Actually, the lifters will be at their LOWEST point, that is, the base circle of the camshaft. I always adjusted hydraulic lifters by slowly tightening the nut with one hand while spinning the pushrod with the other hand. When you feel the pushrod start to drag, you are at zero lash-- there is no slack in the valve train but the valve has not yet began to open. Then you turn the nut an additional 1/2 to 3/4 turn. An easy way to remember which valves to set is to set the first three, skip one, set one, skip one and set one. Turn the engine over one revolution and do the same thing, only start from the opposite end of the engine. IF you are resetting valves on an engine that has been run before, bring the engine up to the TDC mark. Wiggle the rocker arms on each end of the engine. The loose ones are the ones to set, so you know which end to start on. If both ends are loose or tight, you'll have to pull the distributor cap to see which plug wire the rotor is pointing to to determine which cylinder is ready to fire.
