Ford has been pretty good to the truck community with radical variants of the F-150, but they've never brought quite as much craziness to their SUVs. So somebody went ahead and dropped the running gear from an SVT Lightning F-150 into a 2002 Expedition to make one clean machine that hauls ass and people.
I know, the aftermarket has answered the call before with the Hennessey VelociRaptor and Saleen Explorer XP8. But there's something about the bubbly body of the first-gen Expeditions and their contemporary F-150s that's as definitively two-decades ago as the Olson twins' innocence, and for that reason they'll always have a special place in my heart. That goes for the trucks and Full House.
Somebody on the SVT Performance forum sold this beauty last month, and they reported it was put together by a Ford diesel mechanic. The engine, ECU, and gauges were tucked in perfectly, and the only hints that this truck is hotter than your average Expedition are the wheels and ride height.
It's a hell of a sleeper, the builder even managed to restrain himself from fitting the Lightning's side-exit exhaust! Though that might have been more laziness than intent. I don't think I would have been able to resist putting the "SVT Lighting" badges in place of the existing markings.
The seller claims he was making 398 hp and a serious 494 ft-lbs of torque, and yes that's a bit more than the original Lightning was turning out even after the engine was upgraded for 2002. In his words, "Short block is from Johnny Lightning Performance with Manely rods and pistons, all ARP fasteners including head studs, 6# lower pulley, Accufab throttle body, dual intank pumps, Magnaflow mid pipes with 2 high flow converters, and 3" Magnaflow stainless catback exhaust system. Trans has a line mod valve and 4x4 pan."
"Truck Yeah," all day.
Hat tip to offroadkarter for sharing this yesterday!