Fuse panel removal, 74 Chevy C20 pickup

[Denver9]

How do you remove the fuse panel from a 1974 Chevy C20 pickup? I have removed the 2 screws that retain the fuse panel inside the vehicle, After removing those two screws I discovered that the Interconnect plug on the firewall, inside the engine compartment is also bolted to the fuse panel with a single bolt in the middle of the connector. After having removed that bolt, I tried to separate the connector from the fuse panel. Pulling as hard as I felt safe to do, I still couldnt separate the connector from the fuse panel. Could there be something else holding the pair together, or do I just need to wiggle and pull the plug harder? Any constructive suggestions would be appreciated.
- Denver9

[ray_mcavoy]

Sounds like you are on the right track.

Once that center bolt is removed from the under-hood side of the bulkhead connector, the group of connectors for the under-hood wiring should unplug without too much effort. Make sure that center bolt is fully unscrewed ... I think some of them have a snap ring on the inside to prevent them from coming out of the connector, but you should still be able to unscrew it all the way. It might also help to re-install those 2 screws on the inside to hold that part solid while you wiggle / pull on the under-hood side of the connector.

I suppose it's possible that you have a terminal or two inside the connector that has over-heated due to having a poor (high resistance) connection or simply too much current flowing through it at some point. That could have partially melted the connector halves together or distorted them to the point where they will no longer pull apart easily as designed.