I have been thinking about building a door on the bottom of the instrument "tunnel" in my '32 5w that will swing down to expose most of the electrics. By most, I mean the voltage regulator, fuse block (Rebel), ignition ballast (maybe), horn relay, and a few other things. I'm pondering a simple hinge on one end and maybe a Dzus fastener or two on the other end. And the question is: has anyone done this? If you have, do you have any pictures? This would be similar to the Ron Bishop panel in his A-V8 but, I would like it to swing down for trouble shooting and fuse replacement.
Why? If your behind the wheel you can't see up under that panel anyway. Neither can the passenger. Will not you be crowding all this electric into a tight area? Those 10-12 ga cables will be hard to lay in neatly. That's just one old mans thoughts.
No, no cowl vent. It is a lot of electrics in a small place. I mainly don't want to hang it all on the firewall. The "tunnel" seemed like a good place but, it might get crowded what with the gauges and the electrics. I sort of liked Bishop/Tardell's solution on the A-V8.
My experience is that I always wish I'd made it easier to work on. Try laying on your back, with a shifter poking your spine, and see if you could work on the wiring all jammed into that small tunnel. If it works good for you, then go for it. My next car will NOT have the voltage regulator under the dash! .
Perhaps if you split the tunnel halfway down each side giving a lift off lid with tabs/slots on driver side and latch on pass side you'd have something larger to work in. Maybe a couple of louvers to exit excess heat. I like the idea.
I built a hinged fuse panel but not in a Deuce,,it was a Model A. It sure made it easy to swing down and see everything without laying on my back. Easier to squat down beside the car. HRP
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