Upper Console Modifications

I had to make some modifications to the Upper Console I had bought from someone on Face Book. As luck would have it the upper console did not fit very well in the front almost like it was a little warped and possibly was not glassed enough on both sides and front on the console. The back part fit fine although a little snug so I'm still a little concerned about how that will fit after the Headliner fabric has been applied to the fibreglass headliner I got from Joe Penko. I might need to take my heat  gun to the back part of the console to spread it out a little.... we'll see.

But this is the stage I'm at so far with the additional glass work I had to do to the Upper Console to make it fit better.... always something with some of these fibreglass parts if you buy them from someone other than a reputable vendor. This is why the Foundation has the "Trusted Vendor" list. This in some ways I have learn ed the hard way with this project. We all like a bargain and we all like to try and save some money on our Knight Rider projects when and wherever possible, but in doing so you have to be prepared for the fact that you are in many cases going to end up doing some customizing on fibreglass parts from vendors that are not on the "Trusted Vendors" list, which is OK I guess so long as you don't mind doing the extra work. ;)

More Shaping Of The Dash Underside Cover Plate

After much sanding and even some more glass work the cover plate is getting to fit the form of the dash much better. I "Bull-nosed" or "Beveled" the outer edges close to the front of the dash. I still need to add a little more glass in one area where it looks like the only place I will be able to put a screw in is one of the Aluminum brackets holding in the electronics because it is in an ideal position for a mounting screw. 

You can see that from the front view the underside cover plate should be pretty hard to see once it is finished, primed and painted. But I am a ways away yet. I still need to do a test fit of the dash again and see how far back towards the stock OEM dash that I may need to extend the cover plate. I also need to glass in an Aluminum "L" bracket to the dash on the far right of the dash to be able to screw in that end of the cover plate too.

Shaping The Dash Underside Cover Plate To Fit

After a good deal of cutting and filing I got the basic shape of my cover plate to fit into the underside of the dash. To make it a bit more of a snug almost "Jig-Saw-Like" fit I re-taped it into position with painters tape, masked off any exposed areas and then coated the painters tape in the areas that I plan to put more layers of fibreglass and then coated the area with a layer of white glue to act as a barrier between the tape and fibreglass. Once the glue dries I'll glass over those areas and make kind of a "Lip" so the underside plate will fit nice into that area. My guess is that when I do a test fit I will need to extend the area of my cover plate that fits closer to the stock OEM dash. But I'll cross that path when I get there.

This little project is turning out to be a lot more work than I had bargained for but it should fit nicer though with all of the extra work. That being said I can't say as I would recommend doing it this way unless you have a lot of patience ;)  

Switch Pods Glassing To Dash

In preparation for mounting the Switch Pods onto the Dash I took the dash and Switch Pods out to the garage along with the Dash to do another test fit. I then bolted the Switch Pods onto the Dash getting it ready to glass the pods to the dash. I had to sand off all of the gel coat and primer to get down to the fibre glass.

Using the fibre glass matting and resin I glassed the pods onto the dash. I still need to glass the inside of the pods to the dash which I will do after I sand the outside down to get a good blend between the dash and the pods. I have a good build of fibre glass matting and resin built up making a very strong bond already between the two components.

I began the sanding process using a course sand paper to get a good blend between the two parts. So far so good but I have lots more sanding to do before I can flip over the dash and glass the inside of the Pods to the Dash but it's getting there.

I'm finding that the Switch Pods Unit from Knight Scan Industries is working very well with the Dash from Knight Rider World. Once the glassing and sanding is all done I'll finally be able to prime and paint the dash. I should still be OK for installing the two monitors and frames as I think they are separate components. If I need to spot paint after that installation then so be it. Nothing I can't handle.

I'll post more on my switch pod glassing as it progresses.

Glassing in The Backs Of The Switch Pods

I have begun the task of glassing in the backs of the Switch Pods using those plastic backs I made and fibre glassing over top of them, basically glassing them securely to the backs of the pods. The stuff sets pretty quick so I've been doing it in small one ounce batches and brushing in my fibre glass matting. It's starting to look pretty good. Soon I'll be able to file and sand it all down and then cut out the access holes at the back that I'll make aluminum access plates for as mentioned in my last post.

Here is a closeup shot of one side of my Switch Pods back in the process of being glassed in. This way you can see how I am going about doing this.

There are some out there I know that think this is a crappy Switch pod, but it's REALLY not! Now this is just my opinion of course but if you like a bit of "Do-It-Yourself" (And who Doesn't) and you are like me pretty crafty and innovative then this pod is perfect for the "Do-It-Yourselfer." 

There are some that think I went a little overboard with the aluminum reinforcing to my Pods as well. But to me knowing that damage can result by accidentally bumping your knee's into the Pods as I have heard some had issues with then to me what is a little foresight into that and taking steps to help prevent that type of potential damage from occurring... again "Just My Opinion" not saying "Go Do It" or anything.... it's just an extra step I feel I should do and would be more comfortable knowing I had done. 

I'll pretty much do the same type of "Over the Top" reinforcing when I get around to glassing the Switch Pods to the 2 TV Dash. Hey this is an expensive hobby and I feel that extra mile is worth going, especially if it helps prevent potential expensive repairs later on. ;)

Reinforcing the Switchpods

I'm not entirely sure if it is a necessary job or not but after hearing a few stories on how the switch pods tend to get in the way of your knees from time to time and with that possibly being an open invitation to getting them damaged I thought of perhaps reinforcing them with some thick pieces of aluminum. I picked up some stock aluminum and this is what I came up with. I will glass thus into place and that should add a significant amount more sturdiness to the switch pods along the bottom where they are in possible danger of being constantly bumped with my knees getting in and out of K.I.T.T.

K.I.T.T.'s Front Nose Arrives

K.I.T.T.'s front nose arrived today in the mail from Knight Rider Shop Online. All wrapped up nice and safe in lots of bubble wrap and packing tape. Took a while to unpack it from all the wrapping, I was like a kid at Christmas lol.

 I had to laugh when the mail man arrived with it today, he said; "What kind of car is this for?" When I told him I was converting a 1982 Trans Am Firebird he was so amazed!! "No way!" He said.... lol

 I so can't wait to get into finishing it off and priming it and then painting. Right out of the mould so it has some rough spots and minor surface areas that will need to be filled. I'll need to get some fibreglass resin and some more primer... Curses that Canadian Tire is out of the 2 kinds of primer I like to use. :(

Yellow is so not K.I.T.T.'s colour lol gives me even more incentive to get the resin and primers I need so I can get the front nose to primer black and ready for paint. I'll fit it to the car before giving it it's final paint job and clear coat. So freaking can't wait!!

 You can see for right out of the mould it has some areas that need to be worked on but that's what makes a project like this more fun sometimes is all that hands on stuff. For me a lot of fibreglass work was done years and years ago so my knowledge is a little rusty in that area so I've some catching up to do on YouTube before I do any real work on my front nose just yet.

I'm not sure I I want to try and mould some brackets in the back of the front nose to place a grill in there or just leave that open... not really sure what look I'm going for with the front end just yet... plenty of time to make decisions on that I guess, gotta take a look at what other people have done and see what I like best for the front end.

I should really fit it to the car first before doing any kind of work on the front nose. My thought being that the yellow colour will make it much easier to see where my Sharpie pen will mark the areas for where I need to make my mounting holes. put it on and see how it fits and then refinish it one I have it prepped more. ;)