knight rider online

I know there was someone else that asked this somewhere on the forum somehwhere, but I don't know if it pertains to me so much to this day. Anyway, I'm going to do take my driving test soon and for the meanwhile I'll be using my dad's car, but I was thinking of buying a Trans Am soon, maybe restore it here and there. I live in New Jersey so I don't know if it's really possible to either buy a KITT replica or modify a Trans Am and whether it'll be street legal. I know the scanner isn't allowed to be on so that's a bummer, but some people say the steering wheel has to be a full circle while others say it doesn't matter much as long as it's this and that. I don't know, would it be worth it to modify a Trans Am to be KITT like?

You would not be allowed to remove the rear view mirror. Not sure if you old black out the rear tail lights even though it would still have reverse and brake lights showing. Your hands have to be at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel so a gulping steering wheel is out. You would need to purchase an early 80s Trans am since the later ones have airbags and it would be illegal to remove a wheel with an airbag. For a Kitt Gullwing steering wheel. You might be able to get away with a Karr scanner light or Kitts if no one sees it's on and parked. But I wouldn't leave it alone. People will want to steal the electronic device or break it just to be mischievously cruel live in New York and where I park, people fold my rear view door mirrors jus to show me someone's messing with my car when I'm not around. All things considered, unless you have a garbage and don't plan to make it your everyday car, and have the spare cash I would say no.

I forgot to mention that acquiring the electronics, dash, lower, upper consoles, scanner, the front bumper to make Kitt, some people would have to wait 6 months to a year to to have their parts made while they paid upfront. Some of those people get ripped off because they have been waiting up to 4 years and still haven't received their parts yet but did pay upfront.

Er yeah, I saw the thread with the guy complaining that he didn't get his dash for 4 years or something, was pretty depressing to read honestly. Though you could get a dash on ebay too, but I'm not so sure about that. So what you're saying is that it's not a good idea to get a Trans Am and modify it? Not so sure about the likelihood about KITT being stolen or damaged in New Jersey, but yeah I get what you're saying.

There's also the fact that those old Trans-Am's had leak issues. Especially around the twin Moon Roofs. (I am remembering that correctly...right? *Oh, for shame*) The rubber tended to age quicker, letting rain and moisture seep in and create rust. So...in order to own this show quality, street illegal car, you would need a garage to safely protect it from it's own inherent design flaws. And that is presuming you can even find a survivor from that era. (Never mind the Trans-Am purists out there that absolutely hate the notion that anyone still wants to modify the last of the Trans-Am survivors from this era.)

I remember this issue being brought up a decade ago. The answer was the water that would leak through wouldn't be more than 2 spoonfuls.

There's a guy that actually does these modifications on the older Trans-Ams. However, I'm sure that it's expensive.

http://louisellenterprises.com/

Well, I checked that website out Tony and saw this on the front page: "Here is the breakdown with all out of the mold prices: Pilot dash $400, 2 and 4 season dash $500. Noses $500. Wheels $500 in primer, pods $150, lower console $150, overhead consoles $100. Custom finishing in primer ready to paint will double the prices. Thanks." I don't know if that includes any sort of repairing done to the the Trans Am or not, or if that's the final price for the entire conversion or something. I'll look to see if he has any contact info and get more info out of him.

You forgot to include the gullwing steering wheel.

I suspect that's just the parts cost list. As somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to recall that a whole conversions & restoration could easily run over twenty grand. Why, I bet for a major body rebuild, twenty-five hundred would be a steal. Never mind what it might cost if the guy has to go out and find the correct year make/model. (Recall something about how one year model can vary from another year...in just enough ways to make the pre-molds not properly fit or screw down at the right spots.)

IMHO, I do expect that in a number of years, it actually may become a reality where if you have the garage space, you can set up a super sized version of a 3-D printer and slowly construct a car to all the dimensions and features you can dream up. After all, there is talk about being able to upscale the current 3D printers into home sized versions to 3D print whole homes or even office buildings. In comparison to that, a car making version doesn't seem so sci-fi, anymore. I bet in comparison to finding a classic Trans-Am and modding it with all these props, being able to build a Kitt from scratch with just a few thousand in raw materials...talking about one that can drive itself and even hold a conversation, here...will probably become the preferable approach. I'm saying it's not a matter of if...but when.

Heck. The other night, I heard about something that makes printing your own car seem mundane. There's this prototype out there that was totally grown. That...just sounds like playing God to me. The body. The interior. Even the tires were all grown out of plant material. I don't think the engine was. Alas, if they combined it with another car on that list that runs on compressed air...who knows. We are living in the days of science fiction from the past. Medical practice with lasers. Food made out of slime. Real plans to send people to Mars. Robotic doctors. Self driving cars. What next? Step onto a tele pad and have dinner in Paris?

If I step onto a telepathy, I hope they don't pull a Mel Brooks on me and have my head on the wrong way. Points if you remember that movie reference.

I think all of my hopes just got crushed...

If I step onto a telepathy, I hope they don't pull a Mel Brooks on me and have my head on the wrong way. Points if you remember that movie reference.

Or, it could be far worse if that annoying fly buzzes in during mid...demecularization??? ("Help me. Help! Me!")

I think all of my hopes just got crushed..

It can be rather harsh to even wish about driving around in a Kitt super car. After all, a lot of people wanted to. So much so that Pontiac officially removed themselves from the KR Universe. With all the real life rules of safety and functionality that exist, it quite literally took a movement of city government and police cooperation for a Kitt car to drive down the street...or at least the last time I ever saw one driving down the street.

Assasinge wrote:Well, I checked that website out Tony and saw this on the front page: "Here is the breakdown with all out of the mold prices: Pilot dash $400, 2 and 4 season dash $500. Noses $500. Wheels $500 in primer, pods $150, lower console $150, overhead consoles $100. Custom finishing in primer ready to paint will double the prices. Thanks." I don't know if that includes any sort of repairing done to the the Trans Am or not, or if that's the final price for the entire conversion or something. I'll look to see if he has any contact info and get more info out of him.

The entire conversion (including the car) would cost about $60,000. The prices are listed there on the site under the drop-down menus.


EDIT: I have not had any experience of working with him nor do I know him. I'm simply the messenger passing along info. Due to being disabled with Cerebral Palsy & Hydrocephalus (water on the brain), I am not able to drive.

So...if I can't get a Trans Am...my only option would be to just get a Mustang and slap the scanner for it on the front. Go figure.

third gens are a dime a dozen. Keep searching and you can find a good starter car for around 1500-2000.
Start with a nose and scanner. Don;t worry about the inside for now. Most of the cars on the show were only exterior