Hey guys, you are fully entitled to spend your money wherever it makes you feel the best. I've no problem with that. My goal is to help individuals save or spend money based on knowledge rather than mysticism.
Apart from some slight surface oxidation that ought to have attention every 10-15 years or so, the metals don't change their electrical properties in anyone's lifetime. Neither does glass. The same can be said of the type of plastic the block is made from provided UV light is blocked from getting to it. Blade fuse plastic suffers from similar deterioration in UV, btw. Anyway, I can't identify what portion of the fuse block assembly is prone to sudden catastrophic calamity simply due to age factors. Certainly, if it was attacked by a rampaging rhinoceros, it might be a better decision to replace, rather than repair.
Knowing what I know about the physical properties of the unit, I have no fear of the fuse, or the fuse block. I have original examples still working fine. Just because it is old, does not make it bad. I'm a little surprised that needed to be stated in a forum dedicated to old machines.
I know our culture is moving fast to a throw away world without regard for any intrinsic value an item may have. But so far, keeping old stuff in service is still an option and is often far cheaper (or enjoyable).
I wonder, how is keeping a 30 year old bike in operation not a hobby? And how many really spend time in their hobby noting it is costing them $12 per hour? "Honey, punch me in, I'm going out to the garage for hobbytime, luv ya"!
If tinkering with your antique is such an awful and fearsome chore, why exactly do we bother with them at all, and simply toss the whole thing? I kind of enjoy making things work that others have given up on. And, that's part of the allure of the SOHC4, for me.
Perhaps replace-rather-than-repair has to do with the perceived mystical nature of things electrical. We have been advert and market bombarded with new-is-better ideology.
I don't really care how much of your machine you replace or how much you wish to spend on it. I'm only trying to help readers make their antique work as well as new, which imo, was pretty darn good for the price point to which is was made. I just thought that learning to fix rather than replace was part of the goal, and more likely to make any "highway strandings" short lived to non-existent.
Greg,
You also have a 30 year old wire harness, 30 year old wire connectors. In fact, most of the machine is 30 years old. You might ask yourself how much of it will you replace before you feel better about it? Is the fuse box really enough to restore total confidence?
Best of luck toward whatever you decide. Really!
