Thanks Doug.
The Centerforce clutch has been working well. There is plenty of metal on the diaphragm fingers. I will check bolt length when reinstalling the pressure plate. The flywheel is Centerforce as well. It is a combination of aluminum and steel, and it seems in good shape.
I think the source of the noise was the sheetmetal block protection plate. I could see that it is warped after removing it. I may just eliminate it (make the bottom part into a dust shield for the flywheel).
Here is the Centerforce flywheel.