Saving something that shouldn't be

[cj847]

Below is a pic of the fusebox from my running, driving, with 100% of electrical working 67 C10 (with a serious cowl leak). I know I should probably rewire the whole truck and probably will in a year or two (I've wired 3 previously). I am looking for opinions on saving this junk vs begging someone to give me their take out.

[JoeKan]

Well...I'm an electrician and I think you should start begging because your fuse box is scary

[raggedjim]

I agree, that looks like a nightmare to me.

Good luck, Rg

[cj847]

After posting this I started thinking about it and I'm going to bite the bullet and rewire it. Thanks.

[special-K]

Yeah. something could have been done earlier to shield the water from it as well as dielectric grease to prevent rust. But once you have rust (oxidation) you get into resistance concerns

[firedemon]

i wonder if you could pull all the contactors out of the plastic clean them up with some sand paper and small brushes and coating them with solder like re tinning an old soldering iron . it would probably be time consuming as hell but if your trying to save it

[stepsider]

I have a 72 c10. I was thinking of rewiring also. I'm not really liking the old style glass fuses. Who makes the easiest wiring to change over ?

[Mike C]

American Autowire Classic Update harness

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by cj847

Below is a pic of the fusebox from my running, driving, with 100% of electrical working 67 C10 (with a serious cowl leak). I know I should probably rewire the whole truck and probably will in a year or two (I've wired 3 previously). I am looking for opinions on saving this junk vs begging someone to give me their take out.

If you aren't in a big hurry take the fuses and flashers out, soak the whole thing in white vinegar for 3 days and hit it with a pressure washer inside and out and see what it does. Nothing to lose and the vinegar is cheap. If you spray the fuses with penetrating oil and leave them set for a while they come out easier. Just pry from one end with a really small screwdriver.

LockDoc

[cj847]

Thanks for the suggestion, Doc. Unfortunately, the vinegar proved that the fuse box was beyond salvation (Once the rust was gone, nothing was left). Fortunately, my bulkhead is in good condition. So, I ordered a 12 fuse "wire harness" from Amazon. It is advertised as a wire harness but is just a fuse box with 9' of wire from each fuse. I will use it along with my bulkhead and current wiring to wire the truck.

Interesting side note. The other day I was trying to figure out why my fuel gage was inaccurate. I checked the resistance from the fuse box connection to the gauge panel connector and got 45 ohms! (ie 1/2 a tank without any outside signal). So, rust certainly creates resistance. I am lucky I haven't burned the truck down as that was one of the least rusty circuits.

[Myself]

This is EXACTLY the reason many classic insurance policies DO NOT cover from an electrical fire!