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  #1  
Old 10-24-2014, 03:26 PM
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Default 1969 Ford F100 / 2002 Ford Lightning "Thunder's Truck"

When a customer called our shop suggesting his idea of mating a 1969 F100 Ranger with a 2002 Ford Lightning, we thought it was a cool idea but thought we would be taking the engine and transmission from the Lightning and putting them in the '69 truck. After doing much evaluation of the amount of time and parts it would take to make a '69 F100 not only have the power of the Lightning, but also the cornering ability, comfortable ride, braking, and reliability, he proposed we do a complete body swap on to the Lightning frame.



He's owned the 1969 F100 Ranger for many years, and this example is a very clean truck with 54,000 miles. It has a 390 V8, and a three speed manual on the column. While attending an auto auction, he came across a 2002 Ford Lightning that had been totaled by an insurance company, but had only received minor damage from a low-speed front end impact.





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Old 10-24-2014, 03:27 PM
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We suspect the reason for the total was that the radiator, air-conditioning coil, transmission cooler, and other core support mounted items had been damaged, and they were expensive to replace.

He bought the truck, and even with the damaged components, it still ran and drove. It was then measured to make sure the wheelbase was square, removing any suspicion of frame damage and it was decided that this would be a great candidate for the body swap.



The build plan also included a few upgrades to the 1969 truck body, including a Vintage Air system, an idiot tilt steering column, upgraded audio, Dakota Digital VHX gauges, and a few other creature comforts.
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Old 10-24-2014, 03:27 PM
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When both trucks arrived in the V8 Speed & Resto shop, we were very impressed with the quality of the '69. It has been repainted and some of the trim is a little faded, but overall it is a very nice truck. The plan is to leave the exterior as it is.



Measurements were taken to compare the wheelbase, track with, and other crucial dimensions to see if the swap would be feasible.



We concluded that this could work, so disassembly of the Lightning began.









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Old 10-24-2014, 03:28 PM
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The electrical system was disconnected, as were the brake lines, steering linkage, engine harness, fuel lines, emergency brake cables, and anything else tying the body to the chassis.




Soon, the crew had the Lightning cab and bed off the frame.







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Old 10-24-2014, 03:29 PM
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Next, they brought in the '69 F100 to do the same trick of removing the cab and bed.





The Lightning chassis was slid under the '69 Cab and the test fitting began.



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  #6  
Old 10-24-2014, 03:50 PM
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Now thats kick ass!
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Old 10-27-2014, 07:37 PM
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Very cool


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Old 12-22-2014, 05:22 PM
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The crew was pretty impressed how the wheel fit in the front wheel well, and it didn't look like very much fore-aft adjustment would be needed.

The cab is still not all the way down on the frame in this picture, so this is not ride height.



Bringing down the cab left this fitment:

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Old 12-22-2014, 05:22 PM
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With the cab "in the ballpark", the crew was eager to test fit the '69 bed on the Lightning chassis. We knew the wheelbase of the Lightning was approximately 5 inches longer than the 1969 truck, so we anticipated a fitment issue there. The crew unbolted the '69 bed and carried it into the Lightning chassis.






Once they set the '69 bed on the Lightning chassis, it became obvious that some modifications would be needed to have it fitted properly. The Lightning frame kicks up approximately 3 to 4 inches, raising the bed far above its original orientation to the cab.



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Old 12-22-2014, 05:23 PM
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We also noted that this the gap between the cab and the bed was approximately 5 inches, so the crew began to strategize on how to make this fit.






At this point, it was determined that perhaps the cab should be "locked down" into its final position before the crew made any changes to the frame to fit the bed. Little spacers were made to simulate cab mounts to pick up the backside of the cab, and the cab was located longitudinally on the Lightning frame.



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