camshaft solid lifter adjustment (urq)

[ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com (Fluhr)]

If I am going to replace the valve cover gasket and camshaft oil seal,
I might as well install the Abt camshaft I received with the car.
Unlike my CGT, the urq has solid lifters which I will have to check
and adjust when I install the Abt cam.

The Bentley lists two VW special tools for adjusting the shims.  One
appears to push down on the lifter while the other removes the shim
(if I am wrong, please correct me).  This procedure would appear to
let you adjust the shims with minimal effort.

Can I follow the same procedure without using the VW special tools?

I helped my father shim the lifters on his '82 Coupe back in high
school, and we used something called Plasti-gauge (?) at the time. 
It was a strand of plastic that was crushed by the surfaces you wanted
to measure, and the width of the crushed section determined the gap.
Is this the best way to measure the lifters, or would a feeler gauge
work just as well?

Any other tips?

Thanks,
Eric
'85 CGT, '82 urq
---
Eric J. Fluhr                                Email:  ejfluhr@austin.ibm.com
630FP Logic/Circuit Design                   Phone:  (512) 838-7589
IBM Server Group                             Austin, TX