Chrispy_T

I laughed at "monkeyed" in the quote. That clutch would have shredded the input shaft bearings to hell and back. It would make the car a hell of a good massage chair, though.

A pair of piston ring pliers will help prevent breaking the rings but I've slipped rings on without them. I don't suggest doing it that way personally. You really risk breaking rings without the pliers.

Well, VS Legend, even leaving that little bit of space at the top, the shims still create a great deal of strength in that area. There's less area susceptible to flex, which is what causes that crack to form in the first place. While you are correct that shimming to the top is stronger, having that small place for the HG to bite into is probably the lesser of two evils. It'll be less likely to blow the gasket under very high cylinder pressures.

How much for the springs, B850? I'm in need of a replacement set and I figured I'd get the car a little lower in the process.