I can vouch for this approach, having done the same with my kit car and mini, it's far more robust than the Smiths canister type regulators. I bought mine from maplins (2 for about £1.50) but I had to solder the leads on, so Ash's option seems a far easier bet. Main thing to remember is to make sure the earth is sound, apart from getting the polarity correct that is, and Ash's heat sink comment is also correct.
good luck.