A look back at the SVT Lightning Bolt Ranger

Ford's Special Vehicles Team has been known for producing several awesome rides, enhancing quite a few performance vehicles and some not exactly performance vehicles.

One that got lost in the shuffle was a prototype V-8 Ranger that unfortunately never saw the light of day. The Lightning Bolt started life as a regular cab flareside Ranger and was the brainchild of Dave Dempster, an SVT Powertrain Systems engineer. Dempster's goal was to build a small pickup "that would get your full attention on those occasions when the accelerator pedal might get exercised aggressively." Well by all appearances he succeeded.

Using many off the shelf pieces to simplify fabrication challenges and keep the costs down, the Lightning Bolt was a beast. In place of the stock 2.5-liter I-4 engine rests a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 transplanted from a 2002 SVT F-150 Lightning. This two-valve SOHC pumps out 380 horsepower at 4750 rpm and is backed by a 4R100 four-speed automatic transmission. Surprisingly the big modular motor fit the engine bay pretty well. The swap included the fabrication of new engine mounts, a new air intake, two-inch exhaust headers, and a three-inch stainless-steel dual exhaust system.

The battery was relocated from under the hood to the bed, and the large HVAC plenum was replaced with a smaller unit from an E-Series Ford van. Torque output is 450 pound-feet at 3250 rpm--more than enough to twist the stock frame into a pretzel.

To counter these forces, the SVT engineers boxed both framerails and added cross-braces. This meant replacing the production plastic fuel tank with a fuel cell mounted in the bed (filled through a Bullitt Mustang aluminum fuel door mounted inside the bed).

In the front SVT fitted SVT Lightning front springs, lower control arms, and steering knuckles were fitted to the Ranger's front end, then dropped two inches so the engine would fit under the stock hood. The Bolt uses a production Lightning rearend that's been narrowed almost 11 inches and fitted with 3.73:1 gears. The spring perches also have been relocated inboard to accommodate the massive 345/35ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport tires on widened 18x12.5-inch Lightning wheels (stock wheels are 9.5 inches wide). Up front, the rolling stock is 235/40ZR18s on narrowed 18x8.0-inch Lightning wheels.

To be sure the modified Ranger has adequate stopping abilities, SVT engineers fitted Lightning brake components all around.

In the 1/4 mile Dempster's little truck ran consistent 13.60's at 108 mph.

There are scores of enthusiasts that have converted Rangers and S-10's to V-8 power. It's unfortunate that we haven't seen a hot truck like this be produced by Ford or Chevrolet. And with gas prices in the stratosphere and the Ranger seemingly dying a slow death, it's unlikely we'll see it anytime soon.