[Bored&Stroked]

Pete: Would be great if you give a brief description of how you grind/weld to set the lash - such that people can "visualize it" in their mind. Obviously one has to have a valve machine to do the work - and grinders will have a "mic" apparatus to measure how much you're taking off the stem. Some guys use lash caps as well.

Also, as some of you know, there are specific tools that can be used to measure the installed height - from the top of the lifter to the valve seat (I'm sure some of you have these tools or have seen them).

One thing that I started doing with my machine shop is that when they put new seats in, they do their seat work in a milling machine with a digital readout. This enables them to put the block in the saddle (off the mains) and machine the valve seats to the same heights - all down the line (due to the digital read out). This results in all the intake seats being a certain height and the exhaust seats being a certain height on each side. I then measure the first valve - to determine the length/lash I need . . . and it will be extremely close all the way down the line. This is how I kind of "get my head into it" before I start.

Another thing to ponder is that there is a certain amount of camshaft "flex" when running smaller base circle cams (due to high lift) and higher spring pressures. You can experience it more in the middle intake valves on both sides, than the outer exhaust valves. You'll probably not see it much on "normal" street grinds, but it does come into play on more radical grinds. Due to this, I always recheck the lash with all the valvetrain in.