Classic/Antique Car Repair: ROCKER ARMS, valve lifter, pontiac gto

Question
HI, I HAVE A 1967 PONTIAC GTO.I REPLACED THE ROCKER ARMS. I SCREEWED THEM ALL THE WAY DOWN IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY.
                           THANKS JOHN

Answer
No, these have to be adjusted for proper valve lifter operation.  

Loosen all the rocker arms until you can feel play in them by rocking them with your fingers, then tighten them until the play is JUST gone, then tighten them 1/4 turn further.  Start the engine and let it idle until it warms up (just set the valve covers on to keep the oil spray from going all over the place).  The valves will be very noisy, but don't worry about that now.  Once the engine is warmed up, set the idle speed as low as you can without the engine stalling.

Now you are ready to adjust the rockers:  Take off one valve cover again, and just go down the row tightening the rockers with the engine idling until each one quits clacking, then tighten that one 1/4 turn further - and move on to the next one.  Keep doing this until each one is quiet and STAYS quiet.  At first, they will quiet down and then start clacking again in a few seconds - don't worry about it, just keep tightening them 1/4 turn at a time until they are quiet and stay that way.  When you have them all staying quiet, tighten them all slowly, 1/4 turn at a time until you have gone one total additional turn and you're done.   The engine will stumble as you tighten each one, but it will settle down and run good again in a few seconds.

Dick