the mileage) without even taking the supercharger and ingnition setup into account, so, while it sounds like a lot for an 11 year old truck, I think it was a fair price.

He had sold it to a guy down in GA who only had it for a month or so when I bought it. He realized he wasn't a truck guy and that his girlfriend was pregnant, so, he needed out. All in all, I'm happy with it.

 

[lightning_2000]

shoot me a email address and i will send you a pic of my truck it has the gen 2 wheels with tire size 285 50 18
must people run 285 50 18s
as for the cowl sometimes you have to make adjustments so the hood will fit nicely.
does it still have the bedcover and clear lites?

 

[lightning_2000]

the 60 series tire thats on it is just to big
it use to rub but he took and clearenced the front passenger fender .
taller tires throw your shift points off also