i was woundering if anyone has ever put GenII drivetrain in GenI and if so how does it do?

 

Not worth the time or $$ to do.
The Gen I handles better than a Gen II.
You can build a Gen I motor (or larger) for half (if not less) than the price of a Gen II.
The Gen II may not fit, its bigger.

Now a 600ci BB in a Gen II would be cool, and someone did that with one in FL, not sure what size motor he used.

 

Gen 1 handles better then a Gen 2??? imo Sir, it is very far the other way. The Gen 1 was built for one thing, were as the Gen 2 had more things in mind. It had to not only be faster then a Gen 1 by reputation, but it had to handle too! The Gen 2 has a name to live up to, and now when you say Lightning, you think 5.4l S/C Gen 2. jmo. But yea, I agree with the wait of money. It would be a kewl project for the guy that can afford **** like that, and it'd a beast of a truck, hell anything can be done for the right price.

 

gen1 def handles better than gen2... TTB front end = run circles around gen2 on a roadcourse

 

Sorry to say...but you are sadly mistaken.

STOCK 1993-95 Lightnings posted .88 G on a skidpad, and stock 99-04 Lightnings post .85 G. These are the numbers I have researched and found to be true.

I also have a Gen1 and a Gen2, and the numers dont lie stock vs stock

 

Ha ha....I've owned a 93 and a 95 and when I first drove my '00....I thought it was a PIG...the new trucks are comfy at high speed but they don't turn.

 

If my memory is correct the Gen 1 also has a 500lb advantage. That is really hard to make up on the road course. No question, the Gen2 would feel like a pig after being in a Gen 1. A softer, smoother pig but not better handling especially on a small course.

 

A stock Gen 1 will run circles around a stock Gen 2 for handling. (BTW, we've had a thread about this before). The Gen 1 was much more specifically made for handling than the Gen 2 was, and there are many more Lightning specific parts on a Gen 1 than a Gen 2 (chassis wise). The advertised skid pad for the Gen 1 was .88, but the trucks actually pulled in excess of a full 1.0 G on the skidpad. There was just not enough time to get that rating certified for advertising because of how fast the truck went into production.

As for putting a Gen 2 motor in a Gen 1, I was actually going to do that when I had my Gen 1, but after measuring out some specs, I'd have to cut the entire firewall out and make a new one to fit the Gen 2 motor in there (because of how far back and under the motor sits) and I just didn't want to do that to the truck.

 

C'mon Sal, you obviously know more about Lightnings than most people have forgotten but 1g on the skid pad!!! Even today, there are very few cars that can achieve 1g. I'm not even sure the Ford GT does, the Viper exceeds it, the Corvette is close, the ZO-6 does. The M5 and E55 aren't even close. Tires have allot to do to achieving this and all these cars have substantially more rubber on the road than the Gen1.

TB

 

I was told this by Gary Siegel, who was one of the project managers on the team for the Gen 1 (and posts on the NLOC forums). If I am not mistaken, I THINK I have an SAE paper on the Gen 1 project that also mentioned that skid pad rating. I think one of the main reasons the truck couldn't get certified for 1g, was because with the live real axle, it couldn't duplicate that over a controlled "unsmooth" skidpad. Been a long time though, so I am not 100% sure on the details.

 

I would like to see Gen 1 on the road course with a low center of gravity (dropped) and wearing healthy R compound low profile tires.

And to say that I was contemplating buying a Lotus when what I really need is a Gen 1 with a little suspension work. More embarrassment for the guys at the track and this time with a 13 year old pick-up truck.

 

Yep, there's plenty of Gen1's out there that spank the exotics on the twisties.

Stan's truck (RUslow) is probably one of the best examples .

 

Great info. What was the sticker price on a 93-95 Gen I NEW?

And why did Ford not give it power and handling? I guess it would have spanked the Cobra of 93?

 

The Gen 1s stickered between 21k and 23k.

The idea behind the Gen 1, was a "balanced" truck, just also could serve as a utility vehicle. Not just a straightline muscletruck (like the 454SS), or a performance truck that had zero towing and utility (like the Syclone). The Gen 1 could outhandle a Vette of the same year, and still turned low 15s in the quarter mile which was quite fast for the mid 90s.

 

I also do my best too...