Da' Dash Project
This is probably the most asked for section of Knight Technology. It is also one of the most time consuming projects of a conversion. Your mission if you chose to accept it is to turn this :
In to this :
Or better yet, this:
On the right you have a 1st season dash, on the left is my car a no season dash. Actually it's a 3rd or 4th season dash that I made to my own specifics mostly due to money constraints at the time. This section will focus on my dash and how I finished it off. It is a out of the mold unfinished dash from Marks' Custom Kits. Ya' Know I figured that since I had done allot of body work on my past vehicles, finishing the dash would be a breeze.....NOT! I figured out pretty fast that working with this fiberglass toy is going to take a while to complete. There are a set of rules for finishing off a Knight Rider dash I'll list them below to help you out. Ok ? Ready ? Here we go....
Rules for finishing off a Knight Rider Dash :
Rule #1. If you don't know how to do it ASK !
Rule #2 . See rule #1
Pretty simple Hugh? Well your probably asking how did I come up with these awesome rules? I messed up pretty big time, when I got my dash and tried to test fit it for the first time. I figured that the fiberglass dash would slip over the factory dash pad so I ripped out the old Dremel tool and fired that sucker up. I zipped off the defroster duct on the Knight dash leaving a big hole in its place. Seems that it still wouldn't fit over the factory dash. I eventually figured out that you had to remove the factory dash pad in order to install the Knight Rider dash, by then it was to late. I sent off a angry post to the news group and got a reply from Mark and pretty much everyone else saying "You should of asked before you did that." Talk about feeling stupid. Pretty much everyone in the Knight Rider online community is friendly and open to questions especially the people you buy your parts from. They don't want to see you fail in your work and will help you along if you ASK.
The following is my version as a guide to help people finish off a dash ( or at least give you a clue on how to do it. ) Before you start anything read the disclaimer located on the bottom of this page. Notice in the upper left hand corner picture that my car doesn't have the digital gauges, so I can not cover any aspects of that yet. I used analog gauges from VDO, supplied by Summit Racing Equipment. The information that follows is just a guide from my experiences finishing my dash. If you have any additional information that may help someone in their quest for a Knight dash feel free to e-mail me and I'll add it to this area. The guide is separated into the following 10 - (some what) in order sections :
Disclaimer:
Knight Rider© 1982-1985 MCA Universal City Studios. Knight Rider , KITT and its
likeness is owned and © by Universal Studios. the Knight Rider series. Its cast
& crew, Pontiac Firebirds, and all logos and references to the television series
and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and
copyright holders. This page claims no official association with, nor knowingly
infringes upon these trademarks and copyrights held by Universal City Studios,
and General Motors Co. No animals were hurt during the creation of these pages,
Any procedures or schematics described within these pages are to be used as and
shall be taken as "USE AT YOUR OWN RISK" As the website creator I do not
guarantee that any of the schematics are not without faults or dangerous
defects, I do not imply ANY warranty or guarantee what so ever on any item used
or described. So if you build one of the projects and your toaster explodes you
wreck your car, or your dog,cat,or house catches on fire as a result it's all
100% your fault, not MINE! Use only as directed by your doctor. Causes eye
irritation. Thank god for spell check ! May be harmful if swallowed. Store in
a cool place. Do not dispose of in fire. May cause serious birth defects.
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