Hydraulic lifter preload...who really checks this?

Kern Dog said
Somehow, I'm the guy that has stumbled through this hobby sometimes not doing things the way that I am supposed to be doing.
I've never checked or compensated for installed height with valve springs. I've never experienced valve float or kissed a valve with a piston.
I've never checked or adjusted end play in a crankshaft, I've never measured piston to wall clearance either.
I've adjusted valve lash with solid lifters but never gone the other way with a hydraulic lifter. With small block Chevys, it was customary to tighten the rocker arms to zero lash then turn the nut 1/2 to 3/4 turn more.
Here we are as Mopar guys and we have rocker shafts that are non adjustable. I've rebuilt several engines, had milled heads, decked blocks, different head gasket thicknesses and have not seen any adverse effects from the lifter preload not being checked and/or blueprinted to spec.
This topic comes up for me because I'm doing a Hydraulic roller cam swap in a big block and Dwayne Porter told me about what the spec is for lifter preload with the Comp Cams Evolution lifters.
I have a 1990 360 that I'm also working on and it came with a Hughes 1.6 rocker arm set. I'd be okay with just settling with a decent set of stock rocker arms but now I'm wondering if I should be concerned with lifter preload on the 360. How do you adjust that with a stock shaft mounted rocker arm setup? Do you perform a mock up with an adjustable length pushrod and determine the preload with a dial indicator?

Comp says evo's have about .125" of travel. Verify this. If you use an adjustable Hughes rocker 1.6 ratio. you can do the following. Start with the intake. If the valves are all at the same height you only need to check one on each head.

1. turn the motor in the direction of rotation until the exhaust lifter ( paired with the intake lifter you are checking) starts to rise or when the ex. valve would start to open.

2. Assemble rocker arms and push rod loosely until the push rod is at zero lash or slightly loose. If the shaft isn't bottomed out yet loosen the adjusters screw until you can. if you can't get the rocker shaft all the way down with the pushrod at zero lash or slightly loose then the pushrod is too long and you need a shorter or better yet an adjustable pushrod.

3. when you get to zero lash or slightly loose with the shaft snuged up lossen the adjuster until you can feel slight up and down movement then turn back in until movement is gone. This is zero lash.

4. I think Hughes uses a 7/16" x 20 tpi on their adjusters. Verify that. Turn the adjuster 1 1/4 turns in. this will be .0625" or at mid travel of the lifter.

5. Contact Hughes to find out what the accepted range is for positioning of the adjuster screw. When you find that range use the middle of the range. if your screw is already in that range you're good. If not while keeping track of how far you turn the adjuster, turn the adjuster to the center of the acceptable range.

6. (For a 7/16x20 tpi adjuster.) Multiply the number of turns times .050. Add that to the length of your pushrod if you had to loosen the screw. Subtract from the length if you had to tighten it. This should be the length of the pushrod you need.

If someone sees and error here please point it out.