Valve Clearance on Larger Camshaft and Flat Top Pistons
Nowhere did I say clay will bend a valve, so you're being disingenuous. In fact, I mentioned multiple times when I measure with clay and heavy springs, which I've bolded below. While you may not, I have the time to relax and check in the fashion I explained, which usually requires checking once and not twice. If a tight clearance requires that I check with clay, I also have time to do that.
See post 45 where you say you can’t sneak up on it or however you worded it. The inference is the valve will hit the piston and bend it.
You already know your valve notch depth and in post 49 Bewy gave you your Valve Opening At TDC numbers.
Those are with no head gasket or lash. You have a MILE of clearance.
If you check p/v with checking springs you will have significantly LESS clearance than if you used clay.
If you grasp that concept then go ahead and do it with checking springs.
Like I said, I knew from your first post you were going down a rabbit hole and no matter what the logic given you’d want to do it with checking springs.
What you really wanted was everyone to jump in and say checking springs are how I do it and that’s the best way.
I say they are correct and I’m wrong.
I’ve seen some absolutely ridiculous ways to check p/v and one was in a video by one of the best know engine building shops in the nation.
The builder set the piston at 10 or 12 degrees or whatever position ATDC that he knew would be the tightest.
Then he put a dial indicator on the retainer, and then…get this…he turned the adjusting screw DOWN until the valve just touched the piston!! I could not grasp the level of stupid that is, especially since the rocker is aluminum and IIRC it had 380 on the seat. So at whatever lift it was probably close to 500 pounds of spring load. To do that to the rocker and adjuster was just mind boggling to me. And unnecessary.
Things like this start back in the “day” like the 1970’s or early 1980’s when 180 on the seat and 450 over the nose were Pro Stock spring loads.
That’s when and how they learned how to do it the quick and dirty way. And they keep on doing it because “it always works for me”.
Use the checking springs. Just understand that you’ll show significantly LESS clearance than you’ll have with the springs you are going to use.