In reply to einy:
Yes, I've dealt with them in the past when I had a Beetle and had very good luck with them.
In reply to einy:
Yes, I've dealt with them in the past when I had a Beetle and had very good luck with them.
No engine progress to report, but dealt with the swimming pool that was on the driver's side floor board. Cut out the nasty, soaked carpet and padding and mopped out the standing water.
And it seems this water problem has been there for a while, as the covering on one of the harnesses had turned to mush and wiped off when I touched it.
In other interesting news, I came across this pair of wires that appear to run up into the seat. I wonder if the driver's seat has the switch in it that would keep the engine from starting if the seat belt were undone?
And lastly, a very creative PO fix in the wiring. This is one I've never seen before!
At least I have plenty of other work to do before I can order a Bentley book. Stripping the rest of the carpeting and what is left of the headliner are up next.
In reply to 84FSP:
Thank you for that link! It will be very helpful.
The mixture and idle screws are off limits for now 
Glad to hear you are making progress! If you need help feel free to reach me or any of the other Vw nuts on grm. Flying Lizard on VWvortex is a guru way above my paygrade and is happy to help as well.
Get most of my stuff from these guys.
German Auto Parts
Don't do any shortcuts until you are sure all is not well elsewhere. As previously mentioned simple things can keep these cars from running. Get a Bentley manual, a DVOM, and a test light. Oh, and fuel pressure guage and adapters for the CIS system. Worth the money.
The fuel system operates via hydraulic control and the slightest bit of crud in the system anywhere can cause all kinds of headaches. Go slow and be methodical.
Just put my bunny away for the winter. I haz sad.
I knew the car had some rust. But it looked like it was still solid in the important (read, hard to replace) areas like shock towers, etc. So I decided to strip the remaining disgusting carpet, and the over-abundance of adhesive from the interior. Not only was there a lot of glue, but it turned out to be one of the most heinous substances I have ever encountered! Having never used dry ice for anything, it seemed now was the perfect time to give it a shot. SWMBO picked up two "packages" of it for me at the grocery store to the tune of $32 hard earned dollars. I was tempted to remind her who encouraged me to buy the car (her) but decided that was a bad idea. Also I don't know what they weighed as the packages weren't marked. Did I mention they cost $32? Donning gloves and a face shield I busted up the bricks in the package with a hammer and started spreading it around. After about seven minutes the offending substance turned hard enough to chip off. With a hammer and big screwdriver. Getting started:
After all the freezing and chipping it became apparent the floor pans are separating from the inner rockers. And the inner rockers are pretty rusted. And I haven't been under the car yet to confirm, but the outer rockers still seem to be mostly solid.
Driver's side results:
Passenger side results:
So knowing this now, and looking at patch panels on the interwebs, there is no question I need floor pans. But I wonder if I can get away with just replacing the inner rockers? I could use some guidance here as I'm not familiar with the way this part of the car is put together. Ultimately I guess I need to get under the car and see how much of the outer rockers are left and see what else is rotten.
So what did I learn from this experience?
The last couple days have been a bit discouraging (speaking of the car here).
I had planned on simply ordering a pair of inner rocker panels and start working on cutting the old ones out and welding the new ones in. Only I can't find the panels. Anywhere.
After searching vwvortex, google, various panel manufacturers, and calling the Parts Place here in Michigan, the resounding answer is they are NLA. The parts place guy was super helpful, and recommended finding a donor car locally with good panels. The only place I could fit a parts car would be in the back yard, after cutting a big hole in my garage. And I'd be sleeping in it.
So does anyone here know of a source? It's looking like I'm going to have to improvise, and that is a scary thought 
I wouldn't look for OEM parts. I would get some 18 gauge sheet metal, make some sections about 6 inch by 18 inch. Clamp to the edge of the work bench, and fold down, making L parts, 3 inch legs. The take each of those pieces and trim to fit each area. The hard part will be cutting out the rusted edges, body saw or something. For sheet metal a flux core welder would work, cheap and easy to use. Nice thing it won't have to look perfect, since it will all be covered up.
I don't know if they have inners but this place does have a lot of replacement panels:
http://www.fixmyrust.com/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=ACF&count=20&offset=0
You can also try this, I think this is the brand that the link above sells so they probably have all the same stuff:
Klokkerholm is about the best non-OEM panel maker out there for these.
RSJ Parts has a nice selection of patch panels here.
VW Heritage has a great selection, too. There are in the UK, though. I bought full length Klokkerholm rockers for the Scirocco and the shipping cost was very reasonable. VW Heritage
I'll look in the basement for a late MK1 Bentley for you. If I have one, it's yours for the cost to ship it.
I forgot I have a few mk1 Bentleys as well. If Burrito doesn't have one I can send you one of mine.
Thank you guys for the information! I checked all of those sources, and they offer the rocker outers but no inners.
I may just take TED_fiestaHP's advice and try to make something to fit. A flux core welder is what I have. I'm not good at making things look nice, but I can make E36 M3 stick. Besides, my goal for the car is a rallycross beater- not a councours restoration.
@Evan and Burrito- thank you guys for that offer! If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I will take you up on the offer 
Good news! I listed these books in a FB VW parts group and they never sold. Shoot me a PM with your address and I will try to get them out this evening. The "Performance Handbook" is a little corny, but there's some good information in there.
I think I got rid of all my other MK1 parts when I sold the Scirocco, but there's an obscene amount of leftover MK1 parts at my parents place. I'm supposed to help my Father sort through most of it Thanksgiving weekend, so if there's anything you're looking for, let me know!
When I was building my 75 I needed the inner rockers too. I ended up cutting a section out and went to a sheet metal guy and had him bend me up some to match. I think it was around $60 for the pair. They didn't have the recessed panels but did the job.
If you end up autocrossing it you would have to fix those anyway after a couple seasons. May as well do it well now!
Well, I tried to find 18 ga sheet steel today to no avail. My choices were 16 ga and 22 ga. I bought two pieces of 22, but the more I think about it I will return them until I can find the 18.
@Burrito- PM sent!
A small update on the Rabbit. I've been chipping away (literally) at the inner sill over the last few weeks. The pile of rusty yuck is growing:
Passengers side is welded in, ground off and primed:
And (almost) finished welding and grinding the drivers side. I sill have some gaps to fill and grind again.
In other news new floor pans and a fuel filter should be arriving next week, so I'll be headfirst into the learning curve again. And then there is a part I haven't figured out yet. Where the inner and outer sills meet and were pinch welded was rusted/destroyed (on the bottom side). So I need to figure out a way to tie the two together again.
This is what I have now. The grey part is the steel I welded in.
I was trying to think of a piece of something to protect and reinforce that whole length, and make it easier to weld the outer sill back in, but I haven't found anything I like yet. I've seen where some folks welded in some rectangular tubing, but that seems a bit much. Any ideas?
(I hope that made sense)
If I remember correctly the floor pan curved down and had a little lip on the bottom of it that curved out. The inner piece came down and sits on the flange and ends just above the curved lip. The outer rocker has another flange that sits on top of the other two. So there are a total three layers on the lower flange hanging down from the rocker panel.
So the new overkill inner rockers are in. And I decided I'd like to be able to jack the car up in two places, rather than the four that the manual lists. So I took some 1" steel tubing and welded it to the new inner rockers and the two spots where the manual says to jack the car from. Basically just behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels. The welding still stinks, but I'm getting better. This image kind of sums up what I was trying to accomplish:
Front tie in point:
Rear tie in point, I guess it would be the "sub frame?"
Other images:
I was hoping to be able to tie the outer rockers into the tubing to make it look more finished, but I didn't quite get both sides the same. I may call them good enough for now and address them down the road when I do the outer rockers.
The "jacking point" in the passenger's side footwell needed some nu metal too, so I tried to go overkill on it too:
Since this whole thing is a learning exercise, I will be curious to see if it all stays together!
In other news, I found this arrangement between the fuel tank and the fuel pump. I wonder if this is part of the hard starting problem:
Anyway, at this point I'm confident I can jack the car up and put it on jack stands- and have it stay on them. Once I get that far I plan to drop the gas tank and put the new floors in. I'd rather not risk damaging the tank or starting a fire with all the cutting/welding/grinding I need to do in that area. Fun stuff!
That hose is a specific bend to it - find it on RSJparts.com or another site. You will also likely want to snag an MKII fuel pump relay and run a relay to your fuel pump. My pump was getting 8volts before being relayed despite it being in much better shape (visually) than what you are working with. I can snag you a few pics if you need them.
In reply to 84FSP:
Thank you for the tip on that hose! Does it look like this one?
The deal I found on my car had that bend pinched right flat. And the pump itself was held in place by about 10 ty-wraps. I haven't looked up the proper mounting method in the manual yet. I'd guess the contorted rusty mess I pulled out with the pump used to be how it was mounted.
If pictures aren't trouble for you, I'd love to see them!
The rear beam is dropped. I was pleasantly surprised at how little fighting it took to get it out. Buuuut, I can't get it out from under the car. So it will stay there for now.
And the gas tank is out too...
A few hard fuel lines to move and it's on to the floor pans.
Great progress on this little beast. I do not envy your rust issues.
Nice work. Doing similar work on my Eclipse but lucky I don't have to replace floor pans.
What welder are you using?
I'll snag a few pics for you later today.
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