Ok, I painted and numbered all four converter bolts and ran the engine for at least 10 minutes...not one scratch on any of them!

I put my ear up against the oil pan and it sounds like something is knocking on the pan.
I did weld in sheet metal baffles, but after the fist time I had this issue I cut out the front section in line with the windage tray because I thought the crank was rubbing the baffles.


I did not hear this before I did the baffles and converter,nothing else has changed.

Could it be rod knock? Failed bearing? I inspected the oil very closely and not a speck of metal in it,clean as it was out of the bottle.
The windage tray had at least a 1/2" cleareance to the crank and rods. Whatever it is doesn't seem to change the way the engine runs but the noise is driving me crazy... what am I missing here ???