Head Shims : Source Please ?

[Robin_Holden]

Greetings all from a drizzly Charente in S.W.France.

Can anyone help with a good source of cylinder head shims please ? Someone who doesn't mind sending overseas.

I'm hopeless at making my own !

Very much obliged for any contributions ,

Robin [ ex-pat Brit in the Charente full of ex-pat Brits ]

[Ralph Wenzel (d)]

Jim Lee (See his ad in Vendor's Corner) offers a gasket cutter. I don't have this gadget, but everything else I've bought from him is topnotch, and he really stands behind his products, too!

[Robin_Holden]

Ralph , very much obliged for the information,

Thanks ,

Robin.

[Phil Coopy]

Actually Robin, if reducing the compression is what you are after,  adding head shims is not the best way to go in terms of 2 cy performance if the head has a squish band, because it moves it away from the piston reducing the squish effect.  Better method is to hog out the combustion chamber a little just above the piston.  Carl Shoup introduced me to this trick and with LA engines it works great. I have a jig built to do it on a lathe but you can do it easily with a Dremel and burr.

Pics below show a before and after of an LA40 head.

Phil

[Phil Coopy]

bump

[Steve Helmick]

Todd Ryan sells custom made head shims.   Steve

ryancompetition at aol dot com