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Thread: What motivated you to purchase a Harley Truck?

  1. #16
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    test drove a Lightning in 03 and had to have one except for the regular cab part. so got the crew cab lightning in 04

  2. #17
    aka not rite
    Name: Bob

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    Where to start????? I've had over twenty vehicles and only 40 years old. I will skip most of them and get down to it. I had a 93 lightning with a kb blowzilla on it. That was a lot of fun to drive . Would like to have that one back. Anyway at that time family was wife and one kid. Things changed, bonus kid now not enough seats in the L. Sold and got a mini van. That was not a good day. Took a break from toys , for me anyway.

    Fast forward to now. Bought a 92 5.0 vert stang , girls didn't like their hair getting messed up. Silly girls! So I needed( lol) something to fit the family that was fast ,rare, unique, and it had to be a FORD! What else do I need to say.
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  3. #18
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    It originally started with a pair of 100th anniversary Harley motorcycles I purchased in 2002. The wife and I have ridden them all over. Been to the Harley-Davidson 100th anniversary party in Milwaukee in 2003, The Black Hills at Sturgis and we try to ride up to the Blue Ridge mountains every year. We have almost 140,000 miles on the bikes.


    The Harley 03 100th Anniversary truck at the time was a wouldn't it be "nice to have". Then as time went on we started looking at the 03 two-tones that came up for sale. All of the ones we looked at were rode very hard and put away wet. I really wanted something that was clean, stock and well taken care of.


    We looked for about 2 years and found one in Miami that was the owners "Pride and Joy". He had a garage built in his back yard and parked it in there. It had about 20K on the clock when I purchased it. He had a done a few "little" minor mods while he owned it and I still have all of them on the truck to this day.

    I've kept the pictures from his eBay ad (below)

    Here's the sad part of the story...When I first purchased the truck the second day I owned it, I took it to work. I pulled it into the garage at work and brought my coworkers out to see it. I was very excited. A friend looked at the hood and mentioned "It looks nice, too bad about all the scratches on the paint." (swirls)


    This began my "How to fix the swirls" quest... I started looking in my area for a "detailer" that could correct and polish the paint. Sadly, I could not find any. There were lots of "wash & wax" guys that called themselves detailers but none that knew how to polish paint...so I started learning (and I'm still learning)


    I've won many "car show" awards including Autogeek DetailFest 1st place and Best of Show a few years in a row. This is a detailing show and I'm very proud and honored to have been awarded these trophies. (Wow! I've actually become an award winning detailer) Admittedly, my truck is "more show than go".


    Left to right - Bruno Massel, Wayne Carrini, Matt Steele and Dennis Gage

    Left to right - Matt Steele, Bruno Massel and Merlin

    Yes, I have done many mods (Mod list) since I purchased the truck (Do it once. Do it right...thanks to the NHTOC folks) but I have tried to keep the stock look OEM feng shui. (We've all seen the hacked modifications. ARGH!) But most of all...It's the great folks on NHTOC that have made it a pleasure to own my "Pride and Joy".
    Last edited by Merlin; 07-14-2017 at 03:37 PM.

  4. #19
    I like to watch
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    I have a lightning and always loved HD's Sick's videos from the summer of 2005 started everything for me..... I blew my first truck up and now I know my way around the drive train lol.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by TX Harley Guy View Post
    Honestly, dont kill me. Im a GM guy, I waited for the Silverado SS to come out, I was somewhat disappointed when it did
    This is somewhat similar to my start... I was 16 years old around the era of the Gen 1 Lightning and 454 SS, I wanted either for my first vehicle but that wasn't realistic. I ended up with a '93 Chevy C1500 V-6 which set me on the path of becoming a Chevy man. In 1998 the concept Chevy Silverado SS captured my heart but the truck was never produced. Shortly after the Silverado SS concept hit magazines Ford unveiled the Gen 2 Lightning concept which also caught my eye.

    Fast forward 6-7 years, my '93 Chevy was ready to be retired. The Silverado SS that Chevrolet produced was lack-luster as we all know so I set my sights on a Gen 2 Lightning. Initially I wasn't aware of the similarities between the L and HD so I didn't give any consideration to the HD. Once I learned of the similar lineage between the teo trucks I opened my search to include 02-03 HDs but in 2005 their prices were a little more than my budget allowed so I focused on finding a Lightning.

    In 2005 I bought Belle. Quickly a nice DD became my hobby... turned addiction... turned obsession. In 2009 I sold Belle for personal reasons which was a tough choice to make but it was the right choice at the time. I sold Belle under one condition... that I got the first opportunity to buy her back if she ever went up for sale.

    For about 2 1/2 years I was out of the L/HD community. In December 2011 I was fortunate enough to be able to buy Belle back and my passion for the platform was revitalized. In September 2012 I decided it was time to replace my problematic 6.0L Power Stroke diesel. Seeking functionality and performance out of a DD the HD was the natural choice.

    I wanted my DD to be treated like a DD so I intentionally bought a HD that wasn't in pristine condition. My intent was to focus my efforts and funds on the Lightning. For 2 1/2 years I was able to stay on that course but in the last four months I have turned a great deal of my attentions to Heidi... I'm glad I have finally started giving the HD the TLC she deserves.

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    While I was deployed to Kuwait in '03, I was researching the Lightnings through the overseas purchase program. Told my first wife (R.I.P.) about my intentions to get an L. She fired back at me, "No you can't!!! I already bought you a truck..." Sent me pics of the black '03 HA #2888. In '04 she passed away, got remarried two years later and 2 years after that the truck was traded in for a 5+ seater.

    dsc01557.jpg

    im000884[1].jpg

    im000899[1].jpg

  8. #22
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    Name: Thomas

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    Quote Originally Posted by GRANTBP View Post
    Was a the dealer looking at a mustang for my wife saw a black 03 on the showroom floor said one day so two years later I saw one for sale at the dealership looked at it for 3 months took it for test drive had it for 2 weeks keep it 151k still running strong
    LOL, this also was my story....I had a 92 SuperCoupe T-Bird (also Supercharged), and wanted a Cobra Mustang, but with newborn kids, wifey said no-go. Got the next best thing

  9. #23
    '03 Shamu/Build #04441
    Name: Sean

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    Quote Originally Posted by cayman150 View Post
    When I saw the first '03 Shamu paint scheme I thought it was the coolest thing on the block.

    I did some research and saw the interior matched too, it had the L drive train with the SC engine and said I would have to have one.

    Well I couldn't afford it then....
    This is exactly how my story started. Also had a friend of a friend take me for a ride in his modified 03' L, then I was really hooked, and said some day...

    Over the years, I went through periods of looking for one but the cleanest, low mileage Shamu's I could find were always in another state, and I really wanted a locally owned HD so I didn't have to deal with body cancer due to salt, CA's smog requirements, etc. Just wanted to get in, turn the key, and go!

    Fast forward. I'm pumping gas last April, and my Shamu was sitting on the corner of a Ford used car lot across the street from the Chevron, and an hour and 45 mins later, I had traded in my 2000 F150, signed the paperwork, and was a proud new owner of a super clean, locally owned, garage kept 03' w/93K on it. The mileage was a little higher than I was looking for but it was so clean, I had to have it!
    JBA Coffee & Cars 06/12/2016


  10. #24
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    186k know

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  12. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by GRANTBP View Post
    Was a the dealer looking at a mustang for my wife saw a black 03 on the showroom floor said one day so two years later I saw one for sale at the dealership looked at it for 3 months took it for test drive had it for 2 weeks keep it 151k still running strong
    186k know

  13. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by throttle jockey View Post
    ...but in the last four months I have turned a great deal of my attentions to Heidi... I'm glad I have finally started giving the HD the TLC she deserves.
    Ha! You're welcome. Lol

    I think the thing that really made me desire an HD was a Ford TV commercial in 2003 that showcased a Shamu with a (what appeared to be) new bride throwing her bouquet out the sunroof. That's when the truck caught my eye, so I went on a quest. Once I found out that the HD shared some of the lineage of the 2003 Cobra (I was originally a Mustang guy, but had kids to haul around) I had to have one. What better a DD for a family than a 4 dr truck. At the time though there was no way I could afford it.

    Fast forward 8 years, I had sold my '05 Kenworth to come home & be with the family, and essentially stole a 2000 Mustang GT from a guy for $3k. I drove it for a year before my kid crashed it for me one night. I worked the insurance company and the body shop to basically total it out for me (it only had a bent wheel and tie rod, but I was persuasive) I got $7000 from the insurance company, and a Mercedes E class rental for a week till I found Hazel at one of the dealers I advertised for in San Jose. I flew up on a Saturday and drove her home that night.

    As for Heisenberg, the wife was driving a 2010 Mazda 6, but not very happy about it. She had said many times that she would love to drive my truck instead, so when we got to a good point where we could sell it and make a couple grand for a down payment the search was on. I was looking at a few L's as that was what I wanted for a daily, but Heisenberg popped up for sale here. I was back and forth a few times before I finally went to see it, and for the next week it was all I could do to get the Mazda sold and cash in hand so I could have my new truck and the wife could get her own truck!

    She took Hazel, and I now DD Heisenberg. Granted the gas bill is a little higher, but honestly the combined payments and gas bill is less than that of Hazel and the Mazda minus the gas bill, so in the long run we're saving money and look better!

    Sold my 2002 BLK #9638 to my wife's uncle, Sold my 2003 BLK #6682 to a nameless man local to me.

  14. #27
    Worlds Shiniest HD F-150!
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoCal Waite View Post
    Ha! You're welcome. Lol

    I think the thing that really made me desire an HD was a Ford TV commercial in 2003 that showcased a Shamu with a (what appeared to be) new bride throwing her bouquet out the sunroof. That's when the truck caught my eye, so I went on a quest. Once I found out that the HD shared some of the lineage of the 2003 Cobra (I was originally a Mustang guy, but had kids to haul around) I had to have one. What better a DD for a family than a 4 dr truck. At the time though there was no way I could afford it.
    Look what I found.


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  16. #28
    *SOLD - but not forgotten
    Name: Chuck NHTOC #291

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    That's the one. Too cool. Great find!

    Mods=L&S Oil Sep, Blackwood trim & mirror caps, Navi ant' base, E-brake pedal, CAI, C&L Intake & Plenum, 95mm MAF tube, SBTB, 170 T-Stat, Predator+RWTD custom tune, 8# lower, PG Ti900.7 amp, JLA XR570-CXi & Stealthbox, FTVB, Finned Trans Pan, Line of Fire LED, J-Jent Grille, RotorPro Dimpled & Slotted rotors, LED taillights, chrome door strikes, billet locks & coat hangers, ChickenEars Engine Billet package #1&2+door sills, Metco billet aux idler bracket & pulleys, LFP E-Fan, Xenarc HID heads, clear corners, Roush HID fogs, Bedrug, L' 3rd, Kenwood DDX-7017 DVD+TV+Sirrius+RevCam, Lotek dual pillar pod with AutoMeter boost gauge & DynoJet WBC, fog switch mod, UPR billet window switches and door locks, FAST overlays, LFP 58" bars, Hotchkis TVS, Bilsteins, DblG Panhard, Cervinis Cobra R hood, BFG T/A KDW 2 tires, Hawk Ceramic pads, MGP caliper covers.

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