RE: Valve Adjustments

[Rick Ricker <Ricker_R@mediasoft.net>]

Alfa valve adjustment shims are quite soft and can be reduced in height
somewhat by the method described by Michael.  I had a race motor with
8mm valve stems and the GTA type shims are only available in a couple of
sizes which are very thick.  To do the gross "adjustment", the shim was
placed on a junk valve and run into the valve stem wheel on an old
fashioned valve grinding machine.  To get to final thickness and smooth
the surface, we then put 400 grit wet or dry on a piece of glass and,
using p-oil as the lubricant, ran the shim around in figure 8 patterns.  
As they say when you buy high performance parts, some assembly required.
It's a heckuvalot easier to have a box of shims handy when you do the
job.

The shim can be soft as it only supports the follower, which takes the
wear from the cam lobe.

BTW, the procedure with the sandpaper on glass works well to dress the
top of the liners where they seal to the head gasket.