engine rattle on acceleration-help

[paul cass]

hey guys
thanks for the quick replys. a breif history. the engine ran fine, even with 225,000 miles. the tranny went out so i decided to rebuild the engine while the tranny was being rebuilt. my engine builder has been my builder for years and has built all the engines both for my cars and for my customers. i've never had a problem with an engine he built no matter how radical the build. this engine showed almost no wear. my daughter knows how to take care of her cars by maintaining regular maintenance. the engine was built back to stock specs including cam. as for as i know the new computer is correct for the vehicle. i'm sure the noise is not the lifters or rockers. they are of the pedestal type. with the timing set at stock specs of 10 degrees, when you try to accelerate the noise from the engine sounds like someone shaking a tub full of cans. i had to back the timing down to 0 to get rid of the nose. at 10 degrees after tds there is no noise even under load. but it runs like a dog and gets horrible gas mileage. i am a little suspicious of the knock sensor. the boss in the block cracked so it was drilled and tapped with a brass fitting and then the knock sensor was screwed into the fitting. it has the shorty tube headers. i will be seeing her this weekend for fathers day and would like to check out possible solutions while i'm there. can the knock sensor be by passed to see if that helps with the problem? i'll check the total timing as well. dad is getting tired of working on this car.
thanks for the help and happy fathers day,
paul