Kam and Briano,
Thanks again for the replies. Kam, you are completely correct in your assumptions; my Rabbit had a 1.7L in it when I bought it. That engine was totally shot, and I had an impossible time finding pistons for it so we thought it would be easier, better, etc., to just get a 1.8L engine for which parts seem to be much more widely available and rebuild that. New slightly oversized pistons, rings, bearings, seals, the whole deal, and a freshly rebuilt head appropriate to that engine. The original car had no air conditioning, but I believe the engine we have came from a car that DID, so mounting the alternator was problematic. We fabricated a mount for it that relocated it so that the pulleys all lined up, but I need to revisit that... it won't keep tension on the belt and I have to tighten it up every day. We also put headers on it rather than the original exhaust manifold. That's the back story...
So, yes, I'm attempting to do exactly what you surmised; I reused as much of the original ancillary stuff from the 1.7L engine as possible and followed the vacuum diagram for the 1982. There ARE two connections to the vacuum advance on the distributor, and I do not have an idle boost valve. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read all the information you've posted on the other site about the CIS system, duty cycle and OXS tests, and idle/mixture adjusments and I think I understand them well enough to start going through those procedures. However, and I'm embarrassed to admit the following, but I'm not sure if there's a catalytic converter or oxygen sensor on the car right now; I had someone else do the exhaust work. I'll check and let you know. If they've been removed, how should I proceed? Should I try and find an idle boost valve and plug the second vacuum advance port? Do I need a different ECU for the 1.8L engine? The oil pressure sensor that's screwed into the valve cover is the wrong one; it only has one terminal on it. There's tons of other little gauge/buzzer/idiot light gremlins too, but at least it's running and driving for the first time in forever. I attacked the safety issues first (new brake lines all around, thorough check of the steering and suspension compenents), and figured that engine/performance stuff should come next... I want to get a lot of miles, years, and life out of this fresh engine. After that, I'll start sorting out the dash/sensor issues.. unless there's some interrelatededness there (if that's a word).
Obviously, my goal is not to get the car back to it's original factory condition and setup. I'd just like to have a fun car that I can take my muddy dogs to the beach in without worrying about it, BUT get the most performance out of what I have and enjoy driving it in a ... ahem... fairly spirited fashion when the dogs aren't aboard. Good gas mileage is also a plus these days, of course. Right now, I'm only in the mid-20s, mpg-wise. It's got the typical cold start woes that so many others have written about, too; catches right away, stalls right away... repeat that maybe three or four times, then you can keep it going by pumping the gas pedal... a minute later, everything's fine and it drives fine.
I've got some time tomorrow to do some puttering, as long as it's non-strenuous physically. Anything requiring heavy lifting or the like is going to have to wait 24 hours. Command, and I shall go forth and perform said tasks.. <grin>.
I know you have a ton of things more important to do than read my ramblings and solve my problems, but... well... I AM very appreciative of the help given so far, and would be grateful for any time you're willing to continue spending on this.
Thanks again, both of you.
Best wishes,
Barry