Hi all:

When I rebuilt a couple of Vanagon air-cooled engines a few years ago I
noticed the barrel shims (the ones that go between the foot of the cylinder
and the crankcase) had "ridges" or raised metal around the inside and
outside circumferences caused, I guess, by the process of stamping them out
of sheet metal.   I spent some time lightly sanding down the ridges to a
certain extent before installing them.

 I just ordered some new shims from the Bus Depot - I'm going to increase
the compression ratio of one of the engines slightly - and these too have
ridges.  So, the question:

Is it really necessary to try and eliminate these ridges left over from the
production process, or is it OK to install them "as is?"

I can't imagine VW doing anything about these ridges back when they were
manufacturing these engines and, for all I know, the ridges get folded back
out as a result of the pressure created when the heads are bolted into
place.

Anybody have any thoughts?

TIA.
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Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
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