So everyone wants to know, "what kind of neat things did you find out about the car?" Strangely enough, there were no major revelations to be found after gutting the car and doing major work to it. A few neat things, that previously have never been seen, were found and for the first time, shown here. 

STUNT TURNS

Ever wonder just how the car did those great 180 degree turns? While it was the skill of the stunt drivers like Jack Gill and Bill Shelly, it was also done with mechanics.

A brake differential lock was used and tied into the master cylinder and actuated by a foot switch on the floor. When activated, the front brakes were disabled and only the rears were active when the brake pedal was pushed. End result was the famous "bootleg turn". The system was restored to full braking when the foot switch was hit again by the stunt driver. This special braking system was not functional when delivered, but was repaired and made fully functional again.

What size engine did "KITT" have? The factory stock setup had been greatly enhanced, in the fact that the car originally came with the 305 crossfire. All that was yanked out in favor of a high power Chevy 350. Manual advance, no ecm computer and all emission control device removed. There had been major hackwork done on the engine bay to make room for extra batteries and special effect items and accessories. Frame and suspension enhancements were also done, complete with the engine/transmission skid plate underneath to protect the vital parts of the car. 

   So what kind of super futuristic fuel propelled the car and helped it drive the way it did?

Simple. Standard premium gas delivered from a 5 gallon racing cell.

A rare close-up view of the steeringwheel with grips and function switches. The green lenses were clear and when a 9 volt battery was used, the green lights all lit up. What's under the grip tip cap?

A small light compartment that housed a small wattage lamp that lit up the green lenses. Only the right handgrip had the flip up cap. The left grip had the bulb mounted inside the wheel itself.

Ever wonder how the car popped its trunk?

The actor did it!

THE SCANNER

Nothing else has kept people guessing as to its look and function than the scanning light. When dropped off, the light was not working properly and had to be repaired. No small feat since no studio schematics existed and troubleshooting the unit without them would prove to be monumental. It also had no on/off or speed control. Once the car was plugged in, it would come on and scan at a preset speed. And NO, all the lights did not come on before it started to scan.

Compared to today's standards, the scanner built by Universal was crude, grossly over designed and bulky. It sucked power due to its design which necessitated a secondary battery under the hood to solely power the scanner. 

The lightbar was also alot narrower than today's designs and there was quite a bit of gap between the top of the lightbar and the bottom of the hood. That's not to say that all of the car had the same identical scanner. This car was from the mid 2nd season. 

The layout of the scanning light was by no means neat and orderly. None of the wiring was labeled or marked and was just a ratsnest. The special effects crew obviously did not ever intend anyone to have to troubleshoot the unit.

A rear view of the lightbar after being taken out of the car for repair. Notice, high power 100 watt quartz lights were used which is why it sucked down the power. Raw power.....

Ever wonder what made the scanner operate? Over designed and crudely built by today's standards. Some of the parts have long been discontinued. I had to sift through archives looking for the specs on some of the parts. 

How antique were the designs? How about point-to-point wire wrap with no circuit traces! This was the bottom of the actual up/down controller. Talk about historic....

While there were a few other things found out, none of it was shocking. What was apparent was that the special effects crew  were not concerned about someone fixing their handy work 20 years in the future. The wiring mess and overall lack of neatness was apparent throughout the car. Behind the dash was another whole story. Curious? Coming up on the next page.....   Page 3