Building my K.I.T.T.

Yesterday, I brought my dashboard to the paint shop. As anticipated, they were not very happy with the work. We used a lot of filler at the top of the dash, which could break apart sooner or later. So they decided to remove it completely and to use fiberglass instead. Today, I could take a look at the primed parts before they get painted.

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Today, I got my Dashboard, the gullwing steering wheel, the speaker covers and the TV frame back from the paint shop. All parts have been painted in silk-matt black.

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Over the past 3 days, we mounted the dashboard into the car. So the interior is completed, too!

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In May 2008, K.I.T.T. suffered a major engine failure. After several repair attempts, I decided to have the engine completely overhauled. Except for the block, almost all parts were replaced.

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Before K.I.T.T. can be exhibted at the AMI 2009 fair, some little work was necessary. The power windows have been repaired, the black scanner cover was removed and the interior of the car was cleaned by covering all visible cables.

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To finalize my replica of K.I.T.T., we just installed the new frontnose by Knight Passions. This frontnose has always been my first choice, but my donor car already included a frontnose by Custom Projects, so I first kept it. But now I finally decided to exchange the frontnose. The front openings contain some metal grills, so the complete light section had to be changed.

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Today, I got K.I.T.T. back from the paint shop, where the new Knight Passions frontnose has been fitted and painted.

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Also new: A comparision of the original K.I.T.T. and my replica:

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Now, I can control K.I.T.T.'s voice from my mobile phone, using Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile and Winamp on my car-PC. The program shows track titles on the phone display, so I can select the tracks there and K.I.T.T. will play them from the car-PC. The range is approx. 10 meters.

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There was one big problem with controlling K.I.T.T.'s voice via Bluetooth Remote Control: My mobile phone only has about 10 meters range using Bluetooth. So I was looking for a wireless LAN solution and found it: With WinAmp remote program "Signal", the range now is more than 100 meters. So I happily spent the $25 for the license.

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Today, we mounted the new LED scanner by Lectric Enterprises. We had to install new aluminium brackets to mount the black cover in front of the scannerbar. Additionally, we had to remove the old halogen scanner, which was quite complicated, too.

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Today, I tested, if the switchpod would fit into my car, when using a round steering wheel. Result: With some adjustments it could be mounted. To do so, the upper side has to be shorted. Additionally, the dish of the steering wheel should be extended, using an additional adapter by Grant.

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In the past 2 days we went on working on the switchpod. First we glued the aluminium overlays into the fiberglass. Then, the switchpod had to be made thinner, so it can fit behind the round steering wheel. Additionally, we soldered the electronics so it can be mounted into the fiberglass after it has been painted.

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Meanwhile, the switchpod has been grinded and primed

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Today, we mounted the switchpod into the car. First, we built the electronics into the painted switchpod. Then we had to remove the dashboard from the car to mount the switchpod to it.

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Today, we installed the new mediaplayer in the car. A Voltcraft voltage converter converts 12 volts to constant 5.2 volts. The mediaplayer plays videoclips for the monitor directly from SD card.

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