Aquafied Iris

I've decided to turn my 87 Firebird into a KITT conversion from the popular show Knight Rider. Would anyone know where to find a deal on the 15x7" Turbo Cast Rims with hubs or a nice fiberglass nose?

Charlie's87

might try this place:

http://www.knightreplicas.com/kitt_and_karr.html

miamivice

ok, well for those turbo cast wheels your gonna just have to look around. (i have a set of 14" ones if you want)

as for a custom nose, www.roblouisell.com probably caries the best nose, and it is also very affordable (compared to everyone else). i am not sure if its up on the site yet, but you can email him and he will give you details and pics. tell him i sent you

good luck

Aquafied Iris

Thanks anyway man, but I just found a killer deal on eBay for the nose. $450.00 for both the nose and scanner. I am, however, stuck at a dead end on the rims. If ANYONE has a set of 15x7" Turbo Cast Rims off of a 1982-83 Pontiac Trans Am or Firebird the are willing to part with, please Email me at Bahamut443@aol.com. I've been looking everywhere with no luck. Thanks!

tamatt27

ADIAT sells some hubcaps for the rims.
http://www.adiautotech.com/acc.htm
Don't know exactly where to find the rims tho. They're getting VERY scarce. I bought my Kitt nose off ebay, and I like mine. After the engine swap, I plan on getting either Mark's scanner of one off ebay. Good luck with the conversion! Keep us posted!

SC82TA

I have 3 15" rims if you're interested PM me...oh and what ebay auction did you go for? Rob is the man if you want quality accurate parts...some of the ebay people you shouldn't trust. Not saying you're getting ripped off or anything just giving you a heads up that in the replica business there are some shady people on ebay. Check out www.knightregistries.com for more info on replicas. Good luck with everything

Aquafied Iris

I might be interested in your 3 15x7" rims. Do you have pics? How much are you asking? Shipping? I bought the nose and scanner from a guy in Virginia. Here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWN:IT

miamivice

good luck w/ that nose. it does appear to be a 'molded from original' nose...those noses dont really fit that great and take lots of effort to get them to fit ok. its funny that the guy says its not relevent who the nose is made by....it is, due to the fiberglass work done. for examlpe, rob louisell (which was mentioned above) and don colie of ADIAT have excelent pieces which are very thing) where as, yanceys noses are sooo thin they crack and spider web after a while.......and im not sure where that scanner is from.

hope this doesnt discorage you, i am just stating the facts.

like SC82TA said, go to www.knightregistries.com for more information and TRUSTED parts suppliers for a knight rider conversion

pasky

Will you be doing the whole dash and interior swap also?

tamatt27

Me? Hell no! WAY too expensive to be just like every other KR replicar. I'm goin' with more of a custom dash setup...

I'm pretty sure that nose in the auction is a Yancey nose....same as mine. All I had to do was drill the mounting holes, easy. As for fitment, well check my sig pic for that. A little tweaking here and there, and it fit good. Not great, but it was real hard to notice the places it didn't line up right..i.e. lower fender section.
As for the scanner, it looks like the JC control box with the High Power Interface mod done with a custom light bar. I've seen similar setups like that on ebay, and they look just as good as Mark's or Don's. But I don't know for sure. Post pics as soon as you get things rollin'!!

SC82TA

Yeah that looks like a Yancey nose...its in black gelcoat. People in the replica community have a problem with Yancey because he basically ripped off that nose to mold it. The fitment like tamatt said isn't great, but I guess it works. There is just a lot of history there, so I imagine that is why the guy didn't mention who he got it from in his auction.


As for pics of my rims...they're at my mom's house a couple hours away so I don't have any pics, but I'll try and get some ASAP we can discuss everything else over PM.

Aquafied Iris

Well I hope the nose does ok...I'm only eighteen and tackling such a big project with such a small budget. Thanks for all the advice guys. I just got the scanner and nose in today UPS. Is it a big deal to get the stock nose off? What's the best approach to moving my signals and possibly adding fog lights like on KITT? Where should I go to find these lights? I also just got a formula hood off of a 1988 Pontiac Formula Firebird for $250 in a local junkyard. It definitely needs to be repainted, but it' in good shape. One thing that I do need to do, however, is seal underneath the hood where the hood scoop is. The top, removable, part of the induction leaks (this is a non-functional hood, unlike the ones off of the Trans Ams from 1982-84). What's the best approach to doing this?

The scanner, like it's pictured within the auction, does not have a lens. I'm thinking about getting a red plexiglass piece to fit it. Any other suggestions?

As for SC82TA, be sure to Email me at Bahamut443@aol.com when you have some pics. Would it be possible to aquire another rim from somewhere in your area to be able to sell off a whole set? Also, please be sure to PM me to talk about pricing and shipping. Thanks.

SC82TA

These things shouldn't have a budget or a time frame. A conversion is as you know a large project and you'll need time and patience to complete it. Do not try and cut corners or you'll end up with a hackjob conversion...it is fine if you find deals from time to time, but I highly suggest you buy from the reputable vendors on the market. Research is key, make sure you get answers to questions and suggestions before buying and or doing something you are not certain of. There are some who rip people off and many have done so and or bought inferior products in hopes of believing they've recived a good deal, get the second opinions of the many who have done it or are doing it. I can't emphasise enough that you should post your questions regarding replicas over at the Knight Registries forum. The site is being revamped at the moment but the forums work. There is a large member group of people who are tackling this project just like you. There are those who wish to finish quickly because they'd like to be driving in KITT and get excited and do a bad job, don't be one of those. Make your your car is mechanically sound and you get all non Knight replica things on your car running in good order. How embarassing would it be to have a KITT conversion ("the most technologically advanced super car") on the side of the road, because you failed to take care of simple things? If you have a budget and time frame in mind believe you'll exceed it. These are just some suggestions as I know the magnitude of the project.

tamatt27

You sound me when I was a youngin' anf started my Kitt w/a Twist conversion..(lol, actually like a year ago) I personally don't care if Yancey ripped off another nose, it's cheaper than the good ones (there IS a reason for that though). Since mine won't be much of a show car, it didn't really matter to me.
As for thte fog lights, I got mine from Wal-Mart...for $40. Nice lights. You can just unbolt the turn signals from their stock location, and find a way to mount them in the fog light openings. I used metal 90* brackets from Home Depot.
But I do agree with SC82TA, take your time when doing this. Take things in steps. I dove right into my Kitt, and it wasn't the best approach. I'm 19 now, with a part time job, and college. I miss my car!!

EDIT: Found this on Knightreplicas.com
http://knightreplicas.com/forums/def...TopicID=100222
Sorry if I ruined your sale SC82TA

Aquafied Iris

Hey tamatt27, do you have any pics of your car you can post? I'd really be interested in seeing them. Thanks.

SC82TA

I'd be cautious if you go with Wyatt's wheels. I have 7 wheels all together, 4 for my car obviously...but 1 of those 7 I won off an aution from Wyatt and it took him 4 months to finally send it out after paying. Just a word of caution that is all. Have you looked at Knight Registries yet? And if you look at his sig you'll see this URL http://members.cardomain.com/tamatt27 Where it show's Matt's pics.

Aquafied Iris

Yes, I have been to the site. I like the old set up the site had. It's a shame that it had to change and that most of the current links won't load. I haven't registered with the site yet, but I will soon. Thanks.

SC82TA

The site is still being worked on that is why the links don't work. The Forum is still a great source though. Shortly many more of the links will be working.

Aquafied Iris

SC82TA, do you have any pics of your car? I'm also interested in knowing what I need to do with my headlights so that they close flush with the nose.

SC82TA

I have a stock 82 thus far. However in order for you lights to close flush you have to shave off the lip on the headlight bezel. With a power sander or a dremel or an instrument of your choice. Either that or get some headlight bezels off a 91-92 car that do not have the lip. How come you haven't registered yet?

Aquafied Iris

As you were just typing up that last reply, I was registering to Knight Registries.

Gambit69

It seems like more and more people these days are starting the Knight Rider conversion. It is an expensive conversion but I am slowly doing mine. I have the exterior done on mine and I am going a different way with mine. Making mine a little more unique than others. Here are a few pics of the outside so you can see what I am doing with mine.









This is about as far as I have gotten with it. I have done some interior mods and I am waiting on a couple of cameras that I just ordered to put in the car. If you want to take a look at other pics of my car and what I have all done with it check out my website.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/kitt350

Good luck with your conversion. Knight Registries is a good site to use but you can also use www.knightfoundation.net it is almost like Knight Registries but it is all up and working. Knight Registries should be up soon just taking longer than they expected on getting everything working.

Aquafied Iris

Nice link. Thanks. Here's a pic of my car as it sits now:

As you can see I've got a lot of work to do. I've been spending my time gathering parts. So far, I've gotten a hood from an 88 Formula, nose, scanner, and fog lights (like the ones seen here: http://www.knightreplicas.com/how_to...ghts_to_t.html). I'm just going for an exterior conversion. I'll try to make my car as close as possible to KITT. However, It'll never be exact due to mine being a hardtop, a v6, not having the right front quarter panels, spoiler (mine has the third brake light), or rear end. However, I like the blackouts seen on your car for the bubble out rear end. Where'd you get them?

Gambit69

I got mine through summit. I haven't gotten around to putting the center piece in yet but I will eventually. I think they cost me around $40 or $50. Just kind of curious to know where you got your nose and scanner from. The nose I have on mine is from Robert Yancey. It is okay but I am going to be getting one from Marks Custom Kits and the scanner is from Don Colie. I really like the way his scanner is. Hoping to get the gull wing steering wheel soon as well.

Aquafied Iris

Come to think of it, I think I saw a similar blackout out of a YearOne catalog I had. I guess now I should find the thing . Anyway scroll up ^ to see where I got my nose and scanner. To the dismay f others, my nose is also a Yancey nose.

StevenK

iTrader: (1)

his car domain site is in his signature, and there a TON of pics there.

to see his scanner in action click here

tamatt27

Nothing wrong with the Yancey nose! Gambit's car is bad ***!! Definatly kick ***!
If you're goin' with a straight KITT conversion, the one-piece blackout would be the better choice.
The bubble blackout definatly looks bad *** on Gambit's car, because he's got the 4th gen spoiler. I think the one piece would look out of place on his car. With the flat T/A spoiler, def get the one piece blackout.

GTA4ME

I definately want that blackout! Now I just got to find one. How hard was the install?

tamatt27

Mine? I got it from Don Colie:
http://www.adiautotech.com/extfour.htm
The instal wasn't hard at all. I had to shave some off the sides, and do some mods here and there. Since it was designed for the 82-84 flat T/A tails, not for the bubbles, I had to modify my bubbles. If you really want the blackout, go with the 82-84 tails...much simpler than going my route.

Aquafied Iris

Hey guys. I was just going to fill you guys in on what recently happened to my car. Unfortunately, it's not a happy story...but here goes:

Tonight I pulled into a gas station and saw that there was a Plymouth Neon parked (illegally) in front of the door to the gas station mart. Nobody could get through cuz of these jerks. So I decided to try to go though between their car and the pump. Unfortunately my Fairebird side scrapped their car. Apparenty my passenger miror made a 6 inch scratch on thier front quarter panel (The scratch was made into the clear coat, but if it was wet you wouldn't be able to see it). I hadn't even noticed that I hit it at all until I seen some Puerto Rican guy come running out of the gas station all pissed. So I got out and he's complaining about how it's more than scratched and hot it was dented (My cars made of steel and his quarter panel is fiberglass). Then his wife (who was white) got out of the gas station also complaining about the safety about her baby that was in the car. She then called the cops on her cellphone. The cops said just to exchange insurance information and that they wouldn't deal with it if it happened at a gas station or in a parking lot. So I got out my insurance card and took a good look at the overall shape of thier car. This thing was a beat of POS. They had a crack in the windshield, another keyed scratch on the opposite side that I hit, and a dent. Looking at the inside of the car I also noticed that there was a lot of garbage in the car. Cigarette rappers, papers, etc. This scratch was nothing. It did have a little bit of red on it due to my tire wells, but not much at all.

Anyway, it just pisses me off how money hungry people are. They obvously don't care about their car. They'll just pocket whatever money the insurance company gives them. Also, I wish the cops WOULD have showed up. Why well let's see...

They were illegally parked.
They were driving a motor vehicle with a cracked winshield on the diver's side.
They left their baby (which they were so worried about) in the car alone.

She also made her husband move the car after it happened becuase SHE KNEW she was illegally parked!

I'm not saying I didn't do anything wrong however, but please...I hate A$$HOLE people out there...

As for the Firebird, there is no damage (as in dents). Only a scratch on the bottom of the passenger mirror and and scraped on both my tire wells that were little to nothing. You'd have to be looking for them to notice. It bothers me, but not as much becuase I plan to black out the car for a Knight Rider conversion.

However, the thing that worries me is what is going to happen next. They seem like the kind of people that may say that I caused more damage than I did (With the other damage on the crap car, you think they might want more money). Fortunately, the insurace company would have to investigate if they try to claim. They'll be able to see the shape that car is in, especially with the cracked windshield. Furthermore, They will be able to see the lack of damage on mine.

But in the end, I am pissed off about the whole situation. I hate that it happened and I hate the fact that there are people in the world that are like that.

All in all, however, I'm hoping for the best.

If you have any suggestions on how I can handle this situation better, please be sure to post. I'm always open for the advise. I've never been in this kind of situation before. I've always been a clean driver. Thanks a bunch.

89 Iroc Z

<bgsound SCR="http://www.ctv.es/RECURSOS/SONIDOS/mid/seriesTV/KnightRider3.mid" loop="10">
This calls for some knight rider music…

GTA4ME

:hail:

tamatt27

Knight Rider....the Shadowy Flight into the dangerous world...of a man......who does not exist!!

On another note, sorry to hear about the car man. It could've been worse i guess. Keep us posted on how it comes.

Aquafied Iris

So far they have not filed a claim with the insrance company. I once heard that if you don't within 24 hours that a claim cannot be filed. Is this true? It happened Monday, June 28th at 9PM. I called up the insurance company and they said not to worry about it if they don't claim. Hoping for the best...

In the meantime...my poor car...

Aviator857

Just as a word of wisdom keep a camera in your car and take pictures if you ever have a bump up again, this will help you out in court if they do something like backing it into a tree later and sueing you or something, just a cheap disposable one, and remember to swap it out every year because they do go bad after a while. Or if you have a camera phone you can use it, but most of them have horiable resolution. And remember these cars are wide they dont fit in little spaces, and have blind spots that are hard to judge until you get use to the car.

Hey you said you didn't have the right front fenders now is the time to get the right ones

Aquafied Iris

Thanks for the advise. However, I still have not heard of a filed claim yet. The incident occured two nights ago. I'm thinking she could have smartened up and known she would have had her insurance pulled if someone from the insurance company were to find out that she was driving with a cracked windshield on the driver's side. But that's just guess work. I hope this thing blows over fast. I miss driving my car! I figured it were to be best to park it while the whole deal blows over. That was it would be in exactly the same shape that it was in when it happened.

However, on an added note, I noticed that there's a pretty decent car for sale in my area for anyone interested. In Voluntown, CT, I stumbled upon a 1984 Pontiac Trans Am with only 23,000 (That's right: 23k!!!) original miles on it. It was very well kept and appeared to be in almost mint condition. This would also be a great car for anyone planning to convert the car into KITT; but with the way it's been kept, it's a great all original classic! It's a 5-speed, 5.0 Liter 305 carberated V8, with T-Top's and every option for the year of production. It was nice to be able to see a car in such great shape. Now don't get me wrong, I'm definately NOT trying to sell off a car to someone, but if you're someone in the area looking, it's an awesome car! The guy said he was firm on his price, but never bothered to mention what it was to me. (Maybe he figured I could'nt afford it..oh well)

I am also aware that the odometer can turn back to 0 miles after 100,000 miles on third gen cars, but let me tell you - this car DOES NOT have 123k on it. NOT BY A LONG SHOT! Again, great car, was a joy to look at.

I'l try to keep you guys posted on my conversion, but right now, as you may know, things are at a standstill. My first priority, however, to to replace the heating core, replace one of my O-ring seals (my car leaks very minor amounts of oil), replace a rear hydrolic, hook up the apparent aftermarket oil pressure and water temp guages, and replace a hatchback hydraulic (It hurts after awhile to hold it up by myself).

Again, hoping for the best. I'll try to post pics as soon as I get my car in tip-top shape and start my conversion.

tamatt27

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...504122080&rd=1
only a short time left, but ya might take a look at it

3rdgenparts

iTrader: (8)

WHAT'S THAT I HEAR ? A CALL FOR KNIGHT RIDER WHEELS.

READ MY SIG.I'M SURPRISED NONE OF YOU GUYS THAT KNOW OF ME REFEREED HIM TO ME

Aquafied Iris

So far, nothing has been filed. I don't think she's gunna claim at this point.

Anyway, DMCMAN, I sent you out an E-mail, how much are you selling them for? Are they the 15x7's?

305Tiger

any info on where to get one?!?! I tried both sites and found nothing. Actually, i'd like to see if I can get a blue one or at least a clear one and use blue bulbs since my car is blue and thats the color i'm gonna have it repainted(EXT Blue, to be exact).
-G

3rdgenparts

iTrader: (8)

Well it depends on many things if your not building a kitt car and don't care much on the quality and brightness of the front scanner go with jc Whitney for $50 i think.Or you can get a top of line digital scanner from this website WWW.KNIGHT-F2K4.COM its guaranteed for life.All new digital components I'm getting it for my conversion.But the scanner lens you'll have to have one custom made in blue cause all thats made now are Kitt's red scanner cover or karr's orange scanner lens.Good luck

Gambit69

Here are a few pics of my scanner with the blue lens and my blue neons.







This is what the blue lens looks like incase anyone was wondering.

Sir Speed A Lot

will the STOCK 82 84 front GFX fit onto the knight rider nose?

TY

Fat Tom

3rdgenparts

iTrader: (8)

Yes those are the grnd efx there suppose to be used with.

Aquafied Iris

Horrible news. The lady I hit claimed with the insurance company today. Pisses me off. I didn't know you could wait over a week then claim. It just doesn't seem right.

Anyway, now I have to pay a deductable fee (I believe it's $500.00) and then pay for the damages (on top of that), or have the insurance pay for it. If the insurance pays for it, my insurance sky rockets. Which means, I might have to pull the Firebird from my insurance becuase I won't be able to insure both cars. What a freakin mess. I hate to have to give up my car.

There will be an insurance inspector coming to look at the damage (or lack of) to my car.

I can't stand the greed that some people have. This lady just wants money. She's not gunna fix her POS Plymouth Neon. Man, I feel like beating the *&%^ out of something.

Aviator857

I would just offer her the 500 in cash with a signed and noterized contract saying your responsibility was completed and see if she took it, from the shape of her car as described I doubt that the insurance co would offer her more for the damage you did. But thats life, good luck

CaysE

This is why you have to be an as**ole sometimes and lean on that horn. They'll bitch and moan but they'll get the car out of the way. Sorry to hear about it though.

Midknight Rider

Hey tamatt, this may be a dumb question, but how do you open your hatch?

Aquafied Iris

I'm going to wait and see what the inspector has to say. Now that the B*&^% claimed with the insurance company, I don't think that I have the choice of handling it on my own. I'm going to wait and see just how much my deductable is and what the inspector says about the damages on both my and her car. But where there will be a way to fight this, I'll try as hard as I can. This is crazy. I keep hearing this lady saying "I'm not an a$$hole, don't worry about it" in the back of my mind.

What I'm afraid of, is if she went and got her windshield fixed so I couldn't be able to say it was cracked. She probably figured that she couldn't claim until it was, becuase if the insurance company were to find out that she had been driving with a cracked windshield on the driver's side then they would have pulled her insurance on the spot. Maybe that's why it took her 9 freakin days to claim!!!

GarageToys

iTrader: (6)

I think it's funny that you are upset at the people who's PARKED car you hit. Whether or not it was parked illegally, or if it had existing damage... you hit a PARKED car. You said yourself it was parked in a way that "nobody could get through." Then you go on and say "So I decided to try to go though between their car and the pump."

Making references to the ethnicity of the other car's owners really adds to the compassion I have for you too. If they hit your car, I'm sure you would've just let them go, right?