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Not that the metric system doesn't have its own moments. Consider the standard for determining the metre length unit. The basic unit of length in the metric system; it was originally planned so that the circumference of the Earth would be measured at about forty million meters. A meter is 39.37 inches. Today, the meter is defined to be the distance light travels in 1 / 299,792,458 seconds. Based in science? Yes. Intuitive? Not hardly. I like the definition of the kilogram better: The kilogram is almost exactly the mass of one litre of water. Consider, by contrast, the definition of the inch: The old English ynce was defined by King David I of Scotland about 1150 as the breadth of a man’s thumb at the base of the nail. To help maintain consistency of the unit, the measure was usually achieved by adding the thumb breadth of three men—one small, one medium, and one large—and then dividing the figure by three. During the reign of King Edward II, in the early 14th century, the inch was defined as “three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise.” At various times the inch has also been defined as the combined lengths of 12 poppyseeds. Makes one pause when considering the implications of having a 427 cubic inch engine in your car.?

Every time I see how clean and open your workspace is, I want to cry. I have my garaged Z supported on wheel caddies (one caddy per corner, four caster wheels per caddy) and I have brace myself against a wall to generate enough force to make the car move. Looking on the brighter side, I'm thankful to have a paved floor, a roof over my head, decent lighting, and locking doors so that my tools won't vanish when I'm away from home. No social distancing issues either!

It's finally time to move the jig ... lets see if the dolly plan worked .... custom lifting tool .... ...caster bolted up ... repeat ... easy peasy ....

The one that works is R cut.

This is my dream garage .... Complete with the triple decker of course ....

Post classified intel on the world wide web??? I've said too much already ??? #batcave

Haha - thanks! It wasn't always this way ... So I have a friend that is an aircraft enthusiast and retired mechanic. The aircraft crowd are super clean and organized relative to car guys. When I first got my space he stopped by and during the visit he just casually slipped in the following phrase: "They say a clean workspace invites you back ....". To this day I am not sure if I should be insulted or grateful ...but my workspace has never been tidier

I am very grateful for my back yard “shop”. Having a 24x26 heated double door garage to use exclusively for the build has been the saving grace in this project. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Social isolation will spare most. Sadly, the risk takers will have and cause the largest fatality rate. I can't help but be reminded of Darwin's theory of "Natural Selection". The slowest and the dumbest are the first to die in a herd of wildebeests.

Yeah, That all looks like so much fun I'm starting to wonder why I spent so much money to find a rust free car? And this as close as I could get to a pristine minimalistic workspace. Hah.

[mention]ConVerTT [/mention] I think people need a shot of your shop(s) from the outside... Might help people see the big picture! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They definitely more red than the air cleaners. Very red. Just did a little test. Ford Red from Duplicolor is VERY close. The hue and overall shade feels really close to the original. Fresh spray on the right, old patina on the left of the square drive hole...

Sorry, I missed this earlier note from @grannyknot. Wish I could remember where I got my gauge chart from (it dates back several years). The discrepancy between GK's values and those from my chart are large, so I just went looking for another source and came up with this one from machinemfg.com (website for a machine manufacturer). I wouldn't call it a definitive source, but the values coincide with the chart that I posted... www.machinemfg.com/sheet-metal-gauge-sizes-chart-inch-mm/#Sheet_metal_GAUGE_thickness_chart So then I searched for a chart for the American Wire Gauge (AWG) and discovered that its values agree with GK's... www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm None of my sources are definitive. If someone wants to post the tables from an accepted engineering reference like Shigley's, that would resolve the issue once and for all (I never could afford that book when I was in school and just used my employer's copy after I got out into the workforce). It appears, though, that we've tripped over yet another facet of wacky world of 'gauge' measurements -- that is, that gauges have different 'thickness' values, depending on whether you're looking a wire diameter vs. sheet thickness. Another vote in favor of metric.

Here’s some pics:

Well the fuel pressure regulator might as well be coming from the moon, it is being held hostage in a USPS warehouse in Niagara Falls while my border pick up service sorts out their Covid staffing so I did a temporary soldering job on the old one and seems to be holding for now. Yesterday I got that installed, jumped in and turned the key and bloody thing started up! Could not believe it, there is always 4-5 issues to be sorted out first, I sent a big Thank You to Kassel Performance for doing such a nice reprograming job on the ECU. At least it is idling well, haven't taken it out for a run yet as I buggard one of the oil cooler lines up and have to make another one before starting it again. On the video of the second start up there is a high pitched whining tied to the revs that I'm not sure about, I'll have to post the vid to the E46 M3 forums and ask the guys if that sound is normal for an S54 engine. Then I can start doing some testing on the VVT vanos system to make sure I have the proper pressure.

I would be in for a set, and also hoping that the cdn dollar is stronger by the time you have them ready.

Try and find a long screw driver, pry bar, steel rod, something that you can use to pry between suspension parts to see if there is any slop or movement. When you have the car up on jack stands you may not be able to find a problem just by using your hand, a little extra leverage can help. It could just be that your shocks are worn out and need replacing. Post some pics if you can.

Your all good my man I’ll take any advice I can get I’m 17 and want to learn as many things about my z as possible I will bring it on the lift tomorrow and start looking around for anything that sticks out thanks for the help :) Sent from my iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile

Forgive me for stating the obvious but jack it up and have a look. Make sure all suspension bolts / nuts are present, check for broken spring, dead or leaking strut, broken anti roll bar mounts, damaged ARB etc etc

2 coats of sealer, 4 base and 3 clear.

BTW, I bought the U-channel from McMaster-Carr - 10ft of part no. 24175K63 "U-Channel Push-on Trim Flame-Retardant, 3/16" Wide X 13/32" High Inside". Here are a few pictures of the process and the end result. It was much more of a PITA than it should have been. Windshield part of the roof rail with padding glued on and vinyl pinched into place with u-channel molding. . I trimmed the padding to be the full width of the rail, but only applied glue to the wide flat part so that the u-channel could fit under it (allowing the padding to overlap the u-channel). When gluing the vinyl in place, I started in the center and worked my way to the sides. I did not apply glue to the padding, hoping that it would make it easier (and more forgiving) to get the vinyl stretched properly into place. I still ended up with some wrinkles in the corners, where the sun visors attach. Here's the pinch molding attached to passenger side roof rail. And, then end result: