How to remove TVR Cerbera doors

Removing the doors on a TVR Cerbera — useful for painting, bodywork, or a full strip-down. This is a one-person job if you’re careful, though a second pair of hands makes it easier.

How the hinge works

The Cerbera door hangs on two points:

• Top pivot — a long bolt through a rose-jointed (spherical) pivot at the top. You loosen (don’t fully remove) the middle bolt; it spins in the hinge and the door can swing out a little, which helps on removal.
• Bottom shell + spherical bearing — the bottom has a removable shell held by two Allen-key bolts, and a spherical bearing that locates the door. It takes little or no vertical load (there may be a slight taper).

Steps

1. Bottom shell first. Undo the two Allen-key bolts and remove the bottom hinge shell before you start on the door itself. (The shells only fit one way on both sides — an edge gets ground down for clearance. Note the orientation before it comes off.)
2. Disconnect the door wiring. Push the little tabs on the connectors and unplug (3 connectors on each side in this car). There’s a grommet you can pull out afterwards.
3. Loosen the main hinge bolt (17 mm). As you loosen it, the thread tries to push the door down — so start lifting the door as you go.
4. Lean the door out as it comes free so it clears (and doesn’t crush) the door seal.
5. Take the weight. An old caravan awning rail or similar laid underneath helps catch the door if you’re solo.

Notes & gotchas

• On one side the top fitting may be a nut; on the other a stud. If it’s a nut, you can undo the top one and the door drops down. If it’s a stud, it can be easier to feed the door up through it.
• Loosening the hinge bolt loses a little height adjustment — but fore/aft adjustment is retained, and height can be reset from the bottom.
• Don’t bolt the doors straight through from the roll cage unless you have to — it messes up alignment (there’s deliberate slop / slotted holes that control where the door sits). Removing via the hinge preserves your alignment for refitting.

Video walkthrough

Full step-by-step on the channel: How To Remove TVR Cerbera Doors

Part of the Cheapest TVR Cerbera restoration.