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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
This is probably the highest priced player's challenge car I have seen. Not knowing alot about the individual history of each car or driver is this guy in line with his asking price? I have seen 2 others Player's challenge cars sell for under $20,000, but again different teams and different drivers and most certainly condition. If I had the money, I think I would be taking a closer look at this one.
Wow Drew, that's harsh, lol! For those of us over 40 that have loved these cars from day one, there's only 2 TV shows that can possibly have have contributed... Knight Rider, and Simon and Simon. Cheesy? Well, yea. But...a friend of mine has owned several firebirds over the years because of that show. Along those lines, my cousin is a die-hard Chevy truck guy cause of the fall guy, and another friend of mine has a replica sheriff car from the Dukes of Hazzard. I think a lot of us older guys can attribute our love of certain cars to old TV and movies. Heck, 2 cars on my bucket list are an Eleanor mustang and an American graffiti Ford coupe. Maybe we should start a thread on the topic?
I don't know... I thought Knight Rider was great, when I was five years old. I've tried watching it again when they started rerunning it on Sci-fi, when my roommate rented a few of the VHS tapes, even gave it a shot on Netflix. I couldn't make it through more than an episode or two. On the other hand, I made it all the way to the Canadian Airwolf, the second season of The A-team, and several episodes of Magnum PI. I just can't suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy The DOH or Knight Rider. They're just too damn cheesy.
Again, agree with cheesy. My trans am loving friend has the complete knight rider DVD collection. Made it halfway thru the first season one rainy Sunday afternoon and was like "so what else you got?
I don't know much about Player's challenge cars, so I cannot comment on that value and I have zero interest in them. They just don't do anything for me. They look like a race car that someone built in their back yard.
Now for the KITT car in question, that car is not the caliber of a $50k car, not even close. I could go into all of the details of why, such as how much is wrong with it and screen accuracy, horrible fit and finish, but everyone's eyes would glaze over.
Definitely not a good comparison. Need a much better KITT replica, preferably one built off of an actual black and gold 82 Trans Am.
I don't know much about Player's challenge cars, so I cannot comment on that value and I have zero interest in them. They just don't do anything for me. They look like a race car that someone built in their back yard.
Now for the KITT car in question, that car is not the caliber of a $50k car, not even close. I could go into all of the details of why, such as how much is wrong with it and screen accuracy, horrible fit and finish, but everyone's eyes would glaze over.
Definitely not a good comparison. Need a much better KITT replica, preferably one built off of an actual black and gold 82 Trans Am.
Maybe it's just the pics, but I think that KITT replica's nose does not look like it's shaped right. Looks way too pointed and should not overhang the lower nose like that one does. No way is that a $50K car
From: *member since 1999, I think - just can't remember my old name, and the big site crash...*
Car: 89 GTA ASC Conv., Prev: 89 GTA 6.3L
Engine: 5.7L L98 TPI
Transmission: 700r4 Automatic
Axle/Gears: 3.27:1 w/ JG1 Options:B2L, N10, U1A
Re: Player's Challenge vs. Knight Rider pricing
Originally Posted by zya5point0
Oh, and of course, a general Lee is on that list, lol.
I have had one of those for years, and it's by far, the most fun car owned!! I've thought about a Knight Rider KITT replica, too, but would not pay $47k, not even with the favorable Canadian to USD exchange right now.
Another KITT nerd here. No way that car is worth $50K, especially since it says it doesnt include the electronics for the dash!
Either way, I think I really good, home-built KITT replica would be in the neighborhood of $25-35K. But you can build a decent one for $15K, depends how good the donor car is.
wrong lens. Need to look at knight rider through the eyes of a kid, suspending disbelief and your imagination filling in for the terrible acting, awful production values...
Get 'em whilst they're young; pretty much the only reason I own my 92 5-speed trans-am (t-top of course). It's a POS by most measures...I forget what my point was
wrong lens. Need to look at knight rider through the eyes of a kid, suspending disbelief and your imagination filling in for the terrible acting, awful production values...
I'm guilty of never watching it.... All I see is a black TA with a weird plastic dash like batmans batmobile
Knight rider haters on TGO should be SHAMED !!! Whether you like it or not, Knight Rider (KITT) put third gens in the eyes of the general public and pop culture for last 35+ years, And KITT did it's best to wash out the "Redn*ck white trash" stereotypes that came along with owning one of these cars !!
IMO, SOME level of respect is due to KITT which is based on a 1982 Trans AM Black/Gold
Dave
Last edited by 3rdgenparts; Mar 2, 2018 at 05:00 AM.
Nah brother, you got it backwards. The Trans Am made Knight Rider cool. Need proof? Look at all the sequels and reboots with the Dodge Stealth, and the Mustang that flopped.
Nah brother, you got it backwards. The Trans Am made Knight Rider cool. Need proof? Look at all the sequels and reboots with the Dodge Stealth, and the Mustang that flopped.
Nah..... It's the >Combination< of the Trans am and the knight rider "technology" Dash, Scanner, It talks that made it cool
Here is my interior and I don't even consider my car the caliber of a $50k car!
I think the dash still looks futuristic, even today! This dash is fully functional as well, it's not just for looks except for the CRT TVs, but they are 80s correct!
It'd be a lot cooler without the reach-around dash and "impractical to actually drive" steering wheel.
I'll give you props (no pun intended) for a well done KITT clone. It looks really nice. I just would appreciate it more if it were an original 82 Trans Am in the same condition. But that's why there is an entire aisle of different potato chips. We don't have to enjoy the same things.
Knight Rider played a huge role in my love of thirdgens.
Bash it all you want, but the 80s are coming back. There's very much a rising tide of interest for the era. Remember, people probably made fun of drive-in diners, 50's music, and poodle skirts shortly after that stuff went out of style, but for the longest time that culture came to epitomize the local classic car cruise night scene (and in many places, still does).
As for conversions, I'm fine with it as long as it is done right. If you're going to do a KITT, put in the attention to detail and complete the exterior and interior. Just adding a warped fiberglass bumper with the red LED light scanner is not a KITT, it's a hacked up car. Personally, I'd never own one and would rather have an original or period correct modified 82-84 Firebird, but I'd love to see a properly done KITT in person - they're super rad!
Here is my POS "Slapped together" 1982 trans am KITT replica. That has a agreed value with state farm for $25K and has gotten me >FREE< Pizza Hut pizza a few years ago
Not sure Drew, I get a lot of attention in my car and it appraised at 65K... guess its pretty lame
Originally Posted by kentuckyKITT
Here is my interior and I don't even consider my car the caliber of a $50k car!
Originally Posted by 3rdgenparts
Here is my POS "Slapped together" 1982 trans am KITT replica. That has a agreed value with state farm for $25K and has gotten me >FREE< Pizza Hut pizza a few years ago
Beautiful cars! These are all great examples of how to do it. I think one of the positives of some select people bashing KITT is that it brought you guys out to show off your rides. I don't think I've ever seen your cars on the forum. I'd love to see these in person.
^^^^^I ain't clicking that link. Regardless how funny I might find the result.^^^^^
Knight Rider: Closet Narrative
by Brett Berk
September 25, 2008 12:00 pm
Though I lusted after many now seemingly average cars (as well as some enduringly awesome ones) in the vehicular wasteland of my mid-80's adolescence, I was never a big fan of KITT, David Hasselhoff's wry-tongued Trans-Am from the original Knight Rider TV show. I wasn't totally opposed to General Motors' third generation F-body muscle cars. In fact, I can still recall a distinct tingle on seeing their slippery, low-prowed, and vaguely phallic shape for the first time at the Detroit Auto Show in 1982. It was just that a vehicle that moved silently, dispensed sleeping gas, and had three distinct cruise modes reminded me a bit too much of my queeny childhood dentist, who used to feed me and my brothers candy in his back office after our cleanings, and was later rumored to have molested boys under his care. Okay, maybe I wasn't exactly sophisticated enough to connect these dots back then, but many of KITT's characteristics and "lifestyle choices" still made me strangely uncomfortable: his fastidious attention to appearance, his sardonic rejoinder to every statement, his patronizing voice (Mi-chael), his big black codpiece, his pulsing Detroit Techno soundtrack, and especially all of his secrets! It was like looking at myself through x-ray glasses, where everything I strove to disguise was laid bare. And it frightened me.
So now that I'm an extremely openly gay grownup instead of a furtive and terrified tween, I was hoping I'd have a different reaction to the new generation of the Knight Rider series, which premiered last night on NBC. But in watching the two-hour movie, and web-only preview episode (okay, in watching a total of about eight minutes of these) I was struck by even deeper feelings of humiliation. Not only is KITT still the shame-ridden closet-case he was in the 80's, he now seems much more self-destructive. Instead of projecting his subverted sexual rage outward (like, at the bad guys) he swallows it, dwelling monomaniacally on his unrequited infatuation with a hunky straight dork who spends 2/3 of every episode sitting on his lap, but won't abide a word he says. He's like some sad old queer pining after a young piece of trade he once paid fifty bucks to blow. And the effects of his frustrations show plainly. His expressive red eyes tell of many sleepless nights spent drowning his sorrows while awaiting the return of his "driver". His advanced surveillance technology is utilized purely for cyber-stalking, desperately tracking the star's every move. His constant admonishments to Michael reflect his buried motivations: that the young man should eat healthier (manorexia), work out more (body fascism), and spend less time on "extra-curricular activities with the ladies" (jealousy). And, in a stunning example of a closet narrative, in one action-packed rescue sequence, KITT reveals that when duty calls, he can change from a tricked out and flamboyant leather-black Mustang, into an unassuming and butch-rific F-150 Crew Cab. Maybe you'll have a different response, but I cringed at the pony car's every action and line of dialogue; it was like watching a fawning automotive Gustav von Aschenbach in an inter-species version of Visconti's Death in Venice.
ENTER NOW: Show us how your gay car sets you__ apart from the crowd. Send us a photo of you and your homotivator. Winning entries will be featured in an upcoming column, complete with incredibly witty Stick Shift____ commentary.__
Brett Berk is a Detroit native, a life-long car nut, a Gay, and the author of The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting. Visit him at www.brettberk.com
Funny you say that... I also have a mint 1982 trans am with 7k miles haha
Originally Posted by Drew
It'd be a lot cooler without the reach-around dash and "impractical to actually drive" steering wheel.
I'll give you props (no pun intended) for a well done KITT clone. It looks really nice. I just would appreciate it more if it were an original 82 Trans Am in the same condition. But that's why there is an entire aisle of different potato chips. We don't have to enjoy the same things.
It's not that I hate KITT the car. I really just can't stand watching the show. And the clones bug me, because in most cases I feel the original donor car is often cooler than a TV prop. This pair of videos kind of sum up how I feel about it. This doofus took a Recaro T/A and turned it into a completely impractical glorified Lawn Jockey. Just sad that the original history is destroyed to make it something fake. It's not like most movie or TV cars where the car is actually a car. A KITT clone will never do the things the car on TV did. But Idk, that's just my take.
It's not that I hate KITT the car. I really just can't stand watching the show. And the clones bug me, because in most cases I feel the original donor car is often cooler than a TV prop. This pair of videos kind of sum up how I feel about it. This doofus took a Recaro T/A and turned it into a completely impractical glorified Lawn Jockey. Just sad that the original history is destroyed to make it something fake. It's not like most movie or TV cars where the car is actually a car. A KITT clone will never do the things the car on TV did. But Idk, that's just my take.
I do agree with you about certain cars being converted. I tend to raise an eyebrow when a Recaro, 15th Anniversary or some other rare car is used, but it's out of my control. This is what I started with, a run of the mill 82 Trans Am LG4 WS4 Level II Y99 suspension car, of which I believe 54,000+ where made? This car was rougher than a night in jail, but I saved it and bought it for $500 cash 12 years ago!
If I had to choose between the two, I’d take the Player’s Challenge.. It’s a little more than just a 1LE and pretty in line with 1LE pricing
”1992 Camaro Z28 1LE 7RU ( 7RU IS THE FACTORY CODE FOR A COPO RACE CAR ONE OF 32 BUILT IN 92) and the rarest code in 1992”
Basically converting from CAD it’s about $35k and 6,500 miles..
It’s worth a look..
I don’t care personally for the Knight Rider car. I’m more impressed with the other Kitt cars posted above. You have to show the interior if you’re going to ask that much money.. come on! I personally wouldn’t want a TV show replica car, but I’d sure look it over and appreciate it at a show or cruise night and even snap some pics.. That price seems high for what it is.. It’s a limited market for a car like that and seems there are better ones out there..
I have had one of those for years, and it's by far, the most fun car owned!! I've thought about a Knight Rider KITT replica, too, but would not pay $47k, not even with the favorable Canadian to USD exchange right now. 
