So, up until recently I've had the shop take care of my tune-ups because doing the valves seemed like a pain in the ass. Turns out I was right.
I can adjust the valves on the bug quickly, so it is something I have experience with.

I got most of them set, but the ones closest to the front of the car on both sides are giving me trouble, on the driver side I kept adjusting out but can't get a feeler guage in there, same thing happeneing on the passenger side.

Is there some trick to measuring the gap on the forward most valves? I know they're hard to get at, so I'm hoping that there is a trick I don't know about.

BTW the engine in question uses heavy duty valve springs, I was thinking something might have been out of whack on cylinder #1 but it happened on the other side too...

I'll try again after work tomorrow, hopefully with some good advice to follow.

Practice, practice, practice. 10 more times and you will be an expert like the rest of us.

First of all, make sure you're on TDC for the appropriate cylinder (gotta check the basics).

You should be able to grab the rocker and move it up and down, if there is any clearance, and hear it ticking. I do that almost every time before even trying to get up there with a feeler gauge. I figure that if I do it enough, I'll be able to grab a rocker and tick-tick-tick and guess if it's loose or tight.

And I say, don't bother finding TDC, do it the way I outlined it in my lengthy post which can be found in the classics forum, right here on World. Mo' easier! I have always used the long style feeler gauges, available from tool trucks and maybe better tool sources and industrial hardware suppliers.

The Cap'n

I got the hang of it after the first 4 times or so. To get to the front ones, I slde all the way under from the back of the car, and lift my head up where the fuel pump is located. You can get a perfect view of what you are dooing from there.

good luck

" the ones closest to the front of the car on both sides are giving me troubles."

"I was thinking something might have been out of whack on cylinder #1 but it happened on the other side too"

Just to clarify, #1 is towards the rear of the car, so if you have it at TDC of # 1, you might be adjusting the wrong valve.

I too, do it like the Cap'n. Much quicker.

I meant #2. The ones that I'm talking about wont move by hand, while the other ones on the respective cylinder will.

I read over the crusty procedure, but couldn't print it out where i was, so I used the manuals. I'll print it out before I leave work today.

Could the type of cam make a difference?

Could the compression in the cylinders be pushing the valve out onto the rocker, and if so should I remove the spark plugs?

Nope and nope. The best thing to do whether the "Crusty Procedure" or not is to verify that the rocker arms are not moving when you spin the motor a bit one way or another. I do this from under the car by having one wheel on the ground and one in the air with the transmission in 5th gear.

If the rocker arms don't move, chances are about 99% that you don't have the engine set in the correct spot in its rotation.

The other 1% is made up most of "someone screwed it up last time" and a tiny chance of "cam is flat".

--DD

For completeness -- if you have a hydraulic-lifter cam, the procedure is completely different...

Used the Crusty procedure, much easier.

It's good, the ones I set yesterday we're right and the forward most exhaust valves wer'e able to be adjusted.

Thanks for the help!

Hydraulic's = go back over most of the time....do a rip for me!
( they have to load...LoL

No not hydraulics. I was asking about the cam because mine is one that is similar to a web cam, .434 lift I think.

I will be investing in longer feeler gauges.