Project: P.I.T.A.

Troy was stopping over this afternoon to help reinstall KITT's rear end. In preparation I started getting everything we would need ready. This included the Panhard/track bar brace that I had treated with Prep and Ready yesterday. I had let this soak all night and it had completely gelled this morning. Sara and I sprayed it out with water and it did remarkably well at removing the rusted corrosion inside. Unfortunately it still had a ways to go before it would accept the original 14mm bolt.

Troy called as I was pondering how to enlarge the metal sleeve in the brace. He wanted to let me know that he was running late due to a late appointment at the shop and he would be over as soon as he finished. I told him about the issue with the sleeve on the brace and he said to bring it down to the shop and he would use the die grinder on it.

Sara and I took it down to the shop and Troy was able to use the die grinder to restore the sleeve to its original size. He said that he would be finished here and stop over in about 45 minutes. That was at 1:30PM. Before I left I borrowed a 9/16 drill bit to enlarge the holes in the Panhard/track bar bracket. The original bolts were stepped down from 14mm to 12mm and as a result one hole was 14mm and the other side was 12mm. I could not find replacement bolts in this style so I went with 14mm bolts. I needed to enlarge the 12mm holes to 14mm. I figured I could work on this while I waited for Troy.

Painting The Subframe Connectors, Part 1

Friday after work Dad and I were on a mission to find replacement hardware for the Panhard/track bar, the Panhard/track bar brace, and the trailing arms/lower control arms. It took a bit of searching and a lot of running around, but we managed to find everything we needed. Thanks for your help Dad! Here is everything we bought.

Painting The Panhard/Track Bar Bracket With POR-15

I needed to get the Panhard/track bar bracket painted today so it had time to dry before Saturday. That means I needed to get started in the garage right after work, even though it is the hottest day so far this year with a heat index that hit 105 degrees. Yuck! It's a good thing POR-15 is almost the exact opposite of paint and is okay in higher temperatures and humidity.

Here are some before shots of the Panhard/track bar bracket.

It's Welding Time

Troy made it over Wednesday to weld the Panhard/track bar bracket and subframe connectors! Here he is unloading and setting up his welder.

Some Exciting News

I have been conversing with Kevin Knight of Knight Registries as he works to restore the Registries to their former glory, and through our discussions I entered KITT for eventual inclusion.

Right now Knight Registries has a Facebook presence and my friend Cary spotted this and sent it my way: 

Sound Deadening, Part 8

Sunday and Monday afternoon I spent some time working on sound deadening KITT's roof. I know there is a lot of debate among third gen enthusiasts as to whether this is worth it on a t-top car. I recorded a before and after video to answer just that (as much for myself as for everyone else).

On two separate occasions when I spoke at length with Rick from RAAMaudio he stressed that covering or sealing up all the access holes in the framework of the car will go a long way to cut down the resonance. I took this to heart and along with covering a little more than 80% of the actual roof top (area behind t-tops), I sealed and/or covered every access hole I could find.

Take A Look Back: The Blog Archive

Today KITT turns 1 1/2 years old. This is also the 250th post of Project: K.I.T.T.! I thought it was fitting to celebrate both occurrences by introducing The Blog Archive. The Blog Archive will allow you to view all posts by month and year, making it easier to read the blog in chronological order. For those of you that receive my email updates, you may have noticed some old posts sent to your email. During the process of creating The Blog Archive I noticed a few typos and corrected them. This shows up as an update in your email. Just think of it as a bit of nostalgic fun.

Sound Deadening, Part 7

I spent some time yesterday and today working on more sound deadening. My focus was on the trunk area and the outer skins of the doors. I started with the trunk knowing that I would be able to use up a lot of the scrap pieces I had leftover from our work so far. I was aiming for about 80% coverage of the rear trunk panel.

Hallmark Keepsake Knight Rider K.I.T.T. Ornament

Today was the premiere for the Hallmark Keepsake ornaments and this year they are featuring K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider! Of course I had to pick up a couple. Here is my video overview of the K.I.T.T. ornament for 2013.

While I was picking up K.I.T.T., Sara grabbed the last Rainbow Brite ornament in Aberdeen. Apparently she is a very hot seller. Here are the two iconic 80's ornaments together:

Sound Deadening, Part 6

I spent a little time yesterday and today finishing up the sound deadening on the sail panel areas. I cannot stress enough how much easier it is to cut and fit pieces after first using a paper template. It saves a lot of guesswork and mistakes.

Sound Deadening, Part 5

We're back! After taking a much deserved vacation attending our friends Jessica and Jake's wedding and celebrating the 4th, I am back to work on KITT. I decided after work today to apply just a little more sound deadening.

I wanted to get the sail panel area sound deadened, but before I could begin I had to do some research. I could not remember what cavities could safely be covered and which needed to be left open. I referred back to an earlier blog post in March of 2012 when we first removed the interior plastics. It turns out that the entire area from the roof to the floor can be covered. The speaker opening is the only thing that needs to remain open.

I applied a 12"x12" square to the top of the sail panel area on both sides of the car. This ends up covering from the roof line to the top of the speaker opening.

Sound Deadening, Part 4

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Cary and I did some more work on the sound deadening for KITT. We secured the hatch glass as I had done before and started on the passenger side rear wheel well.

Knight 2000 Intarsia Wooden Artwork

My friend Cary stopped over on Saturday morning with a surprise for me. He does a type of woodworking called Intarsia and made the Knight 2000 logo into a beautiful piece of art.

Paint Finishes: Taking Another Look

The weather was beautiful on Saturday and I took the opportunity to take the trunk lid and spoiler out into the sunlight to compare the finishes. Just as a refresher, the spoiler was color sanded and buffed while the trunk lid was not.

My thoughts while it was under fluorescent lighting was that the spoiler had a little more dull finish, but it was completely smooth. Whereas the trunk lid was high gloss, but it showed more imperfections, i.e. specks/dust. Out in the sunlight I still feel the same way. I like the high gloss look of the trunk lid, but also the flawless look of the spoiler.

Make sure to click on the photos to see them in full resolution.

Sound Deadening, Part 3

I worked a little more on sound deadening KITT this evening. I decided to tackle the driver side rear wheel well. I used some paper as templates and folded them to the size and shape I needed. Then I used them as patterns to cut out the RAAMmat BXT II.

Sound Deadening, Part 2

This afternoon we worked on the sound deadening again. We needed the hatch to be up and out of the way so we could access the back of the car. I started by raising the garage door and unplugging it.

Sound Deadening, Part 1

This afternoon we started on the sound deadening. KITT was full of spare parts and was quite dusty, so I had to empty him out and vacuum the inside.

The Ultimate Knight Rider Map

Have a Knight Rider replica or wonder if others in your area might?  Would you like to see where the closest Knight Rider Convention or Club is?  How about being able to pinpoint shooting locations from the show?  This map has it all!  Make to sure to check out the Ultimate Knight Rider Map!

Finishing The Calipers

Yesterday afternoon I did a quick touch up coat on the interiors of the calipers. I was mainly concerned with the "mistake" caliper as some of the lacquer thinner had worked its way onto the interior surfaces. 

Knight Rider Historians

Knight Rider Historians - Finding and documenting original props from the television series Knight Rider.