If the liners are proving particularly tight to shift this is an indication itself the the top of the spigot where the liner locates has mushroomed significantly. Typical symptoms are initial movement of 1/4” (due to slight undercut on liner allows some relief) or so and then starting to bind.
How much liner drop do you have? (I assume less than the thickness of the shims?) The last engine I tried with sticky liners had perhaps .015” drop, as the owner just drove it to destruction. I made no attempt to repair and opted for an alternative good block instead.
No harm in trying with the shims, it’s only your time, and the k-series is so simple and quick to rebuild it’s worth a go especially if it’s your toy.
https://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/a...3&d=1529667167