So which came first the chicken or the egg...... the detonation or the oil consumption?
The oil consumption is causing your detonation.
On the first go around with my 334 SBC, I used Total Seal rings. The car started using oil right after break-in and never tapered off.
I was positive that the rings never seated. As time wore on, it started using LOTS of oil, up to the point that it would spray raw oil
out of the tailpipe and onto the bumper of whoever was parked behind me at work. Kinda like a Wagner power painter. Yet it passed
the compression test with flying colors. And there was a "tick" inside the engine that I never could find. That's when I parked the car
18 years ago with 19K miles on this engine. I don't know if I really did have a ring sealing problem, or not. What did happen was that
due to insufficient valve retainer to seal clearance, the cam lobes and lifters went bye-bye, and all that metal went through the engine,
destroying everything. It badly scratched the cylinder walls, embedded in the sides of the pistons, bearings, crank journals, etc.
While the valve seals were new, there was no noise. In time, as they hardened, a very light "tick" appeared.
The cylinder wall scratches were not at the top, so it would therefore pass the compression test. I'm not saying that this is YOUR problem,
but if so, then don't spend too much time troubleshooting, because you will be doing more damage. A compression test with the pistons at
BDC should reveal this problem.
When I rebuilt, I used regular Hastings moly piston rings and I now have miles of clearance in the valvetrain.
Again, not saying that this is your problem, and I know you checked, double-checked, and triple-checked everything.
Even so, shit like this sometimes just happens. Seems like always to me. I hope it's a minor problem in your case.