84FSP said:This will be fantastic on any of the combinations. Love a rowdy truck that still does some truck stuff.
Keep hoping it does truck stuff. I had this for about a year as a daily and it sucked as a "truck".
Been digging around. Seems like calling hotchkins is the right anwser. There was apparently a rousch kit that was the serious hot ticket year ago but its impossible to find and all the info was pre internet.
Putting this here so I can collect my thoughts. Also waiting for the delivery truck to show up and I am all wound up.
This is what was suggested by an older post by someone who used to road race their lightning.
Front:
DJM upper and lower control arms (2" drop, urethane bushings)
Ruslow (Hypercoil) 1,100 lbs/in. springs w/spring spacers
QA1 shocks
Hotchkis anti-sway bar
Rear:
Hotchkis leafs (old-spec 278 lbs/in.)
DJM 1"/2" drop shackles
QA1 shocks w/upper heims and So-Cal extenders
Metco traction bars
Ruslow panhard
Hellwig anti-sway bar
What I am thinking is this. Would give me a better spring rate up front for a daily and keep the truck as low as possible.
Front:
Ford Racing drop springs with cut coil 780lbs/in. springs
Adjustable spring spacers with threaded bodies to level truck. ~1.2 inch to level.
Bilstien heavy duties (Van rebound settings) QA1's don't last IMO
Factory Sway bar
Rear:
JLP 3" drop shackles
Bilstiens HD with So-Cal extenders
So if I do this I need to buy
That should put the truck level, semi comfortable and about 3 inches lower then stock, should have minimal axle hop and should be road trip friendly.
Next step would be stereo, so 2x sets of focal 6x8 speakers (have these somewhere in the garage), a JL 10w3 in a sealed box, old Eclipse 5 channel ~400 watts total, semi decent powered double din on amazon closeout and some install parts. ~600$ all in if I can get a cheap enough used JL and if I build the wedge box instead of using something off the shelf. Been wanting to build a T box for a while but no way it will fit.
Current
Sometimes you get lucky. Truck already has upgraded sway bars and bilsteins on it put on by the first owner. Owner did not know. Just needs the front spring, bakes were just changed as well with upgraded rotors but no fluid flush. Minght need shocks as they are old and the truck is very very low.
The good, stock motor all fluids are clean, underside of the truck you could eat off of. Paint damage is minor and I could care less, has the OEM trailer setup. Springs are banded as well.
All the modifications are accounted for and the truck drivers very nicely, little soft on the brakes but that was to be expected it been sitting for 8 years or so with minimal miles. Bet there is a bunch of water in the lines.
The bad.
AC needs a recharge, the ABS light is on (20$ sensor I think), the exhaust is punishingly loud on full throttle and it has drag radials on the rear that need to be swapped. Thing HOOKS. Based on the underside I doubt the truck was ever driven in anger. The wheels are painted like crap when you get up close and the grill while very very nice is installed wrong. the interior is dirty beyond belief need to pull the carpet and replace it. Seats need to be professional cleaned and it has no floor mats. Passenger side window motor is going to go bad soon I can hear it click.
We need pics.
Posted them on instagram not here. Sorry.
Got the stereo in today or at least the start. Sony AXV touch screen and some much better 6x8 speakers. Still need to do the rear speakers and design the subwoofer box.
Got all the filters changed got it smogged, got the front springs ordered and the missing windshield wipers as well, got the seats and carpet clean, got the weird smell out of the engine which was the oil separator dripping on the supercharger. Fixed the grill, he had some expensive black chrome one on it but it was installed like crap its on correctly now. Cleaned everything in the engine. Not show but enough that I can work on it. Need to 3d print a bezel for the stereo at the office when I get a chance to make it look OEM. Took off the rear cover its silly and you cannot use it as a truck. Polished out all of the lights and resprayed the headlights in clear. Everything else way pretty good after cleaning but the headlights were bad, they are passable now. Got the bumper adjusted in the front also had the AC drained and recharged by my neighbor for ~80$ and it blows COLD now. Put in the HID bulb kit that came with the truck. Battery needs to sit on the charger its been dead for a while I think and I just want to check it after its been trickle charged. Its one of those optima yellow tops, I have had bad luck with them in the past.
This this is a giggle machine, it does burnouts at will, I do not need line locks I can tell you that even with MT slicks in the rear. It was pinging just a bit before the fuel filter swap and not at all now. Might have been running a little lean there PO never went full throttle that is for sure. The underside was clean.
So what is left is the driveshaft loop, the lakewood bars which I could not get to fit properly. Swap the front spring and alignment. Powdercoat the wheels or repaint them black to hide the bad rash they have.
You guys need one of these if you have the means it make an unholy noise with the high flow cats, exhaust and intake. Like setting car alarms off at idle down the street. nobody expects that noise out of a truck.
Pictures.
With all due respect, loud doesn't equal fast.
And around here, unfortunately, *everybody* expects a pickup to sound like a Pro Mod.
Run the optima in circuit off another battery that is on the charger. The charger can't see those batteries when they go flat and doesn't send them a charge. The other battery tricks the charger and works fine over a few days on my trickle charger.
Looks great! I agree those trucks sound awesome with nice exhaust.
kb58 said:With all due respect, loud doesn't equal fast.
Depends on your point of reference. For me its not fast I have really fast cars. For the guy next to me who just watched a old XL F150 disappear its fast. Having fun with it not trying to set lap records, I have the ACR for that. It has a very very weird sensation of speed. Maybe because it is up high but down low and gunning it it feels insane even if its only getting up to 45, on the freeway with the cruise control on at 65 it feels like its just floating along like a normal truck. I see why people really love these things.
My MPG is going to be bad I love romping on it when its safe and clear. So far I love it. Once I get it setup at the height I want and with the alignment I want I will report back.
AngryCorvair said:And around here, unfortunately, *everybody* expects a pickup to sound like a Pro Mod.
I live in the land of Prius's and Tesla's and leased BMW 320i. (What is the plural of Prius. Priui?)
Sorry we still need mutliquote.
That thing is hot, I love sport trucks and SUVs
Love it!
So it is level and will be aligned tomorrow. Need to figure out what specs I want but with 1000lb front springs this thing is much much better then the crappy ground controls springs it had that were cut. It now looks like a OEM alignment is possible. Having a two post makes things easy. Took about three hours taking my time and cleaning things while I was in there.
So next step is my stereo guy so he can build me a custom subwoofer box. I want to go dual 10's but he thinks a single 12 3w12 JL behind the passenger seat will be best for tuning. So 12 inch 3w12 JL it is as he knows way more then I do. Giving him free reign on the box size though and fill, just needs to be covered in the same color as the carpet and it needs to be rhinolined inside as that really makes a world of difference. Thinking ~500 watt single channel hidden under the passenger seat will do the trick. Class D's are getting cheap now for tha level of power.
Then the wheels get powder coated, got some of that treasure island bronze I used on my R8 left, Then I am done with it as a daily. But still thinking about 2# pulley and custom tune which would give me another 40-50hp without pulling the blower and its cheaper then the porting job which is ~650$ and change without shipping. Think it might be to risky though on the stock rods/pistons.
Looks nice. Seems like in Ohio they were popular, but got used up pretty quickly. I remember there were some really good deals on the final year models (2003?), but I barely see them anymore.
Had one as my DD in Pittsburgh(!) for a couple years around 2002. Put the world's most expensive snow tires and a ton of weight in the back and it still sucked in cold weather LOL
I remember a rough patch of I79 that would send the chassis into a twisting oscillation that scared the crap out of me.
Finally saw the light and got an STi + beater truck.
But man on smooth dry roads the Lightning was killer! So much tall-guy comfort... road trips were awesome. Well, until you had to pay for gas.
weary, what's your IG, I'm sure it's a good one to follow.
A gas station! Lightnings spend a lot of time there. :)
z31maniac said:weary, what's your IG, I'm sure it's a good one to follow.
Same as my handle here. Mainly my Maine Coons/Persians and the exotic cars from the local shows. Friends F40's 288GTO's 959's that sort of thing.
MPG is not that bad ~14.7mpg on the first tank. The F350 got 7-8 with the gas motor not towing if I got stuck in the same traffic, Viper gets 8 on a good day, the prowler which I have been DDing got about the same 16.
Figure it will average out around ~16 when I stop leaving burning tire everywhere.
This is the color on the wheel I want to do but I may need to dig up some more powder I am a little short I think on lb'age.
Looks good in the sun and when you are in the shade it looks like a sparkle black. This was it on my R8.
A local guy has a gen 1 and a gen 2 lightning and while cosmetically I prefer the early trucks they don't perform near as well as then gen2. His was mostly stock but the exhaust was glorious at WOT.
dropstep said:A local guy has a gen 1 and a gen 2 lightning and while cosmetically I prefer the early trucks they don't perform near as well as then gen2. His was mostly stock but the exhaust was glorious at WOT.
Yes they do. This has intake, midpipes and exhaust from Bassani. It roars. Makes you giggle.
Lakewoods are on. BWAHHH 
this thing just launches like nothing that weight 5000lb's should. Zero axle hop. Stupid fun ion the corners now. Its never going to win a beauty contest of go FTD but you will have a smile the whole time.
So subwoofers are next then i think I am done until I get bored again and pull the motor for forged internals. Then 6-8lbs more boost, or if I can get a GT500 supercharger cheap I may do that as well.
Truck is driving nicely. Stereo is on the docket now. Forged internals after. Drag bars are off for now. Way to harsh on the street.
So we, my stereo friend and I, tried to get 2 JL W7AE 12's in the truck. Which is possible but not without cutting it up pretty bad. One is possible with fiberglass and some serious custom box building. 1.7sqf internal without speaker and poly fill. Sealed of course. I still need my hearing a bit.
So this 50lb, W7 with all of the AE upgrades and the copper comp centers is going in behind the seats tomorrow. Got new trim rings and mounting hardware as well. Box will be coated in rhino liner and then reinstalled this coming weeked.
Amp will be an older Slash 1000/1 that I had from an older project and a buddy is rebuilding an older 400/4 JL V1 for me off a busted unit I had. Speakers will be Hertz ECX-570.5 in the door and a pod in between the seats with a set of older MB quart QS216's so they can really hit. Might buy a Jeep pod and reglass it to save time. Running a AXC-3000 sony as the head unit for now. May have to upgrade the alternator but maybe not.
So far stereo has been pretty cheap. 300$ for the head unit. 350$ for the W7 with the rebuild and upgraded parts used on craigslist. MB were 100$ Hertz were 75$ new. Amps will run another 500-600 all in and the box will be about 400$ in time and materials.
A+ on the beer choice. Belching Beaver makes a fine peanut butter milk stout. Your truck's pretty cool too 
Subwoofer box came back from build. Going to spray it in epoxy paint or have it rhino lined. Do need to make mounts so it stays in place. It is like 1.25 inches thick all the way around. Quad braced and almost exactly the spec it needs internally in SQF. Build did this cool rounded center to keep the center arm rest working like factory.
Got a RD400/4 to run the doors and pillar speakers as well on a dea. Still need to figure out where I am mounting the amps and cut down the rear carpet on the back wall to make it look good.
You'll need to log in to post.
