Miniature KITT. Information Needed. (Power Wheels)

[82Toyota]

Hello. I am looking to modify a Fisher Price Power Wheel Lamborghini into a KITT wannabe. I figure why not go right to the pro's, so im here for your input. (This is for my 8yo 40# son to ride.)

The car currently looks like this:

I know its not a pontiac but its as close as i could get.


I want to modify it with the following mods:

Proportional red Scanner
KNIGHT mini plate
Fog, brake, head lights & turnsignals.
currently 6V. upgraded to 18V with a turbo boost to make it 24V briefly.
Mini gullwing wheel
Black paint w/glossy finish.
Painted wheel caps- close enough to the bowling ball style right?
---wishful thinking---
Lots of switches
Voicebox
Working monitor hooked up to mini camera in rear end

I dont want to spend a fortune but i understand this will cost a little. Here is what i have in mind...

I bought this for a mini scanner:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AMEWN%3AIT
It will have to be turned on manually up front as the switch is for the scanner settings is on the actual scanner. It is .5" x 4". I think a great size for a PW car.

I found a guy who can make a mini KNIGHT license plate just like KITT had.

The lights wont be a problem.

The voltage wont be a problem unless i run out of room under the body for batteries. Im trying to mod the car for top end speed on the road (dead end).

Gullwing- want as realistic as possible. Hate to spend a lot on one. Any ideas?

(Is this a mini gullwing?)

Paint- not a problem. 320 sandpaper- flat black Krylon with gloss topcoat applied. Same for the hubcaps.

I would like an actual turbo boost button but if i cant figure it out how about a Aviation safety toggle?


Want more pushbutton switches. (Need ideas for what they could do!) Where can i find inexpensive switches that look like KITT's? Here are some ideas- as close as i could get...
http://www.allelectronics.com/matrix/il ... ttons.html

Voicebox- unless i could get one for less than $100, what could i do. Would be neat to have an LED panel and actual KITT recordings.

Monitor/ Camera - could use this:

$40 and a pinhole camera to show what behind him. ($46) Maybe i should nix this idea. But what KITT could be without it?

Thought about an red LED speedometer but where would i start? Even if it just showed random numbers...


Finally maybe a Keypad- ($4)


My son will be in heaven. Hoping to top out at 10mph+. (3.5 is stock speed.) Had a friend hit 13.8 on a mod today... Dont want to go to gas motor. 24v will fry the motors eventually- which is why i just want it for turbo boost.

Dont want to spend a fortune but i can handle up to $500 probably.
What ideas do you have? Am i nuts??? What do you think? Thanks!

By the way. The wife and i plan on taking our son to the show&shine Saturday at the Knight Nationals. (Cant afford the rest of the show!) He doesnt even have a clue...

[James_kr]

Hi Stephen,

Welcome to the board!

That sounds awesome your plan to build a miniture KITT. Its a far out idea and it would be something that I am sure your son will love for the time he can fit in it.

You could modify it to look more like KITT and then put some popup lights in for fun so many ideas you could put into that just how you can fit them all in is the trick.

I wonder if you could put in some bowling ball hubcaps

[82Toyota]

Thanks for the encouragement. I was beginning to think i was out of place.

Did you mean make the headlights motorized like on a real Pontiac? I thought about it but am not sure how to do it. Right now the headlamps would be mounted under the smoke tinted covers. If i could pivot the covers and make them open with a switch... Have to think about that.

I did find this:
http://tinyurl.com/qwmap

Thought if it would work, (i dont know electronics), that it wouldnt act as a speedometer but would act as a voltmeter. Although i doubt my son will watch the volts as he rides....

Thanks again!

[82Toyota]

OMG - going nuts. I can add a CD player with a CD playing audio of KITT's noises, scanners, talking, etc.

This is crazy...

[1ManCnMkeADffrnce2006]

Stephen, sounds like you are heading in the right direction!
Now, lets talk about that avatar of yours! Just kidding. We should hook up twice this year and see if your interested in a side wager, eh?
Hope your Mini Kitt comes out well. I'd offer some helpful hints but the other guy's on here know more than I do. I love Knight Rider, don't get me wrong, its just that I don't have as much time to devote to it as they do, and they are amazing, let me tell you! From converting actual Trans Ams to KITT's to making plastic models with voice modulators in them, they have got it going on!

[82Toyota]

We should hook up twice this year and see if your interested in a side wager, eh?

Id be surrised if we even scored you guys are gonna be so good...

[pbryant_knight]

First i'd put a plate over the back and back top to make it flat before adding a spoiler (then at least it'll look right from the back) then work on the hard bits later.

You can get a mini scanner from e-bay from the people who sell the cheap scanners. that should fit perfectly with the scale.

The front is already sloped which will help but you could point the nose slightly more, put in a couple of old driving lamps, and when the scanner opening is cut, it'll look pretty close.

I think it's great someone doing a small replica:)

Peter

[82Toyota]

Just got back from the Knight Nationals and wow was my boy surprised. Someone even let him sit in their KITT and press a few buttons. Now to get starrted making a little KITT.

Does anyone here have anything to say about a little KITT or should i take this to the Knight Registries forums?

[corlando52]

Stephen,
I admire your ambition. Since it looks like you're not afraid of some work, and I'm guessing you're OK with electronics, here's where you can find my schematic of the voicebox:

http://home.att.net/~corlando52/voiceboxmodified.jpg

I used a voice chip from Radio Shack and recorded a 10 second KITT phrase, but you can hook this right up to a CD player and it will "talk" for you.

Here's a picture of it:


If you want to see it working, go here:
http://home.att.net/~corlando52/kittvoxsound.wmv

I got Plexiglass from Home Depot, cut it to size and painted it black, masking out the clear parts. I just used a gel for the colors, and printed the words on the gels using my computer. I forget the type style, but I have it somewhere if you need it.

Good luck! I'd love to see pictures here when you are done.

Chris

[corlando52]

PS...To get you started on the speedo, consider maybe an LED clock. If you really want to go crazy, you can use a magnet and sensor on the axle, and use a Frequency to Voltage chip. I did that on my Corvette for both the Speedo and Tach, but that was 30 years ago when I fell in love with KR and transformed my '74 Vette into a psydo-KITT. I don't know if I even have my schematics for that anymore.

Chris

[corlando52]

PPS...I thought I'd share the steering wheel with you. I just found one that would look cool after I cut it up, and this is what I came up with:



I didn't have enough money to buy a "real" one from George Barris (the only place you could get one at the time), so I had to improvise using something I knew would be safe and easy (yeah, right!) to attach to a real car. So I used a real steering wheel that I modified.
You could, of course, just cast one out of resin yourself, but you'd have to first made a clay model. Also, check out kid's toy cars, or play airplanes.

Chris