Door card removal?
Discussion
There are two more bolts about a foot to the right of the speaker hole and another one 4 inches further on you need a long arm and a magnet just in case you drop the bolts and washers in the door if you have the ashtray in the door lever that out and there is a screw behind that to undo the door card should come off and the carpet or leather behind that has several screw holding that too
Don't forget to replace the nuts with M6 wingnuts so much easier
Don't forget to replace the nuts with M6 wingnuts so much easier
Just a note of caution, had 4 bolts on drivers side but passenger side on mine only had 3 fitted. Felt such a prat after wasting time on mine with my arm lost inside the door panel trying to undo a bolt that didn't exist.
To echo the previous reply, when refitting....WINGNUTS!!! So much easier if you ever need to work on them again in the future.
To echo the previous reply, when refitting....WINGNUTS!!! So much easier if you ever need to work on them again in the future.
I never understand the wingnut craze? A hex nut in a socket is far easier to spin on IMHO ~ I've never worked out how at full stretch (arm up cows arse sceanario) your fingers can manipulate a wing nut???? That's even if the things were made in decent quality, most seem to have odd wings, threads off centre.....
Long 1/4" sockets and knurl/finger ratchets work fine for me. Tricky to get nut staying in end of socket on re-assembly, and even harder to get washers on TBH... so I tend to use flange nuts and attach large washers to them with a dab of glue.
Always worth packing the bottom of the door with a tea towel to catch anything that falls (it will!), and have a wardrobe of long sleeved t-shirts to prevent arm-rash
Long 1/4" sockets and knurl/finger ratchets work fine for me. Tricky to get nut staying in end of socket on re-assembly, and even harder to get washers on TBH... so I tend to use flange nuts and attach large washers to them with a dab of glue.
Always worth packing the bottom of the door with a tea towel to catch anything that falls (it will!), and have a wardrobe of long sleeved t-shirts to prevent arm-rash
spend said:
I never understand the wingnut craze? A hex nut in a socket is far easier to spin on IMHO ~ I've never worked out how at full stretch (arm up cows arse sceanario) your fingers can manipulate a wing nut???? That's even if the things were made in decent quality, most seem to have odd wings, threads off centre.....
I agree. I use a ratchet spanner with a string attached for easy retreival if it falls down.spend said:
I never understand the wingnut craze? A hex nut in a socket is far easier to spin on IMHO ~ I've never worked out how at full stretch (arm up cows arse sceanario) your fingers can manipulate a wing nut???? That's even if the things were made in decent quality, most seem to have odd wings, threads off centre.....
Long 1/4" sockets and knurl/finger ratchets work fine for me. Tricky to get nut staying in end of socket on re-assembly, and even harder to get washers on TBH... so I tend to use flange nuts and attach large washers to them with a dab of glue.
Always worth packing the bottom of the door with a tea towel to catch anything that falls (it will!), and have a wardrobe of long sleeved t-shirts to prevent arm-rash
+1^^^Long 1/4" sockets and knurl/finger ratchets work fine for me. Tricky to get nut staying in end of socket on re-assembly, and even harder to get washers on TBH... so I tend to use flange nuts and attach large washers to them with a dab of glue.
Always worth packing the bottom of the door with a tea towel to catch anything that falls (it will!), and have a wardrobe of long sleeved t-shirts to prevent arm-rash
Also the hidden sreews
And the one behind the ash tray
TVR DOOR CARD
Hi all, I’ve just had the door card off on my 2001 Chimaera and I thought it might be helpful to pull together all the hints & tips that others have posted previously. My cigar lighter/power socket had become disconnected and I needed to fix it to connect the trickle charger. I was working on the drivers door.
Before you start:-
Remove watch, rings etc - anything that might snag
Wear a long sleeve T shirt
Get a pack of M6 wing nuts (places like Screwfix sell a pack of 10 for under £2) - best not to start with just 4, there’s plenty of scope for dropping one or two.
Make sure there is some charge in the battery - you’ll need to work the window
Have a 10mm ring spanner ready. A regular 10mm spanner would be difficult because there isn’t much space for rotating the spanner and a socket wouldn’t work because of limited access and the bolts are too long
Tie a length of string to the spanner so that you can pull it out if you drop it (otherwise you’re probably going to need another spanner)
Masking tape around speaker hole and gloves have both been suggested - I managed without these
Procedure:-
Window fully up, ignition off
Remove speaker to gain access.
There are 4 bolts along the lower part of the card (the top of the card locates with a metal tang in the door, there are no fasteners up there, some owners have reported having only 3 bolts) - Calling them 1 to 4 from the front of the door.
No 1 is just forward of the speaker hole and relatively easy to get at.
No 2 is near the mirror switch.
Nos 3 & 4 are further back below the cigar socket and door pocket. To reach them you need to get your arm including elbow inside the door.
Reaching 3 & 4 started off seeming like it was going to be impossible. What worked for me was to go in aiming my hand upwards towards the top rear of the door, when your elbow is inside you can rotate down to find the bolts.
If your car has an ashtray - this needs to be removed and also the screw inside it.
The speaker hole is low and towards the front of the door so you need to sit on the floor with your back to the door hinge (a piece of old carpet on the floor helps).
Space is tight, if you’ve got big forearms you might need to enlist help - a thinner friend/wife/girlfriend/available juvenile have all been suggested - whoever it is needs to know how to wield a spanner in a blind space.
The nuts are sitting on large washers and holding the card against fibre glass/fabric - mine were not tight, a couple of turns with the ring spanner and they could be wound off by hand.
With the nuts/washers removed pull the lower edge of the card away from the door to disengage the bolts and lift upwards to get the top tang out. That’s it, the card is off.
The card actually has inner & outer parts, I didn’t need to remove the inner but it looks fairly easy, just some self tappers - you can see what you’re doing and no gymnastics required.
I was re-attaching the fitting on the back of the lighter/power socket. If you are doing something else check this is secure while you’re there, they work loose over time.
Reassembly - wind the window fully down - this makes location of the top of the card much easier. Slot the tang into the top of the door then push the bolts back into their location holes and wind the window up (Muppet warning - don’t activate the window with your arm/ diggets inside the door!)
Fit the washers and wing nuts - get all 4 located on the threads before tightening. The No 2 nut in particular is easier to fit if you pull the door card away from the door a bit
Hand tighten the nuts and refit the speaker - you’re done.
Hi all, I’ve just had the door card off on my 2001 Chimaera and I thought it might be helpful to pull together all the hints & tips that others have posted previously. My cigar lighter/power socket had become disconnected and I needed to fix it to connect the trickle charger. I was working on the drivers door.
Before you start:-
Remove watch, rings etc - anything that might snag
Wear a long sleeve T shirt
Get a pack of M6 wing nuts (places like Screwfix sell a pack of 10 for under £2) - best not to start with just 4, there’s plenty of scope for dropping one or two.
Make sure there is some charge in the battery - you’ll need to work the window
Have a 10mm ring spanner ready. A regular 10mm spanner would be difficult because there isn’t much space for rotating the spanner and a socket wouldn’t work because of limited access and the bolts are too long
Tie a length of string to the spanner so that you can pull it out if you drop it (otherwise you’re probably going to need another spanner)
Masking tape around speaker hole and gloves have both been suggested - I managed without these
Procedure:-
Window fully up, ignition off
Remove speaker to gain access.
There are 4 bolts along the lower part of the card (the top of the card locates with a metal tang in the door, there are no fasteners up there, some owners have reported having only 3 bolts) - Calling them 1 to 4 from the front of the door.
No 1 is just forward of the speaker hole and relatively easy to get at.
No 2 is near the mirror switch.
Nos 3 & 4 are further back below the cigar socket and door pocket. To reach them you need to get your arm including elbow inside the door.
Reaching 3 & 4 started off seeming like it was going to be impossible. What worked for me was to go in aiming my hand upwards towards the top rear of the door, when your elbow is inside you can rotate down to find the bolts.
If your car has an ashtray - this needs to be removed and also the screw inside it.
The speaker hole is low and towards the front of the door so you need to sit on the floor with your back to the door hinge (a piece of old carpet on the floor helps).
Space is tight, if you’ve got big forearms you might need to enlist help - a thinner friend/wife/girlfriend/available juvenile have all been suggested - whoever it is needs to know how to wield a spanner in a blind space.
The nuts are sitting on large washers and holding the card against fibre glass/fabric - mine were not tight, a couple of turns with the ring spanner and they could be wound off by hand.
With the nuts/washers removed pull the lower edge of the card away from the door to disengage the bolts and lift upwards to get the top tang out. That’s it, the card is off.
The card actually has inner & outer parts, I didn’t need to remove the inner but it looks fairly easy, just some self tappers - you can see what you’re doing and no gymnastics required.
I was re-attaching the fitting on the back of the lighter/power socket. If you are doing something else check this is secure while you’re there, they work loose over time.
Reassembly - wind the window fully down - this makes location of the top of the card much easier. Slot the tang into the top of the door then push the bolts back into their location holes and wind the window up (Muppet warning - don’t activate the window with your arm/ diggets inside the door!)
Fit the washers and wing nuts - get all 4 located on the threads before tightening. The No 2 nut in particular is easier to fit if you pull the door card away from the door a bit
Hand tighten the nuts and refit the speaker - you’re done.
Nice one. There are several old threads on this so it's nice to see it collated into one.
My last 1996 early facelift Chimaera had only 3 inside bolts and I had the same issue, non-working cigarette lighter, which I wanted for phone charging.
My previous one to that (2000 reg) had 4 inside bolts and the last one is a stretch, and I'm 6 ft 2 with long arms!
I think it changed to 4 bolts when the mirror controller when to aluminium, along with all the other facelift changes, as old stuff ran out!
I'd add that the 2nd one back on some cars is very close to the window glass motor and some owners may have to unship it to get the nut off.
My last 1996 early facelift Chimaera had only 3 inside bolts and I had the same issue, non-working cigarette lighter, which I wanted for phone charging.
My previous one to that (2000 reg) had 4 inside bolts and the last one is a stretch, and I'm 6 ft 2 with long arms!
I think it changed to 4 bolts when the mirror controller when to aluminium, along with all the other facelift changes, as old stuff ran out!
I'd add that the 2nd one back on some cars is very close to the window glass motor and some owners may have to unship it to get the nut off.
Chim2001 said:
TVR DOOR CARD
Hi all, I’ve just had the door card off on my 2001 Chimaera and I thought it might be helpful to pull together all the hints & tips that others have posted previously. My cigar lighter/power socket had become disconnected and I needed to fix it to connect the trickle charger. I was working on the drivers door.
Before you start:-
Remove watch, rings etc - anything that might snag
Wear a long sleeve T shirt
Get a pack of M6 wing nuts (places like Screwfix sell a pack of 10 for under £2) - best not to start with just 4, there’s plenty of scope for dropping one or two.
Make sure there is some charge in the battery - you’ll need to work the window
Have a 10mm ring spanner ready. A regular 10mm spanner would be difficult because there isn’t much space for rotating the spanner and a socket wouldn’t work because of limited access and the bolts are too long
Tie a length of string to the spanner so that you can pull it out if you drop it (otherwise you’re probably going to need another spanner)
Masking tape around speaker hole and gloves have both been suggested - I managed without these
Procedure:-
Window fully up, ignition off
Remove speaker to gain access.
There are 4 bolts along the lower part of the card (the top of the card locates with a metal tang in the door, there are no fasteners up there, some owners have reported having only 3 bolts) - Calling them 1 to 4 from the front of the door.
No 1 is just forward of the speaker hole and relatively easy to get at.
No 2 is near the mirror switch.
Nos 3 & 4 are further back below the cigar socket and door pocket. To reach them you need to get your arm including elbow inside the door.
Reaching 3 & 4 started off seeming like it was going to be impossible. What worked for me was to go in aiming my hand upwards towards the top rear of the door, when your elbow is inside you can rotate down to find the bolts.
If your car has an ashtray - this needs to be removed and also the screw inside it.
The speaker hole is low and towards the front of the door so you need to sit on the floor with your back to the door hinge (a piece of old carpet on the floor helps).
Space is tight, if you’ve got big forearms you might need to enlist help - a thinner friend/wife/girlfriend/available juvenile have all been suggested - whoever it is needs to know how to wield a spanner in a blind space.
The nuts are sitting on large washers and holding the card against fibre glass/fabric - mine were not tight, a couple of turns with the ring spanner and they could be wound off by hand.
With the nuts/washers removed pull the lower edge of the card away from the door to disengage the bolts and lift upwards to get the top tang out. That’s it, the card is off.
The card actually has inner & outer parts, I didn’t need to remove the inner but it looks fairly easy, just some self tappers - you can see what you’re doing and no gymnastics required.
I was re-attaching the fitting on the back of the lighter/power socket. If you are doing something else check this is secure while you’re there, they work loose over time.
Reassembly - wind the window fully down - this makes location of the top of the card much easier. Slot the tang into the top of the door then push the bolts back into their location holes and wind the window up (Muppet warning - don’t activate the window with your arm/ diggets inside the door!)
Fit the washers and wing nuts - get all 4 located on the threads before tightening. The No 2 nut in particular is easier to fit if you pull the door card away from the door a bit
Hand tighten the nuts and refit the speaker - you’re done.
great first post!Hi all, I’ve just had the door card off on my 2001 Chimaera and I thought it might be helpful to pull together all the hints & tips that others have posted previously. My cigar lighter/power socket had become disconnected and I needed to fix it to connect the trickle charger. I was working on the drivers door.
Before you start:-
Remove watch, rings etc - anything that might snag
Wear a long sleeve T shirt
Get a pack of M6 wing nuts (places like Screwfix sell a pack of 10 for under £2) - best not to start with just 4, there’s plenty of scope for dropping one or two.
Make sure there is some charge in the battery - you’ll need to work the window
Have a 10mm ring spanner ready. A regular 10mm spanner would be difficult because there isn’t much space for rotating the spanner and a socket wouldn’t work because of limited access and the bolts are too long
Tie a length of string to the spanner so that you can pull it out if you drop it (otherwise you’re probably going to need another spanner)
Masking tape around speaker hole and gloves have both been suggested - I managed without these
Procedure:-
Window fully up, ignition off
Remove speaker to gain access.
There are 4 bolts along the lower part of the card (the top of the card locates with a metal tang in the door, there are no fasteners up there, some owners have reported having only 3 bolts) - Calling them 1 to 4 from the front of the door.
No 1 is just forward of the speaker hole and relatively easy to get at.
No 2 is near the mirror switch.
Nos 3 & 4 are further back below the cigar socket and door pocket. To reach them you need to get your arm including elbow inside the door.
Reaching 3 & 4 started off seeming like it was going to be impossible. What worked for me was to go in aiming my hand upwards towards the top rear of the door, when your elbow is inside you can rotate down to find the bolts.
If your car has an ashtray - this needs to be removed and also the screw inside it.
The speaker hole is low and towards the front of the door so you need to sit on the floor with your back to the door hinge (a piece of old carpet on the floor helps).
Space is tight, if you’ve got big forearms you might need to enlist help - a thinner friend/wife/girlfriend/available juvenile have all been suggested - whoever it is needs to know how to wield a spanner in a blind space.
The nuts are sitting on large washers and holding the card against fibre glass/fabric - mine were not tight, a couple of turns with the ring spanner and they could be wound off by hand.
With the nuts/washers removed pull the lower edge of the card away from the door to disengage the bolts and lift upwards to get the top tang out. That’s it, the card is off.
The card actually has inner & outer parts, I didn’t need to remove the inner but it looks fairly easy, just some self tappers - you can see what you’re doing and no gymnastics required.
I was re-attaching the fitting on the back of the lighter/power socket. If you are doing something else check this is secure while you’re there, they work loose over time.
Reassembly - wind the window fully down - this makes location of the top of the card much easier. Slot the tang into the top of the door then push the bolts back into their location holes and wind the window up (Muppet warning - don’t activate the window with your arm/ diggets inside the door!)
Fit the washers and wing nuts - get all 4 located on the threads before tightening. The No 2 nut in particular is easier to fit if you pull the door card away from the door a bit
Hand tighten the nuts and refit the speaker - you’re done.
Getting your arm through the speaker hole is not easy and if you are allergic to fibreglass then it makes the job even more unpleasant.
I went to my local vet and they gave me a couple of full armpit length disposable gloves such as they would use for intimate inspections of lady cows. Less bulky than a long sleeved t-shirt as well.
If there are any TVR owning vets out there I bet they make door card removal look quite easy.
I went to my local vet and they gave me a couple of full armpit length disposable gloves such as they would use for intimate inspections of lady cows. Less bulky than a long sleeved t-shirt as well.
If there are any TVR owning vets out there I bet they make door card removal look quite easy.
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