Knight's Rest-Knight Rider 30th Anniversary build

[Kayin]

Back with more updates, though these are of a more... indoor variety.



So what's with filling the holes where the screws go? Well, at the bottom of each of those holes is a powerful neodymium magnet. The filler is to keep the magnet from skittering away, as well as to even the surface for epoxy and CF cloth. When finished, this will hopefully have no holes where the screws once were. Still need to fit lenses for the hard drive lights.



You can see just how small they are, yet they hold just fine. These are for the side trim pieces that cover the sides of the top louvers.



Just keep this view in mind, it'll change in a second. Also, apologies, my camera is starting to give out.



The ESA's bluetooth module, however, it's very dead. Didn't know till I tried to pair my new mouse.



Wire clips, in original whitish and new and improved black. I tossed them in a dye bath. Works real good.



This horribly crappy picture show's KITT's alpha circuit, or the ESA board. They perform the same role-they allow KITT to control the car (or computer.) Right now it can ramp up and down fans, pumps, lighting, and open and close the top automatically depending on the conditions in effect.



Can you spot the difference?



The difference is subtle in the last picture, but you'll notice the purple-black coloration of these metal pieces? I created my own MBS formula for galvanized steel. Doesn't rub or wash off. Also, it shows the Widmaenstatten lines in steel just like an acid etch. This shot shows the lining on this piece.



A much better shot, showing the trays with the MBS applied and installed. Don't worry, when the sun comes back out I'm gonna reshoot all this.



Rewiring the beast after polishing the chassis and installing a multitude of sensors. This was a real pain.



A trim piece, with its magnetic fasteners visible during mock-up.



Wiring the back bays to the front for HDD access.



And she lives, though I'm far from content with some things. The VGA power connection is temporary, for one. The ESA interface with the cooling system beside the motherboard needs more holes drilled and tapped, and I have to put some ties down for some of the wiring. But, I'm now able to start focusing on the aesthetics of the inside, as well as creating the front panel setup.

Very little of this besides my proprietary MBS colorant formula is groundbreaking. From here on out, I intend to change that. I'm sure none of you have a complaint with that.

[MadHacker]

I take it your not putting the neodymium magnets anywhere near your harddrives?
I'm not sure of the effect it would have on them

[Kayin]

We remember leaving off here...



Looks worse, feels smoother. It's getting there (found my bondo damaged the foam chemically, though I've now sorted a solution for that and I shouldn't have any more collapses.)



Moving forward with reshaping the lower panels...



It'll take some shaping yet, but I think another skim coat is in order...



Same with its twin.



Should be the last run of glazing putty, one more prime and it'll need to be sprayed. Then comes the fun of wetsanding.

[Kayin]

That skim coat I mentioned...



Other side as well...



Started using an orbital sander (hands can't take manual much any more) as well as working on the gap that used to exist between paint and vacuum metalization. Plan for that is that it disappears completely when I'm done.



Other side is prepped like this as well. You can see that there's less and less to fill each time-exactly what we want.



While it looks a horrid hodgepodge of colors, they help me to determine what's not right yet. Also, we're getting ever closer.



A bit shaky (as was I) but the primer smoothed out a LOT of that.



And both sides are now missing that gap around the edge of the panel.

Tomorrow should see me bring out the unmodded side panel and fix a long, annoying seam on it. Should be just a bit of glazing putty and a coat or two of primer, a bit of a sand to knock down the roughness, and I'll start getting the interior of the panel prepped for paint as well as upholstery.

It's slow, but I like the progress. It's very fun, to be back working like I did with my father. I still need to get my rad out and spray it, now that I think of it.

[Kayin]

The flat case panel, coated in high-build red oxide primer. Still needs gaps filled and the armor sealed into the back. But they're coming along.



$14 dollar Harbor Freight sander, primer, sandpaper and... Polycrylic? What gives? Well, it's a great sealer for the pink insulation foam. Otherwise, paint and bondo eat it and it collapses. Hence the holes I fought with the hood scoop earlier.



There's a coat of it drying on that parti-colored hood scoop. It doesn't look it, but it's almost done. Another run of primer and a bit of sanding on spot putty and I should be ready for paint. More on that in a bit.



That's the back bezel of the case. It's in its last primer coat, and I resculpted a fair few of the lines with the sander and a rasp. Too many straight edges, KITT had some but not that many. Looks better to me this way.



Everything in primer, waiting for sanding with 150 to remove orange peel from the primer before proceeding. The lower panels are MUCH straighter than before, but they're not 100% finished yet. Another run of putty and primer, and they'll be there.



First paint applied, and I'm gonna choke someone. I wanted the deep, deep black that KITT was, instead I got black metallic. This will have to be sanded off and redone.



The hood scoop is finally hole-free and almost 100% level. Gonna have to find a can of REAL black to test that with though. Once I'm content with the primer coat.

I'm looking around at what my options are. Right now, I'm honestly thinking of brushing on a self-leveling paint and then wetsanding that out like a regular finish. It would have the added bonus effect of not choking me with fumes since my lung function continues to fall (my chest deformity is now visible with the naked eye, fun.) I'm looking at paints, we'll see what happens. I do know I'm not gonna get all this way and then paint with the wrong color. Saw an old show car that was brush painted, it was indistinguishable from a sprayed finish. Foam brush for no brush strokes and I might be on to something.

Wave goodbye to the 6950, it's going across the room to my wife's PC. She's sold her pair of 5770s, and I need to go back to the green team for the ESA integration. Whatever I get has to be able to max out GW2 on a 1900x1200 screen, and possibly higher if I replace this monitor. I may also be replacing my board and processor with a Z77 Sabertooth and some undecided 1155 processor, possibly a 3570K. I've even got a pair of hexacore processors sat here on my desk, but it's a radical change to move to that.

When the outside is done, then I'll turn my attention to the inside and start stealthing components, as well as adding KITT's power source and working on the permanent cooling system. Lots to do, but I'm about to be over a major hurdle.

[Kayin]

So, been a bit, mostly medical issues, though some has been simple drawing cutting cardboard and fitting. There's very little room available, and there's a liquid cooling loop going in here...



Remember this guy? He still leaks. I'mma gonna fix that, real good like.



Only when it has been destroyed and rebuilt in my image will it be functional again!



Save those for later...



One end's tanks gone...



Looks like it was more solder than rad. I aim to fix that going forward...



Both tanks off...



And down to bare core. This assembly does not leak. Tanks leaked before. I ran water through this again, it's still fine. Need to get some desoldering braid and clean the rest of the solder off the rad (there's at least as much as in that puddle still on the rad) and then sandblast the core. It looks pretty rough.

So, while I make up tanks and get them ready for silver solder, I started working on the spacer between the fans and the rad.



1/2" acrylic, holes predrilled (would hate to cut it then bugger drilling a hole...)



A proper blade, and a slower than normal speed do wonders.



The interior cutout, and you can see my EKG hanging out of my shirt in the foreground. It's been a major impediment to progress.



And the completed crappy cutout. I'm currently filing to make it look presentable. My hands shake so much now I can't keep the saw straight very well. Still doesn't mean I don't try.

While shaping the abovementioned shroud with the Dremel clone I keep for such, I had a work-stopping accident, or I'd have a finished product for you. Never seen anything like it happen, so here's your warning.

A non-reinforced wheel and a chunk of melted acrylic got in under my glasses and burned themselves to my eyelid. It did no permanent damage, just hurt like nobody's business and put me off working for the rest of the day. That and I was standing in the rain Dremeling. Wear proper goggles, kids. I wear a very, very strange glasses prescription so I can't get prescription goggles or I would. Those huge stupid-looking goggles that go over your glasses are on my to-buy list (I already wear shatter-proof lenses.) This could have ended in real tears, but instead I got a warning burn and that was it.

I'm continuing work apace, but I've had two ER visits since I updated last. None were for modding-related injuries, just my falling lung function. I persevere though-I'm so close, I swear I am. I'm gonna finish this if it kills me. (The likelihood of it doing so is rather slim, honestly.)

See you soon hopefully with more progress...

[grasskicker509]

glad to see this project updated! keep on modding!