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Walt,
That looks like an emissions compliance sticker. Kind of like the sticker on a bottle of beer that says "Don't get pregnant while drinking and driving or operating heavy machinery". Everything on it is usually there for a reason, to meet the EPA emissions test for new cars. For example, the timing spec 3 BDTC +/- 3 means that the car does not meet the test (probably HC) past 6 BTDC. Unfortunately, since many (most) state tests are different than the EPA's new car test, you fail if you are not within the tolerances, even if you pass the state's tailpipe test. A common failure is idle speed. It must be that below 0.002" the overlap spoils one of the emission criteria, but I have never heard of a smog nazi opening up the engine to check the valve clearances in order to meet the failure quota set by politicians. It states that if anything is out of spec, refer to the workshop manual. That does not have a valve clearance range and states that if the adjustment tool (0.004") does not slide in, the clearance is too small. It would be a mistake to interpret the emission sticker as the valve adjustment procedure.
The most amusing story about emission stickers involves Cadillac. The emission sticker on one of their powerful V-8 cars also said "A/C Off". The smog nazi's followed the instructions and everything tested OK. However, when you switched the automatic climate control to On, the ECU used a different fuel and spark table that fattened up the mixture and improved the idle and drivability. 99.9% of Cadillac owner bought the car with the automatic climate control On and never shut if Off. The EPA was tipped off by an ex employee, sued Cadillac, and I think they settled for a big fine without admitting it was done "on purpose".
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Paul
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