Having had a 1989 full size Bronco with 4 inches of lift and 35” BF Goodrich AT’s, and an 1988 Bronco II with a 3” lift and 33’s in the past I had to stick with a Ford when it was time to get a new truck. I went about two years without a truck driving a minivan and a sedan as my family began to grow. When I couldn’t take it any longer, I just HAD to have another truck so I decided it was time, time for a new Ford Truck!

I decided to go in a different direction this time other than the lifted 4X4s I have had so something sporty was what I was thinking. I went to the FORD store the day after Christmas 2002 (Yes, a Christmas present to myself) and told the salesman what I was looking for and how much I could afford. He pointed out a few 8’ bed “work trucks” that didn’t appeal to me at all. Then he pointed out two short bed Style Side XL’s and a red Step Side XL. As you can probably figure out by now, I chose the red Step Side. Being an XL model it came with the basics like a rubber floor mat, bench seat, no power windows or locks, 5 speed manual transmission and big ugly black side mirrors. But it did have A/C and a cassette player! Needless to say, some changes were defiantly on the way.

Over the years I have had my share of older, classic cars from a ’62 Cadillac, a ’65 Chevy Bel Aire, a ’71 Lemans Sport and I even had a 1970 Chevy C-10 believe it or not! The first car I ever owned when I was 17 was a 1976 Plymouth Volare Station Wagon WITH wood panel sides no less. I did what I could with that by putting a set of Cragar SS’s on it and tinting the windows! Yeah, I was cool alright! I wanted to go with a muscle car theme with this truck so I started getting ideas from magazines and going to car shows looking at Mustangs, GTOs and some hot rods too.

My first idea was a “GT 150” but someone told me FORD had already done that with the “GT F-150”.  I went through a few different paint and stripe schemes before coming up with the “MACH 150” theme. The first thing I ordered was a Truxedeu tonneau cover then I changed the chrome XL grill and surround to a 2003 STX surround. Doing a little at a time over the years with the help from friends I was able to have a Beltec 3 / 4 drop kit with Nitro Active shocks installed at East Coast Auto Works in Wilmington, Ma.

I picked up a set of 2001 Lightning wheels from a friend and had TR at C&G Auto Body in Beverly, MA put a custom paint job on them. They have a deep gray triple clear coat with as much metal flake as we could use without clogging the spray gun! Wrapping those wheels with 295/45/18 HANKOOK Ventus S/Ts changed the look of the truck in dramatically! Next I gave my good friend Chris Rullo at Top Dog Truck Toys in Brentwood, NH a call and ordered a Cervini Cobra-R fiberglass hood, Street Scene front valance, sport side mirrors and rear roll pan, Lund Back Draft rear spoiler, smoked head lights and LED tail lights.

For performance Chris ordered me a MAC Performance Cold Air Intake to work along with the two chamber 40 series Flowmaster muffler. I picked up a 60/40 split bench seat at the bone yard and had Beverly Auto Tops in Beverly, MA recover them with custom red & black leather two-tone then a custom fitted red carpet to set this XL F-150 off from the rest. It really surprises people when they ask me about my Lightning and I tell them it’s really just a 4.2 V6 XL…..with my own personal touch.

John Force Autograph

I really enjoy going to car and truck shows where ever and when ever I can from the Carlisle’s All Truck Nationals and All Ford Nationals to local weekly cruise nights and the World Of Wheels show in Boston where I placed 3^rd in my class in 2010 and “Best In Class” in 2011! With a handful of other trophies and awards, I don’t see me every stopping from modifying and showing off my MACH 150!

[Edited By Moderator]