...well...I've been calling around, and the consensus is that it pretty much has to be the lifters - not that they're 'broken' or damaging anything...just simply worn out, and causing some internal slapping around and/or lose spring pressures or such. Now...I also understand that the Comp Cam I have is I think a 'High Energy' series stick, and as such it with the higher ramp rate it might cause some additional lifter noise, but all indications point to 'worn lifters'.

With all this in mind I've been getting several additional opinions from places including Hughes Engines and Scram Speed, and with a lot of unawesome lifters out there I had to dig for the good stuff, and that led me to...wait for it...Top Line Automotive/Hy-Lift Johnson, which coincidentally is where I got a set of replacement lifters for a noisy 440 (which did indeed eliminate the chatter, which was indeed coming from the lifters). I was going to order a set of #5006 lifters from Hughes (who sells Hy-Lift Johnson lifters) but they had two versions, including a high-performance 'quiet' slow-leak down set #5006S, but they first recommended I call HLJ to ask about the differences and how well they would work for my 'truck' application. So I called HLJ, and they informed me that there is yet another lifter they sell - same as the 5006S but with an additional feature - an additional oil feed port direct onto the roller bearings (of which I thought 'yes, please'). These HLJ lifters, #2269SE, are direct replacement lifters for the Viper V10, which very conveniently also happen to be direct-fit lifters for the Magnum V6 and V8 engines...and yah I nicely asked them to put a set of 'em in a box for me smile . Granted, my 360 won't be turning the rpms of a Viper V10...but it will be spending a lot of time at very low rpms when rock crawling, and having that extra oil port lubricating the rollers can't never ever be a bad thing, like ever. They also offered a military discount and I got them for $34 each, which for anyone shopping around is really not bad at all. USA made, good reputation, and all the features of slow leak-down, and direct oiling - win-win.

So, those will be going in soon, and I'm hopeful they will all but cure the (alleged) lifter chatter I've been experiencing thumbs

71 Demon (project): 318, A-833od, 8-3/4, 3.23's
14 Wrangler JKU M-380 "Kilroy" (under construction): Magnum 360, 46rh, Atlas4, D60/14b-5.38s-Grizzlys, 40s
07 Ram 3500 MegaDually 4x4 "Big Mack": 5.9 6BT, G56 'Toy Hauler'
52 Willys M-38 "Poncho"