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Thread: wheel/ painting wheel options. would like to see some of both

  1. #1
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    wheel/ painting wheel options. would like to see some of both

    so this weekend im supposed to be picking up a dark grey 2002 HD. Im going to debadge the truck and basically get rid of everything that says HD on the exterior of the truck. im just not a fan of the HD stuff but I am a big fan of a 5.4L SC 4 door truck! so I was thinking, I like the look of the HD 20's but not a huge fan of full chrome wheels. I was thinking of maybe tinting the stock wheels (clearcoat with a little black added) to give almost a black chrome look to them. was wondering if anyone has done this. I also would like to see some with aftermarket wheels, that are 20's as I will be keeping the original wheel size if I choose to go aftermarket. so if you have any pics, please post them, thanks

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    Name: Allen

    throttle jockey's Avatar
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    First off, welcome to the brotherhood. The Lightning/HD has always been very tight knit. There is a lot of good members and a wealth of knowledge contained in the pages of the various Lightning/HD forums. NHTOC is a little slow nowadays so I urge you to also join Lightning Rodder. The HD is essentially a SCrew Lightning and the Lightning boards are still slightly more active and have more current tech discussions.

    Debadging these trucks isn't as simple as just removing the badges. For alignment purposes Ford uses centering pins on the backside of the badges so there are holes in the body panels. Anticipate extensive paint/body work to accomplish the look you're after.

    Off hand I can't think of anyone with black chrome but I'm sure its been done by someone. At one time I thought black chrome might be a nice change but the more common black chrome became the more I realized that it looks similar to a chrome wheel with a haze of brake dust.

    On special edition vehicles to include the Lightning and HD I have always thought that the factory wheels are one of the key identifying features that separate them from their run-of-the-mill counterparts. For this reason I prefer the factory wheels over aftermarket wheels. IMHO the 22" HD replicas are the bees-knees. Have you seen trucks with the 22" replicas? I know you want to retain the factory 20" size but maybe you'll change your mind.

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    hey and thanks for your reply! ive debadged a few vehicles so I know about the alignment holes. I was going to put the new style f150 badges or the 08 style on it to cover the holes. the chances of the alignment pins aligning are slim to none but I can just cut them off the new badges and center them without. I like the look of black chrome my self and think it would look slick on a charcoal grey HD. its just a little different than what everyone seems to be doing which is matte black. I had a charcoal grey motorcycle a while back and had black chrome wheels on it and was really impressed on how the two finishes worked together. I have seen the 22's rep wheels on the HD's and they look great, my only concern is I will be using this truck to tow a good sized ski boat and also my mustang to the track so I want to keep the 20's so that I can have a little more sidewall for ride comfort when towing. I will also be getting an airlift airbag system for the rear to assist with the towing duties. my goal is at first glance people think the truck is a regular run of the mill crew cab f150, but when they look closer, they will see its a supercharged HD, atleast if they love fast vehicles as I do. I plan to keep the centercaps on the original wheels if I tint them so it will still have a little identity as a HD truck from the outside. semper fi brother

  4. #4
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    throttle jockey's Avatar
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    I installed Air Lift SlamAir helper bags (part # 59103) about a year ago. I installed them so I could lower my HD for the look I wanted and retain some towing and payload capacity since its the tow pig for my Lightning. I'm very pleased with them although I have only used them for light loads up to this point.

    Semper Fi.

  5. #5
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    that's awesome! im using them only for towing, im not going to lower the truck any. they have $50 rebates right now. what I would have had in add a leaf cost wise, I can pay a little more like literally $40, I can get the bag system.

  6. #6
    Huh?
    Name: Philip

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    Are you planning on ditching some of the other harley touches, like the lower valance, sport tubes?

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    I might pull the tubes off or atleast paint them. the lower valance will stay unless I come across a really good deal on a lightning front end

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    Selling the badges?

  9. #9
    I <3 Mini trucks
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    Had I had the original front end pieces I would have kept them.


  10. #10
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    ill probably hold on to the badges in case I ever want to sell the truck and the buyer wants them.

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