Water in oil 327cu/in Chevy

[deerefan]

I have a 70 chevelle that I put the first motor I ever built, a 327, in. Over the past 1.5-2 years, the car has sat dormant in my tractor barn. During this time, the mice ate some wiring and the car would not spin over the other day when I tried it. Well, I was servicing my JD 4020 today and while the battery was charging I looked over at the chevelle and decided to replace the wires and see if I could get her to fire up. Remember, this car has not ran in nearly 2 years. I fixed the wires and with a hot battery, some fresh gas and a little ether it fired up. I checked the oil before running it and it was clean, had a little gas in it but not much. After it ran for about 10 seconds, I pulled the dipstick and found the oil milky, a sure sign of water. The radiator was about 3 quarts low also when I checked it before running it. I do not believe there is a bad head gasket or crack in the block. The motor runs too smooth and tight for there to be that type of issue. Any thoughts? Can condensation do this in a motor that has been sitting a while? I plan to change the oil and retry next weekend. I want to see if I run it a few times a month if this issue still occurs.

 

[murphy1244]

Change the oil, that milk look is from sitting.Next time store it proper. Your brakes are probally frozen. Love that year, had two of those one a SS454 450HP other ss350.

 

[carpenter383]

Did it have plenty of anti freeze to protect it from freezing? Check your intake bolts for tightness.....

 

[carpenter383]

Btw I've seen engines run "fine" with a blown head gasket. If it's blown on a cylinder pressure point it will bubble if you look into the radiator with the engine running.

 

[deerefan]

Did it have plenty of anti freeze to protect it from freezing? Check your intake bolts for tightness.....

Yes it was 50/50 water and antifreeze. As for the head gasket, unless it failed while sitting, i dont think i let it run long enough for a bad gasket to let enough water in for what was showing on the stick. I kick myself for letting it sit this long but due to my first child being born and the wife's pregnancy being rough it was put on the backburner. Now that my daughter is 1, i plan on continuing the project. I am turning it into a bracket car, street/strip. I relocated the battery to the trunk, mounted the kill switch, removed the inner fenders and some other weight. The car, right now, feels like low 13s. It is not an SS and i bought it with no motor. I am running a T350 and 4.11s in a 10 bolt. Power is around 350-375. When i move it into my new shop, i plan to tear the motor down, upgrade the cam from 272 to 292, increase the stall 1500 rpm to 3500 and add a set of eagle (dart) heads. This should get me easily into the 12s, which is my goal for this motor. I have plans for either a 540 or 596 and am searching for the block now. I will update the progress.

 

[bucktaker]

I fear you have a cracked block.... just change the oil refill the radiator with 50/50 mix an wait till you are ready to really get her running. If you are planning on a strip motor you will need to pull it apart anyway.

one possibility is you have a "rust hole" in a water jacket that is allow water/oil mix. I have a "weep hole appear in a set of 1963 461 cast heads on my 68 camaro fortunately it leaks outside. didnt appear until I had the heads off while rebuilding

 

[Egon]

It is possible to have internal gasket leaks that do not show up externally. Also remember glycol and bearings are not compatible.

Maybe try a compression test???

327 = one nice engine!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[deerefan]

I fear you have a cracked block.... just change the oil refill the radiator with 50/50 mix an wait till you are ready to really get her running. If you are planning on a strip motor you will need to pull it apart anyway.

one possibility is you have a "rust hole" in a water jacket that is allow water/oil mix. I have a "weep hole appear in a set of 1963 461 cast heads on my 68 camaro fortunately it leaks outside. didnt appear until I had the heads off while rebuilding

I plan to change the oil this week and run it weekly. I hope it is nothing major as there is a lot of sentimental value in this motor. If its a head gasket or a head, no big deal as i plan to swap them anyway. I will post results soon.

 

[timswi]

I plan to change the oil this week and run it weekly. I hope it is nothing major as there is a lot of sentimental value in this motor. If its a head gasket or a head, no big deal as i plan to swap them anyway. I will post results soon.

There is also condensation...Especially in a humid environment with cold/warm cycles...I'd change the oil and see what happens.

 

[deerefan]

There is also condensation...Especially in a humid environment with cold/warm cycles...I'd change the oil and see what happens.

That is what i am hoping for. It sat for a long time. Keeping fingers crossed. Ive built many motors and never encountered this.