> about a week ago i started losing the pre sets on my radio stations(57
> beetle converted to 12v).when i would start the car i would notice the radio
> eaither not come on right away or flash or dim when i turn on the
> headlights(onetime radio came on but no headlights) for a few minutes.

I would check the battery voltage with the car off. On a new battery
you may see as much as 13.1 volts, but normally it's been my
experience that a battery in good condition will usually sit around
12.6 volts. Once the car is started, you should see this go up to
something between 13-15 volts.

You mentioned corrosion on the fuseblock, did this possibly get into
the ignition switch as well? How about the wiring? Did the wiring get
damaged at all(corroded connectors on the ends of the wires?). How
about the battery terminals and the battery ground connection to the
body of the car? Another place to check would be the ground strap
between the transaxle and the body.

Losing -everything- while driving tells me that the problem is
probably a bad ground connection at the battery, bad positive cable
going to the fuse block, or possibly a problem with the charging
system.

Chris