Engine ticking / knocking noise

[Roscobbc]

Piston Slap is because it is an L82 - Duck for the Flying Pig!
Piston Slap is Ok - Duck Duck there is another one!
I could tell you a story about Piston Slap on a just rebuilt 350 I was sold in a car - stripped it to find one odd piston and one with a big piece missing out of the skirt, that of course was not in the sump - Caveat Emptor

I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to 'buy back' the super rare low mileage '71 429 SCJ Mustang I owned some 40 years ago. It had a bad knock on the engine. I was convinced it was a big-end on the way out. Someone else was convinced it was a cam related issue. I 'walked away'. It turned out to effectively be piston slap - I say 'effectively' because the complete skirt on one forged piston had broken away...........