We just reinstalled the 390 in my son's 1968 F100 after a rebuild and got it fired up today. For some backstory, the engine had a blown head gasket and six bent pushrods (two were S-shaped and four were just bent) when we got it - those items, and knowing nothing else of its history helped us make the decision to have it rebuilt so we were starting with a semi-clean slate. (Also, all six bent pushrods were on intake valves if that is anything significant)

It fired up and ran great, but after the cam break-in we pulled it back in the shop to check the valve train setup using this guide: https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...little-secret/ . Following the instructions, there is no way that I could compress the lifters and make them bleed down. A little research on that topic kind of confirms what I found - they are often impossible to compress once they've been pumped up. I'm not sure how else to warm up the engine though...

This is the first FE that I've been into (and the first engine without adjustable rockers). Any other tips/tricks to setup the valve train with proper length pushrods? For what its worth, I couldn't get a .005 feeler gauge between the tip of the arm and any of the valve stems, much less a .100 feeler gauge. The fact that six were bent beforehand concerns me and I don't want to proceed down a time-wasting path if someone has some advice. Every video I can find on youtube concerning FE engines and valve train setup has aftermarket adjustable rocker arms. I did search the forums and couldn't find anything that directly correlated to this...

 

I would also like to know how to bleed down lifters that are pumped up
Not even in that link do they say how to do that?
Maybe over time they will bleed down but how long of a wait?

Who put the motor together or the valve train the shop or you?
I would think if you did this set up before pre-lube and startup you could check with a gauge but because the motor is cold the gap would be bigger.
Dont know why they dont give that cold measurement before start up and adjust with push rods as per the link?
Dave ----

 

By now those head valve seats probably have been ground down too often. Which raises the valves up thereby making a shorter pushrod necessary for correct rocker arm geometry. I remember many years ago when I sold a rebuilt Ford FE as a Ford parts man, the rebuilder would measure each needed pushrod length and mark the block with a small dab of paint in the appropriate spot. You will need an adjustable pushrod to find out what each rocker arm needs. There should be many videos out there on how to use one. Any engine with hydralic lifters will do for a video.