Reminder: Valve Adjustment Shim Exchange

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Dan Sarandrea (Phila)

Waitin' On Parts...
Just a reminder that Alvon Elrod, longtime Mirafiori.com member and longtime FIAT enthusiast, is the current caretaker of what could be called the Mirafiori shim exchange.

Here's how it works:

1. After you take measurements of your valve clearances and existing shims, you will know what you have and what you need.

2. Send your "want list" to Alvon at ventura_ace at juno dot com. Even though OEM FIAT shims come in thickness multiples of .05mm, other sources for shims have manufactured them in finer multiples, so don't be afraid to ask for an intermediate thickness if that's what you need.

3. Alvon fills your order as best he can from available stock, and mails it out to you.

4. You remove the old shims and install the replacements.

5. You send back your old shims to Alvon and he adds them to available stock.

6. Don't forget to include some cash in the return package to at least cover Alvon's postage costs for the package he sent you, if not a few bucks more so Alvon can fatten up stock in the popular thicknesses.

If by any chance you have an excess supply of valve adjustment shims in the ranges of 3.61mm (0.142") through 3.86mm (0.152"), consider donating them to the Shim Exchange as Alvon tells me that they are popular sizes and he could always use a few extras in that range.

FYI: The shims used in the FIAT SOHC and DOHC engines are 33mm in diameter. Volvo also used 33mm diameter shims, while IIRC VWs are mostly 31mm. DO NOT use any shim that is not 33mm in a SOHC or DOHC engine, disaster will result.
 
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Thank you Dan for posting this, very timely. I was just thinking about the "exchange program" the other day...getting ready to do mine...and planned to do a 'search' of the forum to remember how it worked.
 
I might be hitting the exchange up soon. doing a repair on the wifes car (burned exhause valve) waiting for the head to come back and will be adjusting valves.

? did I see somewhere someone was talking about the fiat tool to remove the shims without removing the cam box ?
 
Rod Midkiff said:
I might be hitting the exchange up soon. doing a repair on the wifes car (burned exhause valve) waiting for the head to come back and will be adjusting valves.

? did I see somewhere someone was talking about the fiat tool to remove the shims without removing the cam box ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I make the tool you speak of. Available from Matt at Midwest.
 
I popped open the cam cover on my '86 and discovered the valves were out of adjustment. With the list of items and outlays for parts steadily growing I thought it might be worthwhile to contact Alvin and find out more about this "Shim Exchange". I don't have a valve spring compression tool so couldn't tell Alvin what I needed because, obviously I didn't know what I had in my buckets. Not to worry. Alvin has a shim kit and loaner tool for the newbies like me. He sent it out priority and the photo attached is what I got.
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The shims I took out of my engine are placed at the top so he can inspect and inventory them. The shims I used have been replaced with little pieces of card with the size written on them so Alvin can replenish the kit with the missing sizes for the next borrower. I was able to find a shim for every size I needed and easily got my gaps very close to the middle of the tolerance range. Mr Pimm's shim tool worked like a charm and I will be acquiring my own in short order. I can't imagine doing this job without one. Having a collection of shims also gives you a safety check in case of error stack up. You can always change out a newly installed shim if it doesn't work out as close as your predicted gap. Notice how almost all the shims I needed fell within one very tight range of sizes. If there is one weakness in using the kit it is this. You might need more than one of a particular size. Alvin told me if that happens he'll drop the extra shim in the post and have you back on the road in no time. Great service and a very nice guy!
 
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Excellent feedback, thanks for sharing. This is a fantastic service. We should send Alvin a token of gratitude for doing it - I'm sure he sends this out frequently to all of the Fiat community (SOHC and DOHC). Any suggestions how we can repay him?
 
Well, I suggest slipping a $20 or so in the box when returning it to cover his time and shipping expense. One thing he might need is a shim donation of new shims between 3.5 and 4.10 sizes if someone has a bunch laying around. Those tend to be popular.
 
I just got finished adjusting my valves. I e-mailed Alvon who takes care of the exchange on Saturday evening. He got back to me on Sunday. Then sent me the kit on Monday. Received it on Wednesday from California to the hills in Pa. Pretty awesome! He sent me a whole kit since I explained to him I didn't want my car down too long and this was my first time doing this. It was real nice to have all the shims there since my measuring skills are not up to par. He also sent along the tool to compress the valves. All you do is put the shim size you used on a piece of paper and slip it in the shims location that you took it from. That way he can get that size shim back in the kit. Alvon has all of these in size order. Then put your used shims in the back of the kit for Alvon to mic so he can put back in his inventory. Sent it back the following Monday with money to cover his shipping cost and a donation to the exchange.

Also Alvon said he doesn't here from the X 1/9 community very often. He would like everyone to know this is still available and would like more people utilizing it.
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Shim exchange success story part Deux!

Yesterday (4/17/21) Dan S and I performed the 2nd successful shim adjustment of my car, in the six years of ownership. This time the adjustment was due to a recent camshaft upgrade and not because of lack previous maintenance 😁
A couple weeks ago a I met with a few fellow Xwebers at, to install my newly acquired 9.75 Euro cam and perform a much needed timing belt service. The process went off without a hitch. The car even started on the first crank as if nothing had ever been taken apart!! (Thanks again Jon, Brian and Cameron!) After an 8hr round trip "test drive" of the newly installed cam; the valve train sounded more like akin to a freight train.
Which brings us to the topic of this thread. Utilizing the shim exchange Dan and I now have the car running a smoothest and quietest as it probably ever has!!
During the procedure we noticed a few details that definitely made us chuckle and scratch our heads. For instance: the need to use feelers in the upper .60s (intake) and low to mid .80s (exhaust), indicating that the camshaft was only opening the valves about half of what it should.
Interestingly enough; even that amount of lift and duration is an increase over the stock smog camshaft 🤷‍♂️
After our calculations we found that we were consistently using shims in the mid 4.xx range, with 4.48s being a reoccurring shim size!! We suspect that the use of a thicker cam box gasket, helped necessitate the use of thicker shims. As mentioned earlier; the car is very quiet now and purrs like a little Italian sewing machine.

Thanks again Dan; and despite what I said, I don't mind buying you lunch 🤣
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Hey Mike, it was fun working with you again, and having a nice lunch with you and Mrs. E :). I always like working on your car because it makes me feel 8" taller LOL.

Yep, no doubt the thick cam box gasket is what put your shimmage out of whack. Normally shim sets are light in the 3.6-3.9 ranges, but having the thick gasket not only should help with preventing leaks, it also meant that we were dipping into the well-stocked 4.4-4.6 ranges of shims, so it was all good.

I assume you dialed in the carb today?

Don't forget the "other" head scratcher---the fact that the factory shop manual gives two different sets of specs for valve clearances!!! Compare page 10-6 to page 10-73. Imagine that, an Italian shop manual with conflicting information--say it ain't so!
 
lanciahf said:
Dan,

Where did you get those shim boxes? I have a bunch of shims I need to organize.
Click to expand...
Those are actual shim set boxes from Italy. They are on more or less permanent loan from my machine shop buddy. It's been ages since anything needing shims has come thru his shop. I think there's a tray of 31mm shims still at the shop, IIRC these were used by VW.

Something like that could probably be made, start with a pretty thick and sturdy plastic tray, and some plastic rod stock. Cut the stock to length and just glue down with the right kind of glue.
 
They also have those boxes in metal, with individual square cells for each stack. Below is one similar to what I have. I bought it used with a large assortment of shims in it - some for the Fiat engines but mostly for VW engines.

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I noticed a listing on Amazon for the above box but I didn't look at the specs to see if shims will fit:

Amazon.com: 24 Compartment Small Steel Storage Drawer : Tools & Home Improvement

Amazon.com: 24 Compartment Small Steel Storage Drawer : Tools & Home Improvement
www.amazon.com

I'm sure industrial supply houses must carry them but they might be a bit expensive for it. Maybe see if your local hobby shop has something (e.g. plastic organizer). They are popular with "bead" work and similar uses.
 
A valve adjustment has been on my to-do list for awhile; it hasn't been done for at least 20 years/30,000 miles--and probably a lot longer than that. I've frankly been too intimidated to even think about doing it myself and was just planning to take it to a mechanic. But @Eastep's photos above are encouraging.

Could this be done by a total novice, with appropriate planning and (if needed) access to a garage/lift/lots of tools?
 
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