[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Tom Pugh

yeah, the shims are supposed to give you the needed clearance between the ring gear teeth and the starter pinion. I used both of the supplied shims and its not enough to gain the clearance needed. I'm also going to check the flexplate to be sure it is within spec. This is a new build so the flexplate is new. Unfortunately, it's already installed in the car and bolted up to the trans so removing the flexplate will not be fun.

I've seen as many as 6 starter shims in a Pontiac with an automatic so don't quit with only 2. It's rare to use more than 2, but it's not unheard of to use more. For some reason the stick cars many times use zero shims, automatics can be all over the place.

I'm not sure if you're aware that there are 2 thicknesses of shims, 1/64th and 3/64 I've seen starters shimmed nearly 1/4".

Some buicks used a half shim on the innermost bolt to cant the inside of the starter at a slight angle away from the crankshaft centerline, this shim was glued to the starter before the starter was hoisted up to the block.

Also not out of the question that the nose was made incorrectly due to poor Q/C.

I'd stack a few more shims before pulling the flexplate.......