1978 cordoba

[greenman692003]

Hello, B-body!

I bought a loaded 78 t-top Cordoba, and need some parts
front left side wheel lip molding, right rear wheel lip molding, heater cable and the lenses for the courtesy lights in the doors.

Thanks!

 

[egrand1508]

The part number for the door light lenses is 3488995 and you can still get them from a Chrysler dealer or an online Mopar parts store. They are about $10-11 each. They were used on several vehicles up to the early 90's.

Somebody has a set of wheel molding on ebay right now for $475, and that is probably the cheapest you'll find it. I need them too, but I'm too tight to spend that much.

I don't have the part number for the heater cable, but they show up on ebay once in a while. If your cable isn't bent or broken, but just hard to push then it is probably the heater control valve that needs replaced. Those are available at Autozone or OReilly's for about $50.00.

When I got my 77 Cordoba a couple of years ago, me and my buddies couldn't get over what a well made car it is for something from the 70's. They are comfortable and yet drive really well for something so heavy.

 

[greenman692003]

are the lip moldings avail thru Chrysler??? Thanks for the lead!

 

[egrand1508]

I really doubt it, unless you get lucky and find an old dealer that might still have them on the shelf somewhere. Otherwise, the best bet is ebay, swap meets, or parts cars. When I get mine painted (still about a year away) I will ask the body shop if they can hammer mine back out and polish them. If not, I may go without for a while.

 

[greenman692003]

I got my Cordoba today...car is filthy from the transport from California, I need the rear back seat courtesy lamp lenses as well as the front one..will the front work the rear???...the heater water control valve is bad...my temp and gas gauge do not work...

Thanks Again!

 

[egrand1508]

The lenses are the same front and rear.

The heater control valve is available from Autozone, Napa, O'Reilly's and I just checked them online and they are about $90.00. You might want to try ebay. I bought mine just over a year ago and I only paid about $50.00, so I'm afraid they've really gone up in price.

I found the part number for the heater cable and it is 3846922, but I would change the heater control valve first unless the cable has a bad kink in it as that is usually the source of being hard to push.

The temp and gas gauge are contained in one housing and are attached to a PC board behind the gauge cluster with a couple of studs that are also the ground for them. Does the LED light on the fuel gauge work? If not, you might check the gauge cluster for a bad connection, broken wire, etc. Otherwise the sending units are bad, which is not unusual. The temp sending unit is available at the auto parts stores. The fuel sending unit in the gas tank is available on ebay as 1974 75 76 B Body Fuel Sending Unit. This is the same one used on Cordoba's with the 25 gallon tank. And, dropping the tank to put it in is a lot of fun!

Enjoy your new ride!

 

[greenman692003]

The heater cable at the water valve and at the instrument cover are kinked, so i guess i will need a new cable but will try to straighten out both kinks...and see after I have replaced the water valve.. a kid got to this car before me..AGGGGH!!! another thing i found that i cannot figure out, there is a lose wire at the a/c compressor, the compressor wont come on when switched on...and i have looked everywhere for it...any Idea's???..Battery hold downs and the power trunk release who has those???...
Its not a bad car, Just neglected and a kid had it...

 

[MAGNUM GT XS22L9R]

Battery hold downs and the power trunk release who has those???...

You can find both in other B bodies. The power trunk release comes on multiple
Mopars of the same age. :grin:

 

[egrand1508]

There are two wires on the compressor. One goes to the clutch coil and runs under the pulley. The other connects to the low pressure cutoff switch which is located on the receiver/drier canister which is located over the right front wheel. That switch keeps the compressor from running if the freon is gone or too low (which is pretty likely on a car that old anyway). That is probably the wire that is unhooked. Bad news is that if somebody unhooked it, that may be the sign of a bigger problem. The clutch could be burned out or slipping, the coil could be bad, or the compressor could be seized up.

 

[greenman692003]

well if it broken I can fix it, but thanks for the leads on the wire!

 

[greenman692003]

I found the heater water valve at Autozone for 54$

 

[MAGNUM GT XS22L9R]

I might be going to a salvage yard tomorrow, I'll look to see if it has any
battery units and trunk release units and the matching glove box buttons!

 

[greenman692003]

Today i fiddled withe the heater water valve and cable...found out the water valve worked fine and there was no binding when turned, the cable was kinked at both ends and i straightened it out and adjusted the selector at the dash and the at the heater valve put some grease on both ends and it works fine!!!..now i need to figure out the vacuum system as when you change selections it will stay on the defrost and not move to vent...as for the ac wiring the wire that goes up and over the compressor is the one that is unhooked and there is a wire connected to the compressor connector wire but the end of that has been sniped off but I cannot find out where that one goes too somebody have a Picture... will look again...I need a service manual...will look on ebay

A neglected 78 Cordoba messed up by a kid....Agghhhhh!!!

 

[greenman692003]

trunk release now works, found out there are two vacuum tubes from the heater box to the vacuum connection to the heater selector that are missing and will have to remove the glove box liner to see if that is the reason the vents will switch on...who has those vacuum lines?

 

[greenman692003]

Today i fiddled withe the heater water valve and cable...found out the water valve worked fine and there was no binding when turned, the cable was kinked at both ends and i straightened it out and adjusted the selector at the dash and the at the heater valve put some grease on both ends and it works fine!!!..now i need to figure out the vacuum system as when you change selections it will stay on the defrost and not move to vent...as for the ac wiring the wire that goes up and over the compressor is the one that is unhooked and there is a wire connected to the compressor connector wire but the end of that has been sniped off but I cannot find out where that one goes too somebody have a Picture... will look again...I need a service manual...will look on ebay

A neglected 78 Cordoba messed up by a kid....Agghhhhh!!!

 

[egrand1508]

Kids (and adults for that matter) can sure scew up stuff. I've seen my share of it. Any cars I've had I get the service manuals, they are well worth it.

I'm trying to attach a picture of my 77 (I've never done it before, so hope it works). It is from when I first got it and hadn't done anything to it yet. It should be similar to the 78's. The wire from the compressor runs under the radiator hose, behind the alternator, and ties into a wiring harness over the right front wheel. The low pressure switch is there too. I put a couple of arrows to show it.

I also attached pages from the service manuals showing the a/c system.

Parts stores sell different sizes of rubber vacuum hose that you might be able to splice in under the dash. Otherwise, you might have to get it from a parts car.

 

[greenman692003]

78 cordoba

If I needed to get ac parts where do i go?..I checked for parts at Autozone some parts were still available except the ac hoses and the evaporator...today was spent replacing light bulbs...My vanity mirror isn't working...i know sounds trivial...but the clock decided to work!!...do you think this fender could be saved this is why the car was written off with a salvage title!

 

[MAGNUM GT XS22L9R]

1978-79 fenders are easy to find most of the time. Search
Craigslist via Searchtempest.com! By using it you can
search all USA, Canada and even Mexico Craigslist.
Also there is a guy in Mission, KS that will have one. If you
would like his name and number go to this link: Andre

Magnum XE fenders are the same as 1978-79 Cordoba's

 

[greenman692003]

78 cordoba

I finally got the climate control to shift through all of its duck work..one hose was mis-connected...got the opera lamps working, new turn signal flasher and left rear park turn signal bulb replaced..I have ordered the courtesy lamp lenses front and rear, new console lid, mine is cracked and cooked from sun, through the t-tops...next will be new valve cover gaskets, they are leaking..reinstall the am/fm 8 track radio...and work on the a/c..

thanks for the lead on fenders, you think its better to replace than to fix this?!?!?

 

[egrand1508]

Your car is going to look pretty sharp. I always liked Dove Gray, and with the T-tops I like it even more.

Magnum GT is right, a good fender won't be hard to find, and will be a lot cheaper. The old saying is there is always somebody who will fix anything for enough money. But, I don't think any body shop would attempt that one. I know it may not look too bad, but the metal is too badly creased where it was hit, especially around the wheel opening, and it can never be pounded out right.

You can also try Pick 'n Pull, Pull-a-Part, or other salvage yards. It may be too far away for you, but I checked on line and Pick 'n Pull in Dallas has a 79 Cordoba in their yard. If you have a good body shop you can ask them to find you one. My experience is that they have sources for parts us motal men will never have.

As for the a/c, you might want to start a new thread to get more people's experience. I spent a lot of time on it last summer and still don't have it going. To make a long story short (which I can go into detail if you want) I had it working great for three days until it finally blew out the suction hose about where the arrow is in my pic. The hoses and tubing are unique and I can't find anybody locally to fix them. I ended up putting it off because by then it was late in the summer last year and I had too much going on this year to mess with it yet. I will probaby have to have hoses sent to Classic Auto Air because they can weld steel tubing for new fittings.

Don't get the receiver/drier can from Autozone, or wherever they sell the Four Seasons or Murrary brand. They tried twice for me and the part number they have for it is the wrong one. I went with RockAuto and got the ACDelco one, and it is right. I got gasket and seal kits for rebuilding the RV2 compressor at www.centuryautoair.com. Some stuff is also available on ebay.

Keep plugging away at it and you'll have a good car.

P.S. Make sure the fender mounted turn signal indicators are working. For some strange reason that impresses the heck out of the young guns.