Optima Batteries SEMA 2015 Build

[naterry]

CLEAN! Beautiful work Mike. What does the panel under the steering column control?

 

[mk216v]

CLEAN! Beautiful work Mike. What does the panel under the steering column control?

IIRC, all the LED lights (new brand I haven't heard of before, starts with a "C" IIRC--look like Rigid's) up front; 50" bar on roof rack, 30" on front bull bar, 2 sets of driving/fogs in bumper.

 

[naterry]

IIRC, all the LED lights (new brand I haven't heard of before, starts with a "C" IIRC--look like Rigid's) up front; 50" bar on roof rack, 30" on front bull bar, 2 sets of driving/fogs in bumper.

Nice! I placed my aux light switches down there too. The issue was that I wanted lighted switching to know if/which light was on but didn't want the glare from the glowing switch to be a distraction at night.

 

[mgmetalworks]

CLEAN! Beautiful work Mike. What does the panel under the steering column control?

Thank you!

Actually, the panel under the steering column has some switch housings in it but they're only there until a new panel is put in place. We swapped out all of those switches for a couple Switch Pros http://www.switch-pros.com/

Pretty cool programmable switches controllable from your smart phone via bluetooth. Nicely made, easy to set up. The control panels got mounted to the bottom of the dash just above the doghouse cover.

The LEDs up front in the bumper and all of the light bars are from Sierra LED https://www.sierraledlights.com/. The back up lights and tail lights are from IPCW.

There are 8 programmable switches per unit and they control things like the light bars (both amber and white), the custom LEDs in the headlights (halo rings and other stuff), a loud horn, air compressor, etc... The fog lights in the bumper are controlled by the factory pull-on switch that I posted about earlier.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Not a squeak or rattle and I'm over 500 miles into my trip. It's eerily quiet like an S class Mercedes. I made a bunch of unnecessary stops already just so I could get out and open and shut the doors a few times. They shut better than Mercedes. Thanks Dynamat and attention to detail on the install by MG Metalworks.

I can't stop looking over my shoulder or in the rear view mirror at the incredible work from Michael. It's like car guy jewelry. Some of the little details that were handmade by his father Frank are so cool. Custom trailblazing projects like this always have hiccups and this one tried everyone's patience including our families. There was plenty of stress to go around but Michael always kept his cool and never compromised on his commitment to high quality. He doesn't know any other way.

There is still a list of things to be done. Monday morning I will be at the Magnaflow HQ for a custom manifold-back exhaust and then to Aluminess to install the roof rack and ladder. And there's more. I'm sure I'll be working on it the night before the show starts.

But for now this is its maiden voyage to work out any big drivability bugs and get a feel for a van that has undergone a complete transformation. So far it has exceeded my expectations. Chris at Ujoint puts together a proven package that just works. Combined with the tune from Mike at 5 Star, performance and highway drivability took a few major leaps forward.

If anyone is going to SEMA please come by the OPTIMA booth, say hi and check out this rig. Both Michael and Chris should be there.

More to come.....


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This made my day!

 

[mk216v]

Nice! I placed my aux light switches down there too. The issue was that I wanted lighted switching to know if/which light was on but didn't want the glare from the glowing switch to be a distraction at night.

Mine are a bit to the left of yours. A good place to not be distracted, but at the same time I've had to memorize switch locations as they're not so easily viewable. I've arranged them in location on the van(back to front) so that helps some.
Unfortunately if others climb into the driver seat, they often hit the switches with their knees so I have to watch that so as to not drain the battery.

I forgot about those Switch Pros--those are the hot ticket!

 

[Battman]

16 available switches. 3 are currently available. The flexibility is amazing. With a simple iPhone app you can program each switch to do things like being active with battery or ignition, on/off or momentary, memory on with ignition etc. in addition, you can use the app as a remote master control of all functions. I view this as a "Must have" for any build that has accessory switching requirements. Amazing capabilities and a relative bargain when you consider what it can do.


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[mk216v]

And you can have the switch labels customized to whatever you want them to read?

 

[Battman]

They come with a ton of different button decals. However, if you have a special request, I think they will make them for you. The buttons I am using all came with the kit.


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[packmule]

Incredible work by everyone involved in the build. I have never seen a better put together van.

 

[ujoint]

So stoked to see the final setup by MG! Look forward to shaking that hand in a few weeks and lets hope this van gets the attention it deserves!

Big thanks to Cam for rolling the dice with the little guys.

 

[mgmetalworks]

So stoked to see the final setup by MG! Look forward to shaking that hand in a few weeks and lets hope this van gets the attention it deserves!

Big thanks to Cam for rolling the dice with the little guys.

Thanks Chris! I'm working on freeing up time from work to get down there at least for a little bit. I kinda used up a lot of my vacation days already.

 

[ujoint]

Thanks Chris! I'm working on freeing up time from work to get down there at least for a little bit. I kinda used up a lot of my vacation days already.

Cool, let me know. We have some deals to finalize!

 

[bknudtsen]

Thanks Chris! I'm working on freeing up time from work to get down there at least for a little bit. I kinda used up a lot of my vacation days already.

I'll go for you!

 

[jjohnny350]

Wow, that thing is amazing, geez MG, very nice. Its van interiors like this that convert the people that are hard to convert to vans. Very well done.