Yes loads of time in this ..too much ...must be a 150 - 200 hours so far.
so yes plate the sills and get rid within a couple of years.
i don't understand why its taking so long. feels like the hours are shorter than they were last time i did a car, or is it me being slower.
i would say that the rust is going to be the same on any connect of this age (2006) that hasn't been mollycoddled or waxoyled from new.
i can also see that in ten years time a mk1 connect will be a rare item, they will be extinct . i will be tghe only owner of a mk 1 left here ...lol
i can see how its got that way:
1. Many holes from outside leading into it,
2. Completely sealed from above so no condensate can evaporate out of it (meaning if its wet from condensate , which pretty much happens for half the year in the uk ...when the condensate becomes water vapour ..it has no where to go to ...because its sealed from the top, cars of old had sills that had holes that lead into the boot etc ) ..
3. No cavity wax - even though there is provision to put it in.
4. Poorly thought out design , with almost flat bottomed sills if you were parked on a cambered road.
5 . Too many box sections and fussyness within ..when one thick box section could have done it all,.
6 All box sections have flat bottoms that trap water.
7. Only thin electroplating on inside panels - no paint. (why do they put in each factory brochure pictures of vehicles being dipped into a tank of paint ..when there is no evidence that it ever happened)
8. No thought given that the vehicle could be parked on a slope or road camber. this is for all things, (note: I park mine on a sloped drive ,(rear facing downhill) and the channels on the roof fill with what seems like a couple of gallons of water that empties onto my windscreen when i leave the drive...you do get a clean windscreen everyday ..
i haven't moved onto the engine layout yet ..but all that gubbings at the back of the engine (most of i cannot see or workout) , all looks hard to work on .
all the best.mark