I've got this early 80s 305. There is a ticking sound coming from the right front cylinder head when the engine is cold and warming up (usually around 1100 rpm). Does anybody have any ideas of what this could be and how I could fix it.

 

you could take off the valve cover and try tightening the valves. maybe one is loose or something

 

Not sure what youve got as far as a camshaft, but i'm guessing its got hydraulic lifters. So, usually a tapping hydraulic lifter when it's cold means its leaking down. They don't normally come out of adjustment, since theyre self adjusting. The only real way to fix this is to replace the lifter. Sometimes this noise happens when your low on oil, so you should be sure you have enough oil. Most of the time however, to quiet the noise people will use thicker motor oil, atf in their oil, or an oil additive like lucas oil stabilizer. So its up to you, you can "fix" it or repair it.