LA 318 valve train problem! I need help!!

Hi all I recently picked up a 69 barracuda. with a warmed over 318. When I got it I was told it was a solid lifter cammed 318. It sounded like one, but come to find out its a hydraulic cam. The noise is coming from no preload on the lifters, And 4 lifters have lost the plunger retaining clips! The heads look new, the cam looks new, pushrods are new, and the rockers look new. The pushrods measure 7.495" which looks to be close to stock. There is almost .020" between the vave and the rocker. I am new to these small block mopars and dont know what would cause this, other than something not being the right size or something being messed up! How much play are the Stock non adjustable rocker arms supposed to have on the shaft (up and down movement)? the rocker holes dont look to be perfectly round kinda egg shaped and this makes the arms a sloppy fit on the shaft. Is this normal or could this be my problem? Maybe the cam has a smaller base circle and I need loger pushrods?
Thanks in advance!!

If you're sure the lifters are hydraulic, I would start with a set of new rocker arms, on good shafts that aren't trashed-galled up. Normally the preload is pretty deep, even on most aftermarket cams. I wonder if your eng has too short replacement pushrods. If the intake is off, you can easily see how much the plunger in the lifters clears the clips, and make sure you have each cam lobe on base circle, one at a time to check the depth of plungers.

I would not run it if the clips that hold the plunger in the lifter body are not in place

The rocker shaft holes in the rocker arms are always a bunch bigger than the shaft. Why?? I have no idea but they always seem to be that way.

Thanks guys. After seeing the lifters are popping apart, I am not going to run this thing, until I figure out what the problem is. The shafts look new no galling, but Im picking up a set of new stock rockers and shaft, and going to get a set of stock low mile pushrods and see how they do. Othe than that, the only things it could be, is small base circle cam, too thick of head gasket, or the valves are shorter in the head, right??? Maybe these could be fixed with longer pushrods, or should I just start saving up for some adjustable rockers and pushrods?

I think I am going to just search for a set of old 273 adjustable rockers and conversion push rods, I was thinking about going with a cheap set of roller rockers, but dont know if I trust chinese rockers.

I had a similar problem on the 318 in my Barracuda some years back. I ended up with Proform roller rockers and slightly longer push rods to get the angle right on the rocker arms (you will need cup topped push rods with most aftermarket push rods). WARNING: 3 adjusters broke on my rocker arms while I was torquing them up to specs(Cheap China Junk) and I replaced them with Comp Cams adjusters that were great. Imagine if they had broken while my engine was running . Summit sells a pushrod tool to help determine the pushrod length you will need. I recommend a quality brand like Harlem Sharp or Comp Cams and iron factory rockers are awesome for a cheaper and reliable set up. Also, some aftermarket rockers will interfere with factory diameter valve springs/retainers - something else to check. Good Luck!

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The rocker shaft holes in the rocker arms are always a bunch bigger than the shaft. Why?? I have no idea but they always seem to be that way.

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Because there worn out...?