Well, Well , oh Well..... How's things going....let me tell ya.... BUSY!!! I've been taking a break on the last parts of the bodywork and moving on to other things in my project. One of my new projects has been an engine cover that I've been mocking up for almost the start of the project. I've tinkered with different mock ups...NOW (Think Knight Rider) and not hot rods guys (and ladies) . KITT was way out there...a Turbine engine, that probably had a bunch of computer gadgets on it. Well, first off, I got the turbo system and went from TBI to Carb. Less wiring, less headache...then the mockups started:

 

After all those mock ups, I was pretty freakin tired of the engine cover idea and about went for just a regular air cleaner and went with it, but that is not me.... I like custom stuff and I like fabricating things, so I moved on to mock ups once and again and photoshopped an idea that I had...



I really liked the idea of my KITT having a CPU controlling everything.(fake of course) So I started with this idea and went...First I got some cardboard and some duct tape and started cutting and taping things out the way I wanted them.... This is what happened...





So, I had some mock ups that look pretty promising....One thing really got on my nerves.. That freakin choke horn sticking up out of the carb hole...I wanted the engine to look like a Fuel Injected engine, very low and very slick... So , I got a carb without the choke horn and flattened it all out... This gave the area to work with about an inch 1/2 or maybe closer to 2 inches in height...plenty of room for air. Some air cleaners are not even this big. So I moved on to the way I wanted it to look with good ol duct tape and cardboard.
Think Knight Rider now guys PLEASE.!!!



So after mocking up and taping forever ,making sure everything looks right...time for some glass work... This is a mockup piece, that is going to get molded and made into a final piece, but here is my core piece I started with after glass.....

 

Well, I'm definately tired of doing glass work, but now it's time for some bondo...Gotta love this stuff for sculpting....anyway... So I had to add braces of glass for support and also , I'm going to have to get a new passenger side VW Toureg engine cover piece, since I got crazy with one of my ideas, and went plastic CRAZY...OH the smell of burning plastic....Anyway...After cutting and and reshaping , I finally got the final mock up and placement....





Now the front is interesting because I'm eventually going to put a hole in it for the Thermostat housing outlet hose and also for this little heatsink idea I've had....





Anyway, Just thought I'd share the idea and experience with you all. The front will be more sharp angled and it will flow with the engine intake... Anyway....More to come , I'm sure of that...With the mock up done...It's now time to make it look pretty...Can't wait to get this done so I can move on to other things in this project, like the Turbine section of KITT...more to come way down the road

Thanks for looking and don't laugh too hard... The end result is what I"m going for.... Oh and here's a pic of the carb area ....



Anyway... I'll have to cover with filters of course , but considering the car won't get drove much.....not a big deal, but needs to be done ...anyway...Thanks for looking and I'll keep you posted when done...

Thanks
Marc

 

pretty neat, def wanna see the finished cover

 

looking great! *subscribing*

 

yeah i wanna see this all finished up. im not a big fan of engine covers. i think they kind of take the muscle away from the car, but i kind of like where this one is going.

 

Oh man, I like that.....

Very '80s but also mysteriously high tech looking. Great work.


I thought about this for a bit, and when it is finished, you should have some script on it. In '80s font it should say something like Digital Turbo Injection or some other "high tech" BS.

 

I like it. It is different, and to me that is cool. I'm new here, so I'm not familiar with your other threads yet, but I'll be paying attention from now on. It appears that you do good work, thanks for posting.

 

Very cool mod!

 

Very cool...

 

Hey guys,
Hopefully everything will not get too hot. The Martin intake is Aluminum and the intake on the turbo side is air and fuel... That pipe won't be too hot , but that 2nd one is the one I'm worried about. Speaking of hot, the only thing touching on the cover is the glass on the carb. I had a couple of boards worried about heat, but I'm kind of up in the air about it, only reason being is because of JEG's engine cover. It actually touches the manifold, valve covers, etc. Here it is just for reference.....



Also , here is the link: http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/50060/10002/-1

This is where my idea came from, but I didn't like how high it was, so I thought about my idea and went with it... It's definately getting air, not alot, but considering the cowl will be open, yey, it will have air.

So, should I be scared about the heat or just make the mold, and cast me a new one, and roll, This will not be daily driven , by the way. So, what do you guys think about it....Why would JEGs , of all racing parts, use glass, will it be OK? .... I know Ramairbox.com also uses glass on their cold air kits... anyway...Thanks for the comments guys, it keeps me going...



Marc

 

I don't have first-hand experience with glass but I think you'll be alright as long as nothing it touching the exhaust manifolds/headers. I'd be cautious on the hotside of the turbo though. I think that heatshield is a good idea. I don't think the top end gets hot enough to combust glass and plastic since there are a few plastic-encased sensors and wires on my SBC (305TPI) and they don't even get soft on a scorching hot day...

 

Hey guys,
Just thought I'd e-mail to tell ya I did some research on the glass. From the 3 companies I've talked to, they all 3 have said that glass will not get hot enough to burn,plus they said that resin in a hardened form(dried ,chemical free) is a very poor conductor of fire. Now I'm not saying once on fire , it wouldn't keep going, and going, but these shops do make me feel better about everything. Anyway, thought you all would like to here that. Makes me feel better about the whole thing...time to move on!

Marc

 

Hey guys
Just thought I'd ask: Do you know what you can do with a Tylenol container? Make a hole...I took a Tylenol container and duct taped it to get the roundness, then cut it in half and then did a inner and outer for a nicely rounded hole for the thermostat hose. I'm going to use a two-piece radiator hose, A piece either for draining or one for Temp... Anyway...here's some shots....and like always...Thanks for looking

Marc









Oh, forgot something, now, tommorrow , I can finally start making it look pretty and angled... and finally put the heatsink on!



thanks for looking
Marc

 

is that core 2 duo or pentium?

 

Wow, you know I never considered the fact that i've never seen Kitts motor. Is that where these mockups are coming from ? Anyone have pictures of kitts motor ?


Looking awesome BTW

 

no doubt you have done a lot of work and you did it well, but i like the look of the engine without all that on it.
its a nice looking engine.

 

looks sweet you look like you do some amazing work

 

I'm looking forward to seeing all of this as a completed project. It's going to look amazing.

 

Very interesting project. Waiting to see how it turns out.

 

Hey guys ( and gals)
I just wanted to say I'm trucking along on this thing, and moving along fairly nicely. Like earlier post said, I'm just making it look pretty now. ..I did do some thinking about this cover a little and think I'm just going to use it for shows, not actually while driving, not that it couldn't be used while driving, but just for alot of the plastics . Anyway...this is where I'm at now and hopefully tommorrow and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, I can make it look pretty. anyway , Here it is , looking pretty decent so far. On the front is a print sleeve and docking station and on the rear is a ZIP type drive. Anyway, Just thought I'd share. I'm still debating on the fan on the heatsink , I like it and dislike it at the same time. Anyway....You all have a good one!











Thanks guys for looking
Marc

 

looking good so far! I say no fan on the heat sink. I think "generally" fans go on the back of electronics, so it just doesn't look right with the fan in the front of the engine...

 

pretty neat idea! awesome!

 

x2

The heat sink looks mean by itself.

 

Nice idea... but it looks like a barbeque.

 

Is that a VCR on top?! I hope it isn't lol

All in all it looks cool, But don't you think the plastic will melt from the heat?

 

LMAO, thats a PC case front plate. one question though, isnt it cunna suck to have to remove the coolant hose EVERY TIME you need to remove the lid?

 

looks good, BUT he ^^^ has a good point there about the radiator hose...

 

Thanks for the comments guys. A couple of things though....If you look at the Radiator hose coming from the thermostat housing, you will notice a large cutout space where the hose slips thru . I did that so I COULD slip this cover on and off. When at shows, while I'm cleaning the car and wiping it down,etc,etc,the engine will be cooling down, which in return will make the coolant hose not have pressure on it. After the engine has cooled down(only then) will I put the cover on.

Another thing....This is going in a Knight Rider KITT replica car, which WILL BE trailored to events, but drove in.

Also, about the heat, The cover will be glass, and the outside plastic covers are from a 2004 VW Tourareg. The only thing about heat that I have to really worry about is the PC cover....Yes, it would melt it , if , I drove around with it on, but everything else....well, probably would survive heat issues.... JEG's sells engine covers out of glass....A/C delete covers are made out of glass.... Alot of air cleaners sometimes are made of glass(Ram air box.com) ...So, I've decided, to only put this on after the engine has cooled, from getting it off the trailor and driving and parking(which sometimes by itself can make engine temps skyrocket)(especially large shows)..... This IS just for shows and giggles...but if I could ever mold the PC tower piece and make out of a heat resistant plastic...oh yey, I would drive it with it on....

Now , as for the barbeque.... pretty funny....I liked that. Where do you think the lines came from? Oh, a PC tower, engine covers and a front facial will do that ya know? Just trying to make it look different bro. Back in 1982 , when KITT , back to the future, ETC...came out, people thought alot looked crazy, but, was it famous for that? oh yey... or I would not even design a cover like this. I would not even do a freakin cover...but it being a KNIGHT RIDER KITT car...To me, to do the engine bay on KITT, it is going to have to look different....Remember the dash of KITT:



Now.... back in 1982 , people thought that was crazy, but here is a replica one with actual functional gauges ,speedo, dimming, RPM, ETC...



So, that being said.... I remember in the very first Knight Rider episode, David Hasselhoff(Michael Knight) said that the dash looked like Darth Vaders bathroom.. So, a barbeque ....I take that as a compliment... I'm going for different and I think it does look different.

oh, one more thing...KITT was suppose to have a turbine engine for an engine...so... another project after the paint job and engine goes in? OH YEY... you guys haven't seen weird yet....

Thanks for the comments guys and I enjoy hearing the inputs of many, but just think Knight Rider when looking at it. Thanks

Marc

 

That is effing awsome.

 

Just thought I'd update this thread, this is all the fab work I did since then, sorry for the delay of posting, but been quite busy....This is in my wife's 82 just for fabbing. Turned out nice.... Can't wait to get in my bay!!!!









Can't wait to put this in this bay, although after getting the newer engine in, I also like just the engine itself in there.... Maybe once it's all together again, it will look cool, I can always show both ways, ya know...as it all will come off to move the car from A to B. The scanner covers will stay though, no need to see all those wires A?

 

i really dig your car, alot of people with thirdgens hate kitt, but i love it, i understand not everyone wants there ta to be kitt but they have to understand, thats what its identified as, like chargers and the general lee, or deloreans and the time machine, its just gonna happen, anyways great car! keep up the good work

 

Little crazy, I know.... but wifey says finish something, I have to do that.... NO more fabbing from this guy, I can tell you that!!! Just little lights here and there and I'll be done... Then on to hopefully getting interior back. Can't wait!!!! It's been awhile since I posted anything , been super busy with interior stuff, and engine stuff... this should start things off though..... It's been since August , so.... few pics coming for sure.... Engine bay just needed to be finalized and also aligned with newer carb and intake setup. Different than wifes car/ one thing changes, boom... anyway... Got this done, now just for the gizmos






]

 

wait a minute, does that thing actually have a turbo? or is that part of the cover?

 

No , it's an ol' Martin Turbo setup and functional. This cover is just for knight Rider shows. I'm having a milled air cleaner getting made , here's pics of the engine though, as is.... Too pretty not to show engine is why I have this cover made.... Knight Rider mode, and hot rod mode... hah





Here's the dash and outside too