no matter where they are adjusted at some point the rollers dont touch. do they need to be die grinded or is there a trick to adjusting them?

how are you adjusting them? step by step please.

hand cranking each cylinder to top dead center then adjusting them down to 3/4 turn

go 1 full turn. the lifters will bleed down a bit if they have a few miles on them so that shouldn't be a problem. that's probably where the play is coming from.

my lifters do have some miles on them 10- 15000 id say

you saying that when the lifters pump back up they should be fine?

The rollers don't touch what?

should be yes...how much play are you talking about?

its not really play. well i guess it is on the wheel.its just enough so the roller spins freely. it looks like the rocker are itself may touch the retainer at that point but it didnt leave any marks for the short time i had it started.

where the rollers do touch on each cylinder the rollermark is perfectly centered on the center dot of the retainer

you are talking about where the roller tip touches the top of the valve right?

yes

it's ok to have a very small amount of play after you have adjusted them and hand rotated the engine especially if the distributor isn't in cause then the oil pump won't turn and the lifters will definitely loose pressure. gm manual says use a .00015 feeler gauge, tighten until the gauge is pinched between rocker arm tip and valve stem, remove gauge and tighten 1 complete turn and ur good to go unless your rocker arm studs come loose which is a differen't story i have for a differen't day..lol

my distributor is in and i had the car running today but only for about 15- 20 minutes.thats when i noticed the extra chatter and decided to pop the cover again.

did they chatter immediately or only after running for a few?

it seemed to me i didnt hear the noise until it ran for a few

if you are absolutely certain you only put 3/4 turn on each after the play was removed ( i spin the pushrod with my thumb and index finger ) then i would put 1/4 more on each as it sets without going thru the manual rotation to make sure they are closed. start it back up and let it run paying close attention to hopefully the quietness of the valve train. if it starts quiet and then gets noisy after it runs for 10-15 minutes then you may have studs coming loose which really sux. it is oiling well i would assume?

my friend is a very experienced mechanic and he said the roller should never be off the top of the valve. he says i need to clearance them

it seems to be oiling well. i havent run it with the valve cover off to really see

are the lifters stock, how many miles, stock cam?

its an older slp set up. ive got their roller cam 502/510 lift and the roller lifters they used to sell with the cam

i dunno dude, i'd try the 1 round first to see if it helps, if it's quite then gets loud i'd check the studs assuming they are press in, they may be coming out on you...or you could always do it the messy way...

my studs are torqued in 7/16 size