Max Upgrades 2012

The beauty of the BraziBay is that it is totally customizable, just like a Classic Bay, and better still, you can change the look of your Kombi continuously to suit a style you're going for at any particular time.

My Kombi Max is old school power-wise but he's definitely young at heart. To further this I planned some tweaks to his look for this year, all of which I aimed to be done in time for Volksworld. So let's start up front....


Daytime Running Lights. I've always thought these were a good idea - right back to when Volvo were slammed for always having their sidelights on. The beautiful area that I live in plus a good proportion of the places I travel to on trips in Max have loads of routes in shade, or with shadows and I want to be seen. Sure I drive a big red and white bus, but sometimes that just doesn't seem to be enough. These are wired to a switch on the dash to give me the flexibility of when I want to use them. They are legal as they are within the required area of the vehicle and were straightforward to fit.

Go Faster Stripes! Recognise these ones? They're from a Mk1 Golf GTi - one of my all time favourite cars. A bit tongue in cheek but they work for me. Don't ask how I got them straight!

Stainless Steel exhaust with Twin Tailpipes - more details coming this week of a deal I've struck for the entire Club. Stay tuned.

Roof Rails: I'm not a fan of the cab roof racks - but I love roof rails - so I did a load of research and found these. Fitting them was a bit nerve racking (excuse the pun) and I don't intend to use them for anything heavier than a surfboard, but I'm delighted with the look and if you were at Volksworld you'd have seen how they work with the crossbars.

Some nice implementations and as you say, the great thing about these vehicles is how easy it is to personalise them. Those pipes look intriguing. But one thing I've learnt from experience, the trouble with twin anything is there's more to rot :-) Though granted being SS they should last a bit longer.

Cool upgrades
. . . but we heard that more fun was to be had with twins
We have V-Twins (motorcycles)
Rooby Roo

Twins Basil, Twins!!

Love the running lights, Tim, did you have to drill anything to fit them?

Seeing Max in the 'flesh' on Saturday was very impressive, twin pipes are intriguing, and the painted kick plates really lightened up the cab.

Just 2 small holes for each light to fit onto the bumper and a 20mm hole in the dash for the switch.

I forgot to mention the kick plates - a can of grey spray paint sorted them!

Tim I had a look at my kick-plates on the way home (not whilst driving obviously.... ) and mine look to be a fuzzy material as opposed to smooth. So probably can't spray-paint them!

I think I can live with them for now though - they match the cab carpet at least!

Congratulations, Tim - your bus is truly awesome! Nice little touches makes such a difference!

Looking sporty Tim , looking forward to an underneath shot of the exhaust. The roof rails look ideal, did you get them off a scrap car or aftermarket.

You have been a busy boy, well done

very nice

Skytiger wrote:

The roof rails look ideal, did you get them off a scrap car or aftermarket.

After a lot of research ... they came from a scrapper!

And on top of all that, I've just noticed Max's little red ball. So many mods :-)

You said Tim that your only going to have surfboards on it, how did you bolt them too the roof, in your opinion is the roof structure not strong enough for anything heavier?

Very tastefully done. Tim

Tim, it's a shame your daytime lights didn't seem to do the trick on the drive back on Sunday when that car reversed out onto the main road infront of you!

I was a safe distance behind luckily!

Skytiger wrote:

You said Tim that your only going to have surfboards on it, how did you bolt them too the roof, in your opinion is the roof structure not strong enough for anything heavier?

I'm thinking about when I raise the roof when pitched and the strength of the gas struts - I wouldn't want to put them under any extra stress - just in case. Also, putting stuff up there, it's quite high so I need to think about the forces against whatever is on the rails and the potential for pulling against the roof locks. The roof itself is composed of the glass fibre shell and then a section of ply - at least that's what it felt like as I drilled through! The roof rails I've fitted have a captive nut in each foot and I used a 60mm bolt with a sizeable washer underneath to distribute the load.

KC wrote:

Tim, it's a shame your daytime lights didn't seem to do the trick on the drive back on Sunday when that car reversed out onto the main road infront of you!

I was a safe distance behind luckily!

Unbelievable wasn't it! I actually thought to myself thank the stars you've got new brakes and tyres!

I have been considering 'Timorising' Dizzy for a while, to which end I bought some daytime running lights this weekend.

Apart from plucking up the courage to drill into my chrome bumper, I have a couple of queries.

Where did you take your positive feed from Tim, I was considering taking it from the back of fuse 2, (cigarette lighter socket) so that I couldn't leave them on accidentally when I switched the ignition off.

If I go down that route, and it is a feasible option, are the connections in the back of the fuse box bog standard spade or bullet connectors, or are they smaller ones. (They look like bullets, but I haven't fiddled around much yet.

Any advice gratefully received.

Good work dizzy.

Max's DRLs are wired to the leisure battery so they can remain 'on' when parked/pitched with no fear of draining the starter batt. I think I took a feed off the DVD circuit for them.

Just make sure your wiring doesn't go anywhere near the steering mechanism. Mine followed the route up where the core loom goes in the centre of the front panel.

Thanks for that Tim, hadn't considered the leisure battery. Do you use those 'scotchbloc' connectors to tap into the feed, (the ones you feed the wires through and then snap closed), I can see its the easy solution, but I'm old school, and have preferred soldered joints in the past, and I can't get on with crimped joints.

I hate those Scotchlock connectors Dizzy - highly unreliable and anytime I see them used it makes my eyes roll!

No I use crimping connections and/or soldering with heat shrink wrapping.

Thanks.....noted, not just me then, a man after my own heart.

I tend to crimp everything. Not a big fan of the scotchlocks. Saying that though they have got me out of trouble on a couple of occasions.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was outside yesterday, head under the dash, legs over the seat back, when my neighbour came over laughing, asking what I was up to now.

It turns out he is a bit of a whizz with electrics, and when I showed him the lamps I intend fitting, he told me I needed Jap connectors. He then went on to explain where I had been going wrong in the past, and the reason I had trouble with my early crimps. I hadn't realised the colour coding on the insulated crimps referred to the diameter of the wire, (I had assumed red was for live, and blue earth , and that was why the crimps weren't secure).

I also didn't realise that most modern accessories come with Jap connectors, which are slightly smaller in diameter than the old soldered bullets, so they don't make good contact in old style connectors.

He showed me how to do it properly, with a decent crimp tool, and it looked just like a factory job, so I have sent off for a selection kit which comes with the proper tool.

Whilst I am waiting for it to come, I have done myself a crib sheet, which may be of interest.

I hope I have got it right, so would welcome any corrections if I am wrong.

A bit of an update on the driving lights. Due to other things cropping up over the 'festive season', this had to go on the backburner for a while.

I had a right job finding a suitable live feed, as all the available ones seem to have already been 'piggybacked'.

Eventually found these, which may be of interest to anyone having the same problem. Add - on -fuses.

How it comes.



Decide which fuse you want to piggyback, in my case number 2 the cigarette lighter circuit, which is ignition contolled, remove the fuse and insert it in the holder next to the spade ends. Insert relevant fuse for the new circuit into holder adjacent to the new feed wire, put the whole lot back into the fuse box. (fuses shown in this photo not the right amperage, for demo only).



Hey presto, original cigarette lighter circuit protected as before, and new circuit has a fused live feed.

As it appears in situ.