Jay,
The substantial rise in compression with the addition of oil, usually
points to worn rings. (I assuming you only used a small amount of oil in each
cylinder.) This would also account for the excessive oil consumption.
The valve clatter could come from several sources. Worn rocker bearings are
one that comes to mind.
If you can get your hands on a mechanics stethascope, it is great for
pin-pointing the source of such noises. With the engine idleing, valve cover
off, move the probe from each component in turn to isolate the offending
item(s). Then, if possible move along the length of the component to find the
source.
But before you do that, I'd suggest you double check the clearance . Set
the valve clearance to that suggested by the Manual or the cam manufacturer,
if you have an aftermarket perfromance cam. The book on an 18V MGB engine if
for .013" with the engine warm and .015",engine cold, for the earlier engines
Rick
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