maybe368

I, for one, am tired of my fuse fox falling out of the distorted and damaged plastic panel that is supposed to support it and hold it in. I found a used one on ebay from a d150 gasser, about 25 bucks. It got here and I noticed that it was in good shape as far as the screw holes go, but it had the same curve in it that my old one has. This is why the tab on the fuse box keeps coming out. I wondered if I could clamp it to a flat surface and heat it up, to get it to flatten out. I know that plastic will do 1 of 2 things when it is heated, either melt and get soft, what I want, or turn to charcoal and burn away. I tested on the old piece and it got soft. I clamped it to a good straight piece of wood and tried to use a blow drier. It would only get to about 200 degrees F. and that just was not enough. I then used my paint removal heat gun and it got plenty hot enough. I tested on the old piece and around 250-260 degrees F. made the plastic very soft. I also put a piece of wax paper between the wood and the piece as a release agent, don't ask how I figured out why I needed that. I used a piece of 1/2" square tubing to clamp on the underside, which has tabs and other protrusions. I forgot to take a pic of the final result before I installed it, so when I pull it to paint it, I'll snap one. I found that if you direct the heat through the steel, it worked real well. The final result is that the tab on the fuse box now stays in and the fuse box is in the correct place. Hope this helps you people with the same problem...Mark

maybe368

A couple more pics, I'll post the pic of how good it straightened out when I pull it for paint...Mark

thrashingcows

I like it...well done!

maybe368

Thanks man, it sucked when the fuse box would fall out at 75 MPH. I tried to pull tie it up, but that solution was lacking...Mark

Hillbilly66

Heck yea, I will be doing this as well, I'm in the same situation you were, before you came up with this brilliant idea! Job well done.

maybe368

Thanks, I had a feeling that I wasn't the only one with this problem. I should mention that I was real careful not to over heat it, it was actually 3 times that I heated it, let it cool, then checked it. Be patient so that you don't end up with a glob of plastic...Mark

Hillbilly66

You're welcome, and I will do a test run as you did with my old one so if I do end up with a glob of plastic I won't be out anything.

mknittle

Great idea mark. but I think Mine is too far gone for that to work.

maybe368

Thanks Mark, Mine was on its last legs, but I found that 1 on ebay. I searched the part #55025634 and this one came up. I did it again and actually found the right color, but I had already bought this one. I would like to find a way to take some of the weight of the fuse panel off the plastic because I am pretty sure that is what causes it to bend...Mark

mknittle

Thanks Mark, I"ll have to go on a scavenger hunt

maybe368

Here is one, but it looks like one of the screw holes is broken...Mark

mknittle

Thanks mark

gyman98

Did the same thing a few years ago, almost time to do it again.

This type of plastic is called thermoplastic, have a cup of cold water nearby. When you get the shape you want pour cold water on it, this will set the shape

maybe368

Thanks for the technical info and water trick. I used a fan to cool it down faster. I think that I might try to put a small hole in the tab of the fuse box and slide a small cotter pin into it. I'll then tie the cotter pin up to the steering column to try to take the weight of the fuse box off of the panel. It should be easy to remove the cotter pin for access to the fuse box. I'll post up some pics if it works, don't know what I'll do if it doesn't ...Mark

Angry Johnny

My usual experience with plastic and heat guns is a melted blob.

Mine isn't falling out yet once it's in place but I'm sure that will be coming soon. Thanks for the info.