What did I miss?

[RUSTY Cuda]

K today a cust stopped by to p u some filters & turns out to be a car guy, so I start her up & let him listen, He thinks the noise is not in the motor but in the flex plate area, he takes off , I put the front end back on jackstands, pull the starter, drop the shield, d**n there tight, give em all a tug anyway & start her up, still sounds like a jamacan steel drum band down there, now as far as I can tell the torque converter still has not pumped up yet, trans still shows overfull & I have 3 qts left, never put it in gear(got absolutly NO brakes in it)  & the plate was never off the motor.
So A, what could I have missed when we put the tranny in & or  B, when does the converter pump up & could that be the noise? Thanks, Rich.

[Moparal]

Is the starter shield or dust shield hitting?  Mine was and the noise went away when I started the car with the covers off. Also, are the converter bolt heads thick? They will hit on the block if they are. And the pump works in neutral not park....

[RUSTY Cuda]

Well this time I left the cover off, so thats not it, It has the original thin bolts on it, tomorrow I'll run her in neutral & get it pumped up & full of fluid & pray that quiets it down, again if I bring up the rpms a little over idle it quiets down, almost like something is out of  balance? Rich.

[Jacksboys]

The customer could be right.  I had a problem like this with the race car.  We found out that the new flex plate bolts were just a hair too long and no matter how hard they were tighten, the noise was still there because they were bottoming out.  We put the original ones back in and wow no more noise. Just my 
Good luck on the fix.

[Got JOB]

Flex plate might be cracked.

[Alaskan_TA]

Did you make sure the converter is seated all the way in the trans before bolting it up?

[Moparal]

I was wondering about that and if his holes were wbbled out too.

[Chryco Psycho]

I assume the converter had room to float back away from the flex plate when you bolted it together ?
 the other possibiltys are the craked flex plate or bolt haeds are too long & hitting the inspection cover , have you started it with the cover left off ?

[tactransman]

Check your transmission pump.............here's how:

1. Check your fluid level on the dipstick before you start the engine,remember where it was on the stick.

2. Put the transmission in neutral,start up the engine (be careful if you have no brakes!) the fluid level should be lower with it running in neutral than with the engine not running.

 If it does not change, transmission pump is shot!

[RUSTY Cuda]

Ok waited for todays test session to reply, I had removed the starter & inspection cover to check the bolts, put back the starter only, cover is now off.
fluid showed overfull as I stated before, started it up in neutral this time & let it warm up, checked level, was now low, put in the last 2 qts & she's right on, pretty sure I  did get flow cause I had a small leak at the radiator fitting.
Noise is still there , at idle really bad, bring up the rpm's 100 or 2 & she quiets down, another friend stopped by & also seems to think flex plate area, Got greg 340 comming to work tomorrow, I'll let him put a third set of ears on it before I pull the tranny back out!
Engine sounds pretty decent to me, considering timing set by ear, leaky plug wires & a carb thats been sitting for years, light & radiator press tester coming with greg tomorrow!
Might be a bumb question, but since I right there about this stuff, here goes, could the bolts be too tight? Rich.

[tactransman]

Sounds like transmission pump is fine.
What all did you do to the car? Rebuilt engine and transmission, first time starting it?
Sounds like converter bolts hitting the back of the block like Moparal mentioned, small blocks have more clearance than big blocks. It's a small block right? (avatar pic?)

[Moparal]

Since I'm not there to see what's going on, and it should be fairly easy to diagnose internal/external since it's a small area, here's 2 more wonders I have. Well I got more then 2 but just trying to keep it simple.

Oil galley plugs in the back of the engine. Are they all the way in? Cam plug in rear, is it set deep into the seat where the cam will not travel and hit the plug?

Converter hub wear? thats the 2 ears that drives the pump. You said 100 rpms makes the noise go away? Oil pump pickup hitting on windage trays?

You make this too much of a guessing game.  Not much can happen in the bell housing that hasnt been mention already. Use a garden hose to your ear as a hearing aide and see if you can't pin point the problem better. Could even be the bushing for the distributor shaft far as I know.   Good luck and let us know....ALAN

[RUSTY Cuda]

Ok a little history on the parts, the motor 360/tranny727 were supposedly rebuilt shortly before storage, car ran with no "bad" noises & also moved under it's own power (but I never had it on the road, just moved it around the yard) before I took it apart, we changed the oil pan gaskets, checked torque on all the bolts down there while open, all right on, there is no windage tray.
motor was on a stand for 5 yrs, spun by hand every month or so, each time I poured a little oil into each cylinder, tranny also sat outside for 5 yrs, just cleaned it up, put on a deep pan, new filter & fluid, flex plate was never off the motor & pretty sure trans was installed properly(I had help for guys who have done it many times.)
So I can't answer about the stuff on the back of the motor, the guys thought it was low milage by the looks of the internals. So thats where I'm at now, all new fluids in, carb is also as it was, but doesn't seem to be a problem, she fires right up, does not flood out or load up, actually sounds pretty good other than that noise! thanks for the tips, I'll keep trying, greg will be over tomorrow, We should have time after work to at least let him listen to the noise, if there's daylight left maybe have him spin it by hand & I'll inspect each bolt for "rub" marks & damage to the plate, will get back with the results when in, thanks,Rich.

[RUSTY Cuda]

some more experienced ears took a listen today, crawled under to take a gander & noticed the play in the plate(you can move it & the converter back & forth about 1/4") thinks converter to motor bolts or bad plate(maybe holes ovaled out?) So the trans must come out again, I don't think I ever messed with those bolts but maybe started too & then forgot I did(it was a while back that I cleaned up the motor) anyway it's an aftermarket plate on there, anyone got a good cheap stock plate layin around? Rich.

[Chryco Psycho]

there are 2 sizes , I probably have one