What If 1996 Ford F-150 Lightning

[Chuck Most]

Ford dropped the Lightning after the 1995 model year, but the ninth generation F-150 continued for one more season. The F-250 and F-350 got to stick around until 1997. I got to thinking, what if Ford had continued the Lightning for 1996, as a way of giving both the ninth generation half ton and the Lightning a proper sendoff?

Base kit is the 1992 Flareside. It naturally has the Lightning front bumper. I also removed the cab steps and made rocker extensions from square Evergreen strip. The small chrome Lightning emblems came from a Rays Kits Decals North America F Series graphics sheet.

Inside I updated the steering wheel to an airbag equipped version, stealing the wheel and column from a Revell 1990 Mustang.

Under the hood I added a supercharger from a Revell Shelby. It sits on a modified dual carburetor manifold. The thought process was to bridge the gap between the real life first generation Lightning (naturally aspirated, Styleside bed), and the second gen Lightning (supercharged, Flareside bed). 

Paint is Tamiya Italian Red.

[jdhog]

Great job.  Little Red Sled!

[mikemodeler]

Nice truck! Surprised they never offered the Lightning in a step side configuration.

[espo]

Great looking conversion and the perfect color. Ford could have sold these if they had built them. Like the paint finish and the trim detailing. 

[slusher]

Beautiful  Ford Lightning!

[Zen]

Pretty cool, I'm sure Ford could have sold these .........

[ncbuckeye67]

That looks amazing! I love a "what if" build. Something that should have been, is my favorite subject to build!

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

[PappyD340]

Looks great!

[charger74]

Very nice 

[1930fordpickup]

Very Cool Chuck. 

[Rattlecan Dan]

Probably would have only sold about a million of em'. Great looking build.

[Sledsel]

Great looking Phantom!!!