I've been reading that these engines do not have adjustable valves. Is that True? I have a loud ticking noise, not a rod knock though. I have yet to take off the valve cover to check.
The last adjustable rocker shaft 200 was the 64 and maybe very early 65 models. Ford went with hydraulic lifters in '63 then used up the adjustable rocker arms The only way to change clearances is by installing 0.060 in. over or undersize pushrods or replacing rocker arms to the early style rocker arms and push rods. Your problem sounds more like clogged oil passages not allowing oil to lifters or very low oil pressure.
It could also be a broken valve spring or a cam lobe wiped. Either way, you need to find out exactly what it is before running it again. Continuing to run it can result in disasterous results.
Any suggestions to easily unclog oil passages or raise oil pressure? Maybe an oil addictive like Lucas or Seafoam? Also this engine has spent most of the past 15 years sitting so it doesn’t have much run time.
Probably the rocker arm assembly is clogged with sludge, so has worn beyond the limit of the hydraulic lifters to compensate.
Used to be an oil detergent additive called CD-2 Alemite you could add to the oil to clean out the sludge. I used it back in the 70's and it worked wonders. You added that, ran it a hundred miles or so and changed the oil filter, then ran it another hundred or so and changed the oil.
When I rebuilt the 170 six in my 63 Falcon the machine shop had to vat the block 3 different times to get the passages clean. Machine shop guy said he never seen a block that bad that he had to cook that many times in his 45 years as a shop owner. Hopefully your problem might be something more simple
I'll stick with the rocker arms & shaft being worn because it's clogged with sludge. If problem was lack of oil to lifters, likely the engine would have already seized(of course it is possible the lifters are just gummed up). Oil feeds from pump to filter, to lifters first, then cam & main bearings. Oil to rocker assembly is fed from the rear main bearing, to rear cam journal, then up to rocker arm assembly. If the oil passages were blocked before the feed up to rockers, at the least rear cam bearing and maybe the rear main bearing will be wiped out. Note this oiling system is no doubt for the early solid lifter engines with four main bearings. I looked in '82 Motors Manual, found this same drawing is used. No oil system depicted in the '71 Ford shop manual.
I will take the valve cover off and clean everything I can get to. I will probably do an oil change and add Lucas or Seafoam and see if that helps. If there happens to be some slop in one of the rockers it there any place you recommend getting a longer pushrod to tighten it up?
