Donna,

I'll second Bulley's recommendation to adjust them.  On the 2.1 used
engine I recently installed as a conversion on my '84 the valves had
apparently been adjusted to zero lash by the folks who did the head
gaskets 40,000 miles earlier, and they had opened up quit a bit.  A
couple were over .030 and you could hear them tapping.

I adjusted them to the two turns Bentley recommends, and all is fine so
far (6000 miles). You can have them do less than two turns, but a
hydraulic lifter needs some pre load, otherwise you are losing all the
benefits of their self adjusting capability and might as well have the
old fashioned solid lifters and adjust them every 10,000 miles.

Have a great trip, and be sure your coolant hoses are in good shape.  If
they are original you might want to bite the hard, expensive, bullet,
buy a set, and have your mechanic install them along with a new German
thermostat.  I don't know when you are leaving, but if it's any time
before fall it will be HOT on you trip which will stress your old
hoses!!  (At the very least replace the two short fat hoses that connect
the pipe from the waterpump to the right head and the tstat housing to
the left head.  These get hot-hot-hot, and usually fail first.  My guess
is that one of these is what caused Ron Solomon's disaster last weekend.

Have fun, sounds like a real adventure!
--
Stuart MacMillan
Seattle

'84 Vanagon Westfalia
'65 MGB (Driven since 1969)
'74 MGB GT (Restoring)

Assisting on Restoration:
'72 MGB GT (Daughter's)
'64 MGB (Son's)

Parts cars:
'68 & '73 MGB, '67 MGB GT