Travel Card Replica

Devon gave Michael Long a new identity, and along with that identity he was given the ID's and documents to back it up. One such item was Michael's Travel Card. Dietrich (aka Cmdr.Kerner) replicated the face of the card for those who wish to make their own. I had plastekcards.com print them on 30mm thick PVC for a more real world replica. The original, I am sure, was just printed and cut out on paper (notice the sharp corners). Unfortunately, they have a minimum printing quantity of 250, so I have a few extra. With Dietrich's permission, I will probably unload the extra at cost. With the cards now in hand, I think they turned out great!

Screen shot of Michael's Travel Card

My Replicas (Art recreated by Dietrich Kerner)

All Knight Rider images are Copyright Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Ejector Seat Left & Right Overlay

My Replica

In Show

For my overlay, I had it custom made out of clear acrylic, laser cut, with a black background. The lettering was engraved on the backside, allowing for a smooth front, and the ability for the text to be back-lit. I'll paint the lettering white, and have a back light on it, so the text will light up, allowing it to be seen at night.

The Eject Left and Eject Right seems to be an elusive overlay among the Knight Rider Vendors. There is no in-show location identification, so I think most either leave this out of their replica or add it anywhere it will fit (i.e. upper Console). However, according to the DVD Special Features of KITT's Functions, this is located to the left of the Surveillance Mode Overlay under the Radar/Proximity Gauge. The 12 segment Red LED lightbar is triggered by the corresponding "Eject L" and "Eject R" buttons located on the Switch Pod. There is a CANCEL option on the panel that I surmise allows the user so many seconds to cancel the Ejector Seat before it goes off. For functionality, the driver, or passenger would push the 'Eject L' button on the Switch Pod. This activates the 'Auto Roof L'. Once the T-Top roof has moved from obstruction, the lightbar moves from left to right, supposedly indicating the pressure build up to launch what or whomever is in the seat. Before finally launching the unwanted guest, you have the option to cancel the eject, before it is too late. Once pressure is at max, the seat pops the villain into the air. The lightbar moves back down from right to left as it depressurizes. The Auto-Roof would then close, thus completing it's complete cycle.

All Knight Rider images are Copyright Universal Studios Home Entertainment

KARR Serial Number & ID Plate

I contacted the same machine company that specializes in custom plates to have this plate laser engraved on black anodized aluminum for my KARR replica. Just like KITT, I wanted to identify KARR himself. KARR's serial number was never indentified in the show, so keeping with the inspiration of the 1/18 Hotwheels Toy, I put "Prototype" in the spot instead. This is a very 80's TV design, right? Also just like KITT I purchased two plates, one for under the hood and one on the door.

KARR dialogue - Peter Cullen & Paul Frees

In addition to KITT, I wrote down all of KARR's dialogue from the TV series as well. I know others have already done this before me, and you can grab quotes from the script, found on the Knight Archives, but I didn't want to copy paste their hard work. Attached is an excel file of all KARR's dialogue. The tabs are broken up between the two episodes KARR appeared in. The only issue with using the original sound files from KARR, is that the voice actor changed between appearances, creating an inconsistent voice.

This excel file is for those who wish to do a Text-To-Speech (TTS) option with a voice of their own choosing and maintain all of KARR's original dialogue. TTS also allows the freedom to create custom dialogue for everyday use.

KARR Dialogue.xlsx 2013
Download with Dropbox.com

KITT dialogue - William Daniels

I took the liberty of writing down all of KITT's dialogue from the TV series. I know others have already done this before me, but I didn't want to copy paste their hard work. Attached is an excel file of all his dialogue. The tabs are broken up between each Season, and there are line breaks for each Episode. Obviously, this kind of organization is meaningless when it comes to creating a interactive voice recognition. However, if you find a line that you like and want to put some context to it, or perhaps have KITT respond to everything that was said in the show, you know where to go for that dialogue. One thing that I found was KITT says the same thing, over and over again. Such as "Yes, Michael" or "Right away". While you could count each time he says this as a separate sound byte, I believe you only need this command once. Thus I compiled a "complete" list tab that has all KITT's lines in alphabetic order (4377 lines). Here you can see how many times KITT says a particular phrase.

I do not have any sound files to share, you can purchase those from Raf (aka onemancan). My idea with sharing this excel file is for those who wish to do a Text-To-Speach (TTS) option with a voice of their own choosing and wish for it to say all of KITT's original dialogue. TTS provides the freedom to create your own unique dialogue and maintain one consistent tone and voice. It is also for those who wish to record their own voice, or language, and still maintain KITT's dialogue.

I am sure I have made mistakes here and there, so if any are found, let me know so I can make the change.

Fun fact:
KITT say's 'Michael' 2,042 times
KITT spoke approximately 4,377 times
KITT's most common phrase: "Right away" said 94 times

KITT_Dialogue.xlsx 2013

Download with Dropbox.com

KITT Serial Number & ID Plate

I contacted a machine company that specializes in custom plates to have this plate laser engraved on black anodized aluminum for my KITT replica. I was inspired by the 1:18 Hotwheels KITT that has "Alpha Circuit, AD227529, Warning: High Voltage" text under the hood and wanted something similar for when my hood was up. I tweaked the original Toys design a bit so instead of identifying the Alpha Circuit (of all things, that is a very minor part on KITT), I wanted to identify KITT himself, or at least, the car itself. The city (Nores) is the one on Michael Knights vehicle registration, so I assumed that the Foundation would also reside in the same city. In addition, I included the Foundations phone number. I know in the show KITT identifies himself as "Serial Number: Alpha Delta 227529", and some individuals have taken the "Alpha Delta" part literally. Personally, I view it as KITT using the Phonetic Alphabet (just like the guys/gals at Hotwheels did), Alpha for A, and Delta for D.

I purchased two, in thoughts of keeping one and selling the other, but now that I think about it, I may want one under the hood and one on the door. I have not decided on the location yet. Any suggestions?

UPDATE: Looks like I may have inspired someone(?) with my design/layout of the plates

Smartphone App to control KITT/KARR

Viper SmartStart is an expensive app for your smartphone, that requires a service plan, however is pretty awesome for anyone wanting to control their K-2000 smartcar. I am looking at this app as a possibility to use on a Samsung Gear 2 Neo smart watch. Then, to maintain the visual of the show, I found another app of Michael's watch face. Just download the Knight Rider watch app for it and you're in business.

KARR - Fender, Door, Dash

 I had to remove the fender to get to the bolts for the door. There are several bolts along the top of the fender. You have to remove the hood bolts too to get this panel off. Two bolts under the fender near the front, and one near the door that needs a wrench instead of the sockets I have been using to remove the bolts. The fender is also held on by pressure, so it will have to "pop" off the frame. I smashed my fingers under the lip of the top where it holds. Ouch

 Removed the door by the three bolts on top, and three on the bottom. Two of the bottom bolts are accessible inside the car, so the panel, carpet, that tape looking stuff, and the electric box all have to be removed to get to these bolts. They are also different sizes. These two where No. 15mm sockets, while the others where 12mm.

 The door weights over 100lbs, so it is really heavy. Having something propped under it while removing it is a good idea to keep it from sagging while removing the bolts. I removed the window. It was only being held it my one screw. There was supposed to be seven screws holding it, but whom ever did it last, didn't do a good job putting it back together.

 The electrical holding the door is another story. I was hoping there would be connectors at this point, that could be a quick disconnect. Well, no such luck. Ended up cutting the wires. Not the best idea, but I am replacing all the electrical anyways, so I am not worried about it....yet.

 With my father-in-law's help, we managed to remove the dash. Several little bolts along the top near the windshield, and a couple below. The biggest issue was disconnecting all the electrical wires to it, such as the speedometer cable,

 Oh man, there is so much dirt and sand from sitting so long. The heating vent is caked in mold. So gross. Almost done gutting the whole interior.

Quick shot of the engine bay. No engine to be found. Now I just have to remove everything else in here to get it prepared for cleaning and painting. I am debating on getting the car acid/chemical dipped to remove all the paint and rust. It would just require removing everything, and getting it towed there somehow. I am also not sure how much something like that would cost. Everywhere I look for an estimate, the only response I see is "a lot" & and "Depends". No one seems to want to throw out any numbers.

KARR - Carpet, Door panel, scraping paint

 I pulled out the stained, water soaked, worthless gross carpet out of the car along with the jute padding. It was rotten and falling part from the years of being left out in the weather. Getting to the frame revealed some much expected rust spots.

Removed the arm rest, electric lock panel, and door panel. The elements had warped it and the sun had made it brittle to the touch. You can see where the previous owners masked off the door to paint it pull-me-over-Yellow. How do I get the sand and dirt out of the inside of the door frame? I need to test the power window motor, as well as the side mirror motor.

 Rear hatch carpet, and weather stripping removed. All (most) interior panels taken out too. For the most part, its still pretty clean. Need to wipe off all the years of sand and dirt. Remove the yellow over-spray paint to the underneath black.

Took a new razor blade to scrap off the first layer of paint, to reveal the primer applied on top of the OEM black. It works OK to get the paint off. But very time consuming. I will need to get a little oil and a sharpening block to keep things moving.

1982 Pontiac Trans-Am KARR

Found an ad on Craigslist for an 1982 Trans-Am for under $500 and had to jump on it. The car is in really bad shape, in regards to interior and drivability. In fact, the previous owner sold the engine and transmission separately. He also removed and sold off the PMD seats separately. Would have been nice to at least get those with the car. The Trans-Am was originally black, and was painted over with yellow at some point. The interior panel parts where also originally tan, but spray painted over with black. It had moved from one state to another. Came from California, then to Nevada where it sat in the desert for years. Story goes, that it was sold, the new owner didn't register it. Sold it to a Auto Mechanic, who didn't register it. Sold it to the guy whom I bought it from, who didn't register it. So, I had to go through a little extra paper work and leg work to clear the title and register it. It had not been registered in 10 years. Just sitting. Well, I hope to breathe new life into the KARR.

To get the KARR into my tiny garage...er, Laboratory 3, I had to remove the front bumper. The drivers door wont open from the outside. The auto-windows are stuck down. Had to tow the KARR to the DMV to get the VIN verified. But it has some after marked American Racing Rims on it, that I am sure I can re-sell to make my money back.