Hey all - I have a running 454 with unknown cam and lifters and no cam card, so I have no clue what the valve lash specs are. I was told the engine was bored out to 468 and "is still being broken in". I removed the valve covers and took a peak down at the lifters. They are held in by a c-clip and I've read that usually means it has solid lifters, not hydraulic.

I originally thought it had hydraulic lifters though because when I ran cylinder 1 up to TDC, I could not get a feeler gauge in between any of the stock rockers and valve tips. However, I must have not had the crank in the right spot because I have since rotated the crank to different positions and now I can get feeler gauges to slide in easily, which should mean I have solid lifters.

My concern though is what I should set the valve lash to. I know lash should be set with the engine hot, which I can do, but any idea where I should set them? I've heard a general rule is .020 for both intake and exhaust. My thought is to get the engine up to temp, shut it down, then check lash on each valve to try to get an average or a majority and then set them all to that. Hows that sound?

Other concern is that while I have not yet checked current hot lash, I did check current cold lash on several cylinders and I can easily get the largest feeler gauge I have (.027) to slide thru. Doesn't that seem too high, especially for a cold engine?

When I read that .020 is a ballpark figure for hot lash on an unknown engine, it was also recommended that ballpark cold lash should be .002 higher for an iron block with iron heads (which is what I have), so cold lash at .022. This leaves room for expansion as the engine warms up. Based on this, it seems like at least a few of my valves are lashed way too high since I can easily get my largest .027 feeler to slide in, right?

Thanks for any tips and guidance!

Thanks for the help. Confirmed solid, not hydraulic. Set all valves to .025 cold, and since its an iron block and heads, that shouldnt change much, maybe just tighten up slightly as it heats up. Seems to run fine on the hose still.

Now working on timing. Found out my old Accel dual points distributor was locked out at 36 degrees, nice. Going to replace points with Pertronix conversion kit, then recheck timing to 36 degrees. Should be good to go after that so another water test is next!

Hey there. No issues setting them all to .025 for me. Its been running great since I did that, put a Pertronix kit instead of points and re-adjusted the timing.