Is this too bad to continue? MK1 floorpan...

[572]

Hi Guys,

We (Justin (celestine) & I) picked up this MK1 Golf today after looking at it during the week. Upon stripping the interior out, this is what we found:






How much work will be involved to replace that section of the floorpan? Is it even worth it? Begin parting it out and finding another MK1 to start on?

Funnily enough we went over and over the car checking all the places people have had problems, but we couldn't get to the left hand side of the car very well. As you can see from the photo's all the other footwells we could check were fine, except for that left front! Spare wheel well is fine as well, even the body only has only small rust in the A pillars and in the bonnet (had planned to replace bonnet).

Anyone for MK1 parts? lol

Cheers,

Jon

[h100vw]

Sort that out if the rest of the car is good. You could cut a section from a good car and weld it in, in a couple of hours.

Gavin

[evorobin]

I 've got a complete mk1 two door shell here without a rusty floor if you're interested?

[572]

Ours is a 4dr - front footwell the same across both body types?

[Valver.]

I would move on, personally - there are better base cars to be had, even still

[Jmac]

I had a Mk1 4dr here about 9 years ago and i did the same i checked her over and it was rotten in the exact same place. I sent it to the bailer to be crushed. You got to tally up the rest of the vehicle, when you start cutting that away you will be chasing it big time. You will end up with a floor pan there, you might have to look further afield to source quality sections as good ones are scarce. I too would move on. A lot of work to be done there guys, no dramas helping you mechanically with it by the way!!
Jmac

[Celestine]

I guess it was kind of our mistake. We failed to check that one single footwell as the vehicle when we inspected it was parked up right against the wall on the left hand side.

I guess we will be parting this car and getting another MkI if we can find a decent one up here in Brissy. It's such a shame as that is pretty much the only part that is faulty with the vehicle that we have spotted so far (with the help of the Haynes manual which is far too vague)... *sigh*

Otherwise, if someone up here in Brisbane has a decent floorpan we can purchase, we might be able to save this car from being parted out. If someone out there does know of where we could find one, please let us know!

[Golf Loon]

Mate a good welder could sort that. If the rest of the car is good, I`d grind all the rust back to metal, put a welded box section into the main support along the floor and then go from that to each side with new metal.

Most Mk1s are getting pretty rusty by now, If the rest is good fix this bit.
I`d use new steel, not another 30 year old piece chopped out of a wreck.

[Celestine]

Most Mk1s are getting pretty rusty by now, If the rest is good fix this bit.
I`d use new steel, not another 30 year old piece chopped out of a wreck.

I guess that could be done. Problem is finding someone up here in Brisbane that is qualified to do such a task and sourcing the steel all at a reasonable price.

I'd definately agree that by chopping out a floorpan of an older vehicle might not be such a wise idea. However, by adding a fresher piece of steel would it upset the vehicle's chassis stiffness (as one side would definately be stronger than the other)?

[Golf Loon]

However, by adding a fresher piece of steel would it upset the vehicle's chassis stiffness (as one side would definately be stronger than the other)?

Both sides should be strong. That part of the chassis does not need to flex.

[Valver.]

There's too much rust in the substructure (i.e. between the panel layers) - you can even see it in the photos beneath the firewall, meaning you need to access these areas to fix them... in effect cutting most of the panels away! Despite what people say, you do need to be a skilled sheetmetal worker and welder to do a proper job of this sort of stuff. Rust spreads so quickly that it couldn't possibly be contained in that one location.

Mk1s are still not a rare thing and 90% of them are in better nick than that one, so I'd consider it a pretty easy decision - especially given that there's a few thousand dollars worth of repairs before you can even begin 'bodywork' as such.

It's also not possible to weld new floor sections to already weak sections of bodywork: they'll only end up buckling and peeling away. What I mean is, you'd be welding new floors to those chassis rails, which would already be rusting away internally and this is both a waste of time, and not safe.

Anything made of metal is repairable, but only some metal things are worth repairing!!

Have a look at this:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2728723

[Preen59]

I've gotta agree with valver. ANYTHING can be fixed, but in this case it isn't worth jerking around.

Pull the good parts off it and scrap it. It will cost you too much to repair and Mk1s aren't that hard to come by.

[572]

Thanks for your input guys!

Going over to Justin's this morning to continue taking it apart, see if there are anymore nasty surprises, and we'll make a decision from there. I'm leaning towards parting it out, so if anyone is interested in any parts please let us know!

[Jmac]

Mate you 2 fellas are obviously keen to have a MK1 so i wouldnt part it out man, keep all the good bits, from experience you might find a good one with a crap engine or the likes, you will find yourself one , put this one down to experience guys. You might have to go interstate , all part of the fun and its worth it , they are great cars.
Jmac

[Jarred]

From my experience, it's always handy to have a few spares lying around. Don't sell all the parts, but pull off all the good panels and bits and peieces and go looking for a mk 1 with a clean floor, and then choose which panels are best, and then it'll be nice and rust free (hopefully)