My question was really a misunderstanding, I thought the structure in front of the dash must also come out - but now I see it is part of the steel body.
I wonder if the steering wheel really needs to come out. If you unscrew the steering column (four nuts) and rest it on the floor, the dash would also clear out. I think the steering column must be dropped anyway as the stalk unit is in the way.
Next thing I'm going to do is to pick up a pair of old sofa cushions from the trash at the recycling center. More comfortable to sit on the floor when you don't need to worry about the airbag wires for the seats.
The airbag came out after drilling the four small rivets and pulling the lower edge of the cover out out (scary!). The wire was pretty long and loose, so no risk of breaking it really. The three rivets on lower edge also need to be drilled to get the harness/circuitry off. It looks like there are small provisions for steel clips, so it might be possible to replace these 3 rivets with clips & screws.
I also drilled the rivets in far left corner of dash as some were already falling apart, so the plastic structure holding the fuse box was left into the car. Just need to figure out what kind of screws I need to fix it properly when putting it back together.
Now that the dash is out, I still cannot see how to get the heater out, but never mind, the fight goes on. And yes, paid less than 30 euros for new core, including shipping.
I wonder if the steering wheel really needs to come out. If you unscrew the steering column (four nuts) and rest it on the floor, the dash would also clear out. I think the steering column must be dropped anyway as the stalk unit is in the way.
Next thing I'm going to do is to pick up a pair of old sofa cushions from the trash at the recycling center. More comfortable to sit on the floor when you don't need to worry about the airbag wires for the seats.
The airbag came out after drilling the four small rivets and pulling the lower edge of the cover out out (scary!). The wire was pretty long and loose, so no risk of breaking it really. The three rivets on lower edge also need to be drilled to get the harness/circuitry off. It looks like there are small provisions for steel clips, so it might be possible to replace these 3 rivets with clips & screws.
I also drilled the rivets in far left corner of dash as some were already falling apart, so the plastic structure holding the fuse box was left into the car. Just need to figure out what kind of screws I need to fix it properly when putting it back together.
Now that the dash is out, I still cannot see how to get the heater out, but never mind, the fight goes on. And yes, paid less than 30 euros for new core, including shipping.