Taking a walk through the produce section of your local supermarket yields a myriad of perishables. Stopping in the fruit section can be an exacerbating process of picking out the sweetest, most delectable nectar possible. Color stands out above all else, and inevitably, your eyes settle on those enticing oranges and tangerines. Hidden between the mandarin oranges, Florida oranges, and regular tangerines are small, little orange devils. A glance at the box identifies these little buggers as Clemetines. While a Clementine may be the smallest mandarin in existence, it's really a cross between a sweet orange and a Chinese mandarin-and packs one heck of a tasty wallop.
While Bob Dill's '01 Lightning won't be found on the shelves of your local grocery, it can be found on the streets and drag strips, where it shows off its sweet mix of looks and power in a glorified cloud of tire smoke and spent exhaust gases.
After previously owning a badass Terminator Cobra, Dill dumped the blown snake for a blown special Ford of another breed-his Grabber Orange Shelby GT500. With an eye more towards show with the new stud of the Mustang stable, Dill knew he needed an appropriate tow vehicle for the Shelby, as well as something he could crack the whip on at the track. Suffice it to say, his Lightning gets the job done.
Hailing from Templeton, Pennsylvania, Dill knew that the go-to place for cracking open the rind of his Clementine was as simple as a call to Johnny Lightning Performance in New Providence, Pennsylvania. While on the phone with JLP, Dill went through the JLP catalog front to back, having them ship a host of parts for the 5.4L Triton motor. Once the parts were freighted to his house, friend John Rullo, of Kittanning Auto Service, came by to assemble the modular powerplant. The foundation for this killer revolves around the JLP short-block assembly, which features a forged crank, rods, and pistons. Before the rotating assembly was slung into the block, however, Rullo bored the cylinders 0.020-inch over. Once the short-block was complete and buttoned up, Rullo slapped on a set of JLP Stage 3 heads, complete with a set of the company's Stage 3 camshafts. When done, the engine was dropped into the engine bay of the truck.
Since the Lightning came from the factory with an Eaton supercharger, Dill knew that a blower would top the mod motor. The thing is, Dill wanted to shove more air into the engine than the Eaton could handle efficiently. With that in mind, Dill had Rullo lay a Kenne Bell 2.6L blower on top of the poked Triton. With a 10-pound lower pulley, the blower forces 18 pounds of boosted air into the powerplant via an Accufab 90mm throttle body. The go-juice is supplied by a Walbro 255-lph fuel pump and accompanying 60-pound injectors. Denso plugs light the fire, and the exhaust expenditures are expelled via a set of Dynomax long-tube headers that funnel into a 3-inch exhaust system complete with a pair of Dynatech mufflers.
While the blower combination was good for some serious rear-wheel horsepower, Dill wanted more. To that end, he had Rullo install a Zex wet nitrous system loaded with a 50-shot of the sauce. Coupled with a custom tune, the truck spit out final power numbers totaling 643 rear-wheel-horsepower and 681 rear-wheel-torque while on the jug.
 When Dill gets to the track,...  When Dill gets to the track, he swaps the truck's street sneakers for a set of Hoosier track shoes. Combine the gumballs with 643 rwhp, and the result is a best e.t. of 11.06 at 125 mph. |  The bright orange truck is...  The bright orange truck is set off by the Status 20x9 wheels shod in Kumho tires sized 305/50/20 all around. Those are some serious meats. |  |