NP440/A833 Pressure Plate, Help Please!

[84GMC15tepside]

Hey guys,

I've been putting my 350 engine together and getting ready to drop it in the truck. Currently, I am putting on the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate so I can then mount the NP440 to the engine and then drop it all in the truck. I got my original flywheel resurfaced, and I got the clutch on and pressure plate mounted. While using a clutch alignment tool, I evenly bolted down the 6 pressure plate bolts in a star pattern. The bolts are shoulder bolts and have lock washers on them (The shoulder bolts and lock washers look original to the truck). Being shoulder bolts, the shoulder is supposed to stop the bolt from going in the provisioned flywheel holes once the shoulder hits the flywheel... but probably because it's the original flywheel, the shoulder continues to go in the flywheel holes when tightening down some of the bolts...

1. I don't think so (because of the shoulder bolts), but should the pressure plate be flat against the flywheel?

2. I assumed not to the above question... So I used a flat washer off my work bench as a thickness gauge. I tightened down one of the bolts until the shoulder hit the flywheel and I stuck the flat washer between the flywheel and P.P. while tightening the bolt until the flat washer was almost stuck. I yanked the flat washer out and went to the next bolt (in a star pattern)... until all 6 bolts were tightened down and the distance between the P.P. and flywheel at each bolt were the thickness of the flat washer. Is this an OK method to use? (By doing this the pressure plate is an even distance from the flywheel all around, and the lock washers should hold the bolts in place)


Sorry for the long thread, I'm just trying to make it as clear as possible!