English is not my native language so please excuse me if I mix up terms. Any ideas, tips or information is greatly appreciated. Feel free to use the comment function at any time. Also, I had this logical plan in which order I would do below steps, but lack of equipment and some rust issues forced me to do it different.
Why the Cordoba needs restoration
I'll let the images speak for themselves.
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| Both sides are fitted with power window switches, they need to be removed first. |
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| Carefully pry it of using a skrewdriver, try not to damage the plastic behind. |
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| This is what it looks like, it only goes back in one way. |
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| This can be kind of tricky, this steel panel is held in place by 4 metallic bars that are bent around the inside, I am pointing at one of them on the picture. I tried to pry them out from the inside and then from the outside once the panel would move a little bit. |
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| On the drivers side you also need to remove the adjustment for the side mirrors, it's designed to rotate to be removed. As visible on the picture I used a small screwdriver and tapped it gently to drive the adjustment around. |
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| Then remove the opening handle. It is secured with one bolt and has been removed on the above picture. Behind it is yet another bolt securing the door panel to the door itself. This needs to be removed to be able to remove the panel. |
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| Once power window switch, handle and securing bolt has been removed, use a large screwdriver to pry out the clips that stick the panel to the door. Be very careful as to not rip the clips out of the panel. |
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| When all clips have been loosened, angle the panel like this... |
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| ...and you will be able to just lift it up from it's position. SIMPLE! |
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| Remember to disconnect the power cable for the in-door-panel-light. |
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| Panel completely removed... It's a bit faded from what I believe is the sun. I'll figure out a way to make it look nice later. |
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| This is what it looks like with panel removed. I read somewhere that the Cordoba has the longest ever made doors! Might well be true! It might be a good thing to reassemble the handle and bolt for securing panel in their original places just as I did above. This way they won't be lost easily and can be removed later if needed. |
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| The power cables are secured only with snap-in plastic "bolts". I found it hard to remove these without breaking them, but what the heck, they can be replaced with something similar. |
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| Be sure to disassemble all connections... |
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| Then pry out the rubber cover from the side of the door and carefully pull the cables through. Removing the rubber cover is also a bit of a challenge. It's really tight and on the driver side it is of square shape and bigger. However, cables will come through fine with a bit of twisting. |
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| This picture kind of reminds me why I love the design of the cordoba. The entire front is very elegant! |
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| The grill is secured with 9 bolts. 8 around the edges and one in the middle, attached to a metal bar in front of the radiator. These are kind of tricky to reach since they are on the inside. I cursed a lot. :) Also notice that I reassembled all of the screws, not to loose them. |
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| And finally it's time to call it a day! I managed to remove both door panels, all electric cables in the doors, the grill and the turning lights on top of the hood. They are just secured with one screw each, so it does not take a genius to remove them. That's all for todays post. Please comment as much as possible, any input, feedback or questions are greatly appreciated! |
