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Some makers did a better job of making tuner/chassis clusters serviceable than others....Zenith and Admiral (once admiral started makin' their own color sets), Setchell Carlson and others made the tuner/control sub-chassis as unplugable modules. IIRC some RCAs used RCA jacks on the IF cables (GOOD move in my book).
Others were not so kind....I've got a Silvertone RCA CTC-15 clone where every line including IF is hard wired and the IF is the easiest to break. My solution: use zip ties as strain relief by binding the wires tightly to the tuner/control sub chassis with a little slack at the chassis. Whenever I service that set I bolt the tuner sub chassis to the back of the main chassis* and I leave it there until the set works %100 and I'm ready/about to install the back (this moves the wires the absolute minimum necessary). I always use a service mirror so I actually like it better having both the front and back controls at the back while servicing.
*On the CTC-15 the mount point is by the power interlock and you may need to add screws to the holes for them.
Have you considered setting thick cardboard on top of the console, setting the chassis there and running chassis extension cables down to the CRT? It should not be hard or expensive. Most sets use an octal or molex convergence plug which is easy to make an extension for (although the stock one might reach if you position the convergence board in the right place), a CRT socket extender can be made from a brightener (remove the heater step up transformer) by extending the leads, Yokes are usually Octal, Molex, or spade (easy), CRT metal frame to chassis ground can be done with a long clip lead, and HV....At that length you probably want to buy 3'-4' feet of 40KV (or higher) rated HV wire. I've heard bulk spark plug lead from any auto parts store will work. Add an HV suction cup from a scrap set to one end and a clip lead to the other. For safety stuff the connection between the chassis HV lead and your HV extension cable ~3" into a glass jar or cup.
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