Clearly you have solid lifters. I am failing to understand the problem. Can you not simply adjust the lifters properly?
My gut feeling is telling me I do have solids, and I know how to adjust them. So adjusting them is not the issue.
But apearently the method used in the video will not provide sufficent evidence that I have solids, so that’s what going on in this thread atm.
Or maybe we are all overthinking it and you are correct 
You need to make sure the positions you’re checking are on base circle.
Adjusting solid lifters is pretty easy the way I do it. I look at the adjacent valve on each cylinder and try to get it fully open. Then adjust the (closed) valve next to it. Mark the ones that have been adjusted with a chalk mark. When all of them have chalk marks you are done.
The engine will run terrible if any valve is too tight. Something like .018" on intake valves and .022" exhaust has worked well for me.
On the same cylinder with warm engine, Set the Intake valve when the Exhaust valve starts to open, set the exhaust valve when the Intake valve is almost closed.
Bad news guys, found a problem, see pics:
As you can see, some pushrods are badly worn. I suspect non hardned pushrods were used, and also suspect too much valve lash (wich is definitly the case here).
Also some of the rollers on the rockers show flat spots and rust pitting.
So no bueno.
Looking at the valves themselves, they look ok are NOT mushroomd over.
My thoughts were to just get new pushrods and rollerrockers?
Not sure if it’s possible to just chance the rollers on the rockers themselves.
Better check the cam and lifters aswell I suppose?
I have seen worse. Probably a lot of miles. At least I would remove the intake (no need to pull the distributor) and look at each roller rocker before decising what other action may be needed. You are correct, it needs hardened pushrods. The roller rockers look inexpensive, you should get a good brand such as Harland Sharp.
Yes taking off the intake is the next step, let’s hope the cam and lifters are ok.
Alright, I removed the intake and with that some good and possibly some bad news.
If I’m not mistaken, these are indeed solid lifters right?:
Also, they all look this good, so i’m assuming the cam is fine
So far so good. But I spotted something strange on the intake, specificly the rear coolant passage.
It’s completly clogged with corrosion/coolant crystals. It’s like there is hardly any flow there.
See (blurry) pic:
The passages in the block both front and back are clean.
Front passage in the intake is also clean:
Could this be an issue? Or is it more common than I assume? i’ve done some searching online and found that some aftermarket intakes even block off the rear coolant passage because it’s not all that usefull?
Also, my coolant temps are good, no signs of overheating.
Good news: there are no rear coolant passages in a 289 / 302 / 351W. You are looking at the bottom of the intake manifold. It’s corroded because someone didn’t use a proper mixture of anti freeze and water.
Look like solid lifters to me. Hydraulics will have some sort of clip or retaining ring on the inside (looking at it from the top as in your 4th pic down).
looks like a hydraulic lifter, I think I see a clip on top and a oil hole in the side, been so long since I’ve seen one I could be wrong.
Edit, after looking again, solids also have a snap ring and a oil hole to send oil to the valves ,so back to zero for me.
Should I get new guide plates aswell? They don’t look worn but they kinda have an edge (all of them). Not sharp, but it’s not rounded over like you would expect?
Since i’ll be getting new rockers, should I order them first, then measure pushrod length?
Or can I just get the same length pushrods?
If I was living in the USA I would order them seperatly, but since i’m living in belgium i’m looking to save on shipping if possible
Guide plates look fine. Just need new pushrods and rocker arm set.
Just got my rockers in, installed the old pushrods and made a few revolutions with the starter.
I assume these are acceptable wear patterns on the valve tips?
If they are good, i’ll just order the same length as the old ones
Looks like that is “spot on” and you are good to go. Have you figured out the valve lash?
I was thinking
- Exhaust 0.024
- Intake 0.020
Since that were the lowest numbers I’ve measured, or should I go even thighter?
Setting valves hot is a pain,and I always found to be inconsistent because the parts are cooling during the process.The intake valve will expand about .001 at operating temperature,and the exhaust about .003.This gives you a running clearance of .019 & …017.The tighter exhaust lash will net you 2-3 more degrees duration,which is what a small block ford needs.You may experiment with smaller or larger lash settings,but smaller will make the engine lazy at low rpm’s.Pull both valve covers and pull the spark plugs so you don’t kill the starter during the job(it also makes it easier to stop the rotation where you need it).When the intake valve is almost closed,adjust the exhaust.Focus on one cylinder at a time.When the exhaust is just beginning to open,adjust the intake.Take off the factory nuts and use polylocks,and the adjustment should last several thousand miles.Adjustments should be so that the feeler guage has a drag on it when you slide it between the valve stem & rocker.Let me know if you have any trouble.If it needed an adjustment,you’ll instantly notice the engine is smoother,if you got everything right.
Thx for the advice, so you suggest setting both the intake and exhaust at 0.020 cold?
Intake is still off atm, spark plugs are removed and all rockers and old pushrods are out aswell.
You could set the exhaust at 22 to be safe, depends on the grind of unknown cam.