Probably has been talked about before on here, I did search and was unable to find exactly what I'm trying to figure out. So here goes:

#1 - What would be the min clearance between crank balance weights/bellows/throws whatever you want to call them and the girdle? My smallest gap is still slightly over .030. Seems the best fit I get is when I have the studs in for the oil pan and move the girdle in the clearance holes of the studs all the way to the front of the block. Anyone use shim stock when torquing the nuts to prevent it from shifting?

#2 - Just how flat and what kind of fit do you really need with the shim packs under the plate on the studs? I have it where I measure it out to be. I laid the girdle on, put the nuts on and just hand snugged them. Went around the girdle between the oil pan rail and girdle and only 2 spots could i get a .0015 feeler gauge in. But the shims seemed to only have a slight bit of resistance, I could still spin them. I'm sure there is some non-flatness in the plate along with the pan rail so I thought this was pretty good. But, I'll be putting silicone at this joint. So how critical is it?

This is my first motor with a girdle, I'm wanting to be sure I do it right. If I were to do it wrong (shimming) is it going to induce unwanted stress?