Hiding a Fuse Panel in plain sight

Off to the junkyard to find a heater box, what a great idea.

 

I love it! But the color seems out of place, making it the center of attention - at least in this picture. Maybe its not so stand-out-ish "in real life." I think it would look better in this truck if it were painted black. If the seats were brown or tan, it would be perfect.

It's not bad just the way it is. I think it looks 95% great! I just think it could look 4% better if it were black. It's very clever.

 

True, another color may would look/blend better with the interior. The original color of the heater box was a gray so it may have blended better.

 

Cool idea.. Let's see the rest of the truck....

 

I like it!and you are a great friend indeed.

 

Great idea. Nice work on the wiring and setting up all the pieces so that they are well organized. I like the idea that it is easily reached too and you don't have to be double jointed to check or change a fuse or relay.

 

That's nice work. Really thinking outside of the box....or is it inside of the box.....well...anyway....

 

You know, this was one of the considerations. My friend is not able to lay on his back and do any work over head as it makes him very sick so having to contort himself to check a fuse or such would be near impossible for him. Hiding the fuse panel and relays in the heater box solved the problem.

 

Why didn't I think of that? Great idea and makes it look totalu awesome and professional. You have my vote!

 

Here are some pics of the truck. As I mentioned earlier, my friend has had the truck for years, I think he bought it in the 80's from a guy in Texas. All of the panels are original; cab corners, floor, etc. It was used as truck was back in the day so there were lots of dents my buddy worked out. Future plans call for lowering the front and upgrading the steering box. He wants to keep the straight axle since it is part of the "old truck" feel.

 

Really nice looking installation and like others have said won't require a contortionist to check or change a fuse.

 

Did the same thing on a 32 I built, only used an ole radio box
It also contained all the A/C controls

 

Very nice!! I like it!

 

Great idea, but if the wires get hot enough to put out enough heat, I think you'll have a problem!

 

LOL!!! I had to think about that for a bit. Yeah, we don't want that kind of heat coming from the box anymore.

 

Tell him to call Sid at Dropped Axles.com he does F1 axles.

 

Looks great! So when heat and air are added, what are you going to do?

 

Will do! Thanks!

 

Classic Auto Air makes an A/C-Heat-Defrost system specifically for this generation truck. I've installed the system on another '48 F4 and it really worked out nice. I measured it's placement under the dash and used those measurements to know where to place the heater box/turned fuse panel holder so it wouldn't be in the way.

 

Great idea!!

 

Great Idea!!!

 

Thanks for the great idea. I will surely use it....

 

I like hiding stuff too..cant find my fuse panel, and cant see my ignition switch or head light switch..No knobs, no switches on my A's dash

 

Nice work but one of the best things about owning an old car is that you dont have all those electronic do-dads in the first place.

 

looks great!!!

 

Nice. I did the same thing a while back on my Anglia. I shelled and repainted a heater box and hid the fuse panel and wiring behind it. I've been using it for years without any overheating problems.

 

Great idea I wish I had your wiring talents....that's the one part of a build that just leaves me stupid.

 

The wiring scared me a bit too, but I used an Ez-wiring harness and it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The only thing that gave me fits was the turn signal switch and come to find out the diagram for the switch was all wrong.

 

Very beautiful work! I had an old Ford Script heater box and I am following your lead. I like the color you choose. These were accessory heaters in most cases and it keeps that vintage look. By the way, what color is that? It would look great in my Chrome yellow truck.

 

What a great idea!! Super job.