The Ford Barn - View Single Post

Benson · 05-23-2018, 12:25 PM

Depending upon where your battery terminal bolts are located with respect to the hole in floor board, it is nice to just flip back the carpet or mat then pull the metal cover and unhook one battery cable without removing the 10 or twelve screws in the lower floor board.

This is really nice if there is an electrical fire and you must unhook battery to stop it!

Every second counts in this situation!!

Do not ask how I know this!

Let me just say that the first thing I did to Coupe in 1962 was repair a small leak in the gas gauge with gas dripping down behind the panel.

The insulation on the wiring was all frayed with wiring exposed ... When I unhooked the speedo / instrument panel and moved it; the fire immediately started.

The gas fire was not too big but the electrical fire was big time bad news!

More smoke than a Huey with an electrical fire inside the cabin.

The second thing after replacing all the wiring was to install a fuse so it would not happen again.

I enlarged the hole in floorboard near the rear battery terminal for just this reason.

In addition sometimes the starter switch sticks and it is nice to turn off the spinning starter in a hurry.

05-23-2018, 12:25 PM	#3
Benson Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 2,604	Re: Floor boards Depending upon where your battery terminal bolts are located with respect to the hole in floor board, it is nice to just flip back the carpet or mat then pull the metal cover and unhook one battery cable without removing the 10 or twelve screws in the lower floor board. This is really nice if there is an electrical fire and you must unhook battery to stop it! Every second counts in this situation!! Do not ask how I know this! Let me just say that the first thing I did to Coupe in 1962 was repair a small leak in the gas gauge with gas dripping down behind the panel. The insulation on the wiring was all frayed with wiring exposed ... When I unhooked the speedo / instrument panel and moved it; the fire immediately started. The gas fire was not too big but the electrical fire was big time bad news! More smoke than a Huey with an electrical fire inside the cabin. The second thing after replacing all the wiring was to install a fuse so it would not happen again. I enlarged the hole in floorboard near the rear battery terminal for just this reason. In addition sometimes the starter switch sticks and it is nice to turn off the spinning starter in a hurry. Last edited by Benson; 05-23-2018 at 12:39 PM.