2000TC problem after head refurb

Yes it's good to know what's wrong. I'm not sure that I can sort it though without removing the cylinder head again, which is a bit tedious.
I'll start by lifting off the camshaft and see what I find.
 
As Richard says, it's good to know. However, i still cannot think of something that you did while working on the other valve / seat that caused it sticking. Probably, it just happened to appear now. So, in order to avoid removing a freshly fitted cylinder head, the bodge inclined side of me, if the valve spring is not fully bound, would be tempted to apply some diesel / penetrating fluid onto the stem / guide and punch gently the top of the stem, just to see if this will persuade the valve to move somewhat.
 
That sounds a good approach. There is some movement in the spring - when turning the engine by hand I see the tappet being pushed down by the lobe of the cam then returning part way.
I'm just worried that the valve got bent when I tried to start the engine. It only ran very briefly but I guess that could have been enough.
 
In order to being bent by collision with the piston, since there was nothing wrong with the cam timing, the valve sould be solidly jammed in the guide. Again, i cannot think why this should happen, so your problem should be relatively simple.
 
Thanks, that is making me feel encouraged. It probably is just a build of carbon, perhaps dislodged when I used an airline to clean the head before fitting it.

Mind you, I do have a mental image of a loose screw sitting between the valve and seat. So the valve can open a bit further (the tappet had some movement) but can't close fully. I think the first thing I'll try is turning the engine until the valve is fully open then sending a blast from the airline through the plug hole. It might blow the obstruction out.
 
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OK, it's official - I'm an idiot! Or I need new glasses. Or both.

Anyway the good news is that the problem has been resolved and the engine's ticking over nicely. I still need to refill the coolant and sort out a couple of things before road testing, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

So what was wrong? Well the clues were all there. And a red herring - No.2 valve is an exhaust not an inlet. It wasn't stuck open, it was closed and unable to open. When I put its shim back into place I must have missed and dropped it outside the valve spring where it was sitting all alone.

So when I said the engine felt as if it was fighting against compression, it was. Cylinder 1 was drawing in air/fuel mixture and compressing it but not evacuating it, until the inlet valve opened again, whereupon it was blasted out through the carb, collecting more fuel on the way past the jet.

So an interesting little puzzle but not one I wish to come across again. Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement!
 
I am glad that it turned out to be something simple like this.
It is true that the shims in this engine is a fiddly enough job even when you are working in a nice, warm and well lit garage. Working outside during winter afternoons doesn't help a lot.
 
Given you had a burned valve before I suspect you may have dropped a seat, it would be sitting cock eyed holding the valve open.
 
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