Shims, trailing arm 65 convertable

[Jack Steele]

My judging manual does not specify what type of metal finish the shims should be, The ones that I took out ( replacing rusted arms) are a combination of raw metal and plated metal, most have GM stickers on them with part numbers. (both raw and plated types)

Thanks for any information given,

Jack Steele. graduate, Bubba school.

[Joe L.]

Re: Shims, trailing arm 65 convertable

Jack-----

Are you sure that the ones that you think are plated are actually plated. I don't recall ever seeing a GM trailing arm shim that was plated. It's possible that in later SERVICE some were plated, although all the ones I have are plain steel. The shims that you have which have GM part number stickers on them are definitely SERVICE shims; PRODUCTION shims would not have had these stickers.

In any event, it's my belief that original shims were plain, carbon steel, although it's possible that in the later C3 era the shims were changed to plated.

The original shims for 1965 would have had an "oblong" hole in each end. I DEFINITELY don't recommend these for use on a car. Use the slotted type. Installed on the car, it's virtually impossible to discern, anyway. The slotted type make for a MUCH easier alignment process and greatly increase the chance that you'll get a good alignment from your shop.

[Steve Wallach]

Re: Shims, trailing arm 65 convertable

All trailing arm shims I've removed from my 67 and 68 were plain steel.

Steve