pontiacs don't have a adjustments the are set. chevy do. you have to soak them with oil and lub them also. if its a chev set them in with the rockers slightly loose so it chatters when running then adjust each of them slowly till they quiet then turn a extra 1/2 or what ever is recomended. if pontiac, you do have to soak the lifters with oil prior to install and use a lub for contact with the cam. set the push rods in and rocker assembly tighten them up till its snug then there is a torque amount to set them with.
Adjustable valvetrain or stock? ho4's right, stock rockers get torqued to 20lbs and that's it. Adjustables need the lifter on the base circle of the cam(valve closed) and then tighten till no slack under the rocker then tighten 1/2, 1/4, 1/8...whatever amount you feel comfortable with.
stock rockers and pushrods, but aftermarket Cam and lifters. I've read the 20 ft lbs and tried it, but with my old nuts was hard to gage when it hit that... That is with the valve closed always correct? Also, I am going to get a new set of nuts to be safe.
If your heads were shaved and/or the deck was cut a bit, and/or aftermarket cam is on a slightly different base circle, and/or pushrods are aftermarket and have a slight different lenght, factory studs and factory way of adjustment (ie no adjustment, just torquing to 20 lbs) can NOT BE USED. You then MUST go to adjustable valvetrain if any of the above have been done to your motor. That is, using 7/16 big block chevy studs and a rocker nut that "locks".
Unless the new cam has alot(more than a 068) lift, or unless alot of work has been done to the heads, you should still be fine with stock rockers and adjustments. After all that was the way they were originally made. Try chasing the thread with regular nut. The original rocker nuts are made to "lock" in place after tightened down. The stock 20lb adjustment doesn't require the lifter to be on the base circle. You might also think about getting some new rocker nuts becaue they are a bit like nylocs as far as after you run them down a couple of time they tend to lose that locking ability. After all that said, an adjustable valvetrain is a better way to go. Worth thinking about if you have to replace parts anyway.
The cam is a #2802 from Summit. Shouldn't be too far different from the 068 or 044. I think the nyloc material is a bit "used" for my liking, so I will replace those.
As far as the method, http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/rockers.html is what I am trying to use, but again the "feel" is is what got me in trouble in the first place. I will try again with new nuts or polylocks instead.
Definately go get yourself some poly locks. This method works best if you have the intake and valley pan off so you can see the lifter postion on the journal of the cam!
I'm not for sure but my guess would be that poly-locs and drippers won't work on the same heads. Some of the locs won't even fit under a stock valve cover period. The first set I got came with the Erson roller rockers. I had to use two rubber VC gaskets to clear the nuts. The set that I just bought are ProForm and are shorter so there was no problem but I still don't think they would clear drippers.
I have heard of the Crane Cams Cool Nuts which are shorter than a typical polyloc. These are supposed to keep the nut cooler in operation. Not sure if that will clear the dripper either?
