What do you think about this build?

I'm just looking for your opinion on this build. I'm putting together a '94 gen1 lightning to use as a daily driver, so I frequent the National Lightning Owners Club website a bit. There is a guy who came in a few nights ago as a new lightning owner and said he was building a Divco. If your not sure what that is visit here Divco Club of America - Home Now I like hot rods of all kinds and I don't mind cutting on them at all. This guy comes in and says he went out and bought this clean lightning to use as a donor and he's basically using just the drivetrain and sitting the Divco on the lightning chassis. Ok so he goes in a lightning enthusiast website and says he's cutting up a clean one...that sounds like a problem. He goes into a place where people go to great lengths to restore these trucks and rubs cutting up a clean one in thier faces. He goes in with the intentions of selling off all the parts he doesn't need. The main issue I have is there isn't much difference between a standard F150 and a Gen1 lightning in the first place, and all the parts that are different that he would be using are easily available without cutting up a truck. Some say who cares cause the gen1 isn't worth much, but how many of the vehicles that we hot rod or restore were worth a lot when they were as new as the 93-95 gen1's are to us now? I just don't understand cutting up a limited production vehicle just to build another when it would be easy to find parts elsewhere and preserve a limited production vehicle for future generations. To me it would be like going out right now and hunting a '57 fuel injected belair just to use the drivetrain in a model-a or something. There are other options. The guy isn't hot rodding the lightning, he is destroying it to build another truck. He says money is the main factor because he bought it at a deal and there will be a certain cool factor about having his Divco on the lightning chassis. It seems to me it would be it would be cooler to locate the parts for the Divco elsewhere and have a hot rod Divco and see someone else enjoy the lightning instead of cutting up two desirable vehicles only to have one left. It seems that anyone who is into hot rods would be out to preserve these vehicles for future generation, but instead a lot of folks say it's him and his money let him do what he wants. Isn't there some sort of principle of the matter here that counts? Here's the build if you are interested. New owner here - and I'm sure some of you are going to be angry. 1994 - The National Lightning Owners Club Inc

really this has you upset ? your kidding me ???should be happy with guys that cut cars and trucks up.s the value of the ones still out there. i say keep cutting them up .i cut up a 66 gto one time well two :) .worth more then a short box ford . DIVCO are nice when done right. if i found other 66 as good as the first one i just may cut up that one to

Different strokes for different folks. I would venture to say that 20 years or so ago the "purists" would have rattled your cage over the modifications you've done to your 35. To some, and I don't happen to be one, there are probably grumblings over what Dave Severson, on this forum, is doing to a 57 Chevy and it's a lot more iconic than any "Lightning" ever thought about being.

What you have to understand is I obviously have no problem with hot rodding...I love hot rod Divcos. I love all hot rods. I build hot rods. I build hot rods for others, I attend hot rod shows and events. I'm not being a purist here. I am making modifications to the lightning I'm building. I understand it's a semi late model vehicle and of low value. If he were modifying the truck, chopping the top, pro streeting it, putting a big block in it, changing the color, pro touring it, making a convertible out of it, putting a small block chevy in it, or whatever, it wouldn't matter to me at all. That's not the case. He is destroying a limited production vehicle to harvest it for parts when the parts are plentiful elsewhere. It's one of those another one bites the dust situations. It's kind of like cutting up an Impala SS because you need the fromt clip for Grandma's Caprice when Caprice front clips are eveywhere. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know.

It's his truck, his money, his time.....Why does it matter what anyone else thinks as long as he's building what he wants!!!!

My neighbor crushed a very good 67 ranchero body a few months ago because he needed quick money. He drove it a few months before that but had a problem with the engine and pulled it for repairs. I told him there was a market for those cars and I could sell it pretty quick. He didn't listen. What should my opinion be of that?

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Originally Posted by 35chevy

My neighbor crushed a very good 67 ranchero body a few months ago because he needed quick money. He drove it a few months before that but had a problem with the engine and pulled it for repairs. I told him there was a market for those cars and I could sell it pretty quick. He didn't listen. What should my opinion be of that?

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His money, his stupidity and that's another thing, you can't regulate stupid.

this is a hobby, and you must be in it to please yourself, as you can not please everybody.

seems to me, at the core of this hobby, is the utilization of one to fix another, with ones budget being the driving factor.

ive seen guys spend many hours and much effort to repair, restore, replace old steel. Ive seen others spend big bucks to get a pristine car to save the time and effort of replacing the rot.

i see the logic of both positions.

So the guy stirred up a sh#tstorm on the Lightning Forum? I guess I don't see why you're posting it here, unless you're just wanting to stir up one here, or just see if you can? Personally I think that the guy's an idiot, spending extra money for a nice Lightning when all he really wants is a Gen 1 chassis and driveline, and he's going to change out or modify the driveline anyway? If he's truly on a budget why not buy a cheap Gen1 F150, add a crate engine and a crate tranny and be done? Seems to me his elevator doesn't make it quite to the top, but then if that's what he wants to do it's his money. If we really had a reason to be concerned we'd be members over on the Lightning Forum, giving him crap about it, right? I guess I don't see the point in discussing it on another forum?

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Originally Posted by rspears

So the guy stirred up a sh#tstorm on the Lightning Forum? I guess I don't see why you're posting it here, unless you're just wanting to stir up one here, or just see if you can? Personally I think that the guy's an idiot, spending extra money for a nice Lightning when all he really wants is a Gen 1 chassis and driveline, and he's going to change out or modify the driveline anyway? If he's truly on a budget why not buy a cheap Gen1 F150, add a crate engine and a crate tranny and be done? Seems to me his elevator doesn't make it quite to the top, but then if that's what he wants to do it's his money. If we really had a reason to be concerned we'd be members over on the Lightning Forum, giving him crap about it, right? I guess I don't see the point in discussing it on another forum?

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Wow.....I wasn't trying to stir up anything. Thanks for throwing me under the bus and making me look like an idiot. My intent was not to ask if any of you gave a crap about a lightning or not......I was asking your opinion on using rare or unique vehicles as donor cars when there are other options. My intent of directing you to his build was to use it as an example and I gave a couple othe examples. My reference to the 67 ranchero was to point out the senseless destruction of desirable vehicles for no reason. I guess I'm living in a box which is why I asked for opinions...and I'm not flaming anyone for thier opinion, I'm just seeing if I'm by myself on this. I posted here because I thought building hot rods and using donor vehicles was relevant here on this site. I just don't see where accusing me of making an attempt to stir something up is called for. I hate being made out to be an idiot for starting a discussion. Anyone's opinion of the original question here is welcomed by me...I asked specifically for opinions. "yea the guy is ok with what he's doing man, lighten up a bit" or "yea I agree, there's really no need to use that as a donor, there are too many other options" is about as far as you should have went.

Don't feel like you've been thrown under the bus. Just a Vega.

This is a subject is the proverbial dead horse, beaten regularly on this site.