Hello all, it seems like I have ongoing bad luck. I got the car inside after sitting out for 2 months in some heavy rain, to change carbs, the oil and get ready for winter storage. I put on the new carb, new plugs, and changed the oil. The oil had a hint of water (on the dipstick), but when I pulled the drain plug- It was straight, solid, clear WATER. for about 30 seconds. It then changed to black oil...the oil was not grey or milky......just clear. I put it all in clear jugs to seperate out. It looks like almost a gallon of clear water was in there. No hint of green antifreeze, and the radiator is still full. The plugs had no water on them. I pulled a valve cover (driver side) and there was very minimal rust. Any thoughts on all of the water in my oil??? What do I do now??? It seems like one thing after another, and hardly any fun with this engine. Thanks everyone.

Since no one's replied so far, I guess I'll chime in... You've said the radiator is still full and there's no hint of green antifreeze in the oil, the primary suspect is the heavy rain you mentioned. Is the engine intact? I mean are the valve covers on as well as the intake manifold? The lack of green antifreeze means the water is coming from the outside, not internal to the engine. I'd look for any way the rainwater could leak into the engine. Have you removed the distributor? The distributor mounting hole would be a real easy place for rainwater to get into the crankcase.

Get yourself a radiator pressure tester and pressurize the cooling system for several minutes. Then recheck the drain plug for water after 10 minutes or so..
If you see water, try to lower the coolant level in the block below the intake gasket height (but still above head gasket height). Pressurize again.
If you still see water, lower again below head gasket height and pressurize again. If you still see water, your block is in trouble.
This method may hopefully indicate to you where the leak might be.
I had water in my oil and it turned out to be the intake gasket. No water appeared in the oil after dropping the level to just below the intake.

i think 427 hit it if you have anti freeze in the motor and the water is clear in the pan i would think the water came from the storm you had

How would the rain have gotten inside the engine? Was the hood off? Was the air cleaner off?

The motor was complete, and running. Valve cover, breathers, oil filler, air cleaner, carb, distributor, everything. I think the hood is a 396 SS type ( with the two chrome louvers), and it was on and closed. The oil is not milky at all, so I don't think I ran it at all with the water in it. I think maybe I should pull the intake manifold and look for a bad gasket or a crack in it ( since it was used)??? Thanks for everyones reply, and have a happy thanksgiving.

If you have antifreeze in the radiator and the water in the pan was clear then it didn't come from the radiator. End of story. If it leaked from the radiator it would be green. Have you pissed anyone off lately because the water came from someplace.If the radiator is full then I would shoot a little mystery oil in each cylinder, fill it with fresh oil, turn it over with the plugs out,and then drain a little oil out. If there is no water then I would fire it up for a minute or 2 and check the oil again. If still no water then I would run it until warm and check the oil.

I see you live in New York . . . are you sure you had anti-freeze in the cooling system? If not maybe the block froze and cracked allowing water from the engine into the crank case. If the thermostat stayed closed the radiator could possibly remain full and coolant from the engine leaked into the oil pan.

I sure hope that's not the case -- but if the hood was closed and air filter was on I doubt the water could have been from the rain -- unless the car got submerged or there were some REALLY high winds.

A prank is a definate possibility too . . .

The coolant in the radiator is at least a 50/50 mix, and has been like that since the motor went in. I havent heard of coolant and water seperating out when sitting, and the radiator hasn't lost any coolant....so it seems the radiator idea is out. I have the itch to pull the intake in case there is a crack in it somewhere that isn't very visable. I guess it could be a prank. We had a ton of rain and wind here over the last 2 months, like 10 inches in two weeks, so it's possible that it's rainwater----the question is where would it come in? In any event, my firewall MSD box isn't producing spark now......maybe that got wet also? Well I appreciate everyone's thoughts, and have a good thanksgiving !!

If the MSD box is dead and full of water it would pretty much have to be rain . . .

With that much wind and rain it is possible the low spots on the intake were filled with water. That could point to intake gaskets and distributer gasket(maybe). A paper air filter could have gotton saturated to the point water was making its way through to the carb. Just a few ideas to check.

a little rain water sitting on the low spots of the intake and leeching in arouind the bolts or thru the intake gaskets isn't gonna put THAT much water into the crankcase. unless the car was submerged for a while.
same with a damp air cleaner. if it was going in thru the carb like that for a couple of months, then the throttle shafts would likely be covered with rust if not outright rusted shut.
i'm guessing someone put that water in there- you might want to find out who and why.
i'd probably think about pulling the oil pan to see if everything is all rusted up inside there before you go trying to start it up. if it is, time to pull the engin and clean things up and put new bearings, rings, and oil pump in it. and maybe even a new camshaft.

In 1989 (I think it was '89) I had an 84 Camaro that went through Hurricane Hugo parked outside at the Naval base in Charleston, SC. At the time it had an open element air cleaner with the stock hood.

It was parked only a few hundred yards from the Cooper River on the highest ground I could find. After the storm, it had about 2" of water inside the car and insulation from damaged buildings stuck in every nook and cranny in the car. It had paint chips all along the drivers side of the car, but no major damage.

There was no water in the crank case and it started right up. Maybe I was lucky, but that was a class 4 hurricane and no water got into the motor. That's why I keep going back and forth on whether this case could be rain water.

With that much wind and rain it is possible the low spots on the intake were filled with water. That could point to intake gaskets and distributer gasket(maybe). A paper air filter could have gotton saturated to the point water was making its way through to the carb. Just a few ideas to check.
Do you have a K&N air filter with the side and top filter? Isn't the hood you are talking about the kind with the two screens with one on each side of the air cleaner? With 10 inches of rain plus high winds, could water get blown in? Who or why would anyone take the time to dump that much water into someone's engine? If the valve cover gaskets were leaking oil out, why would they not let water under pressure leak in? I would bet that if you change the oil and filter just the way you were talking about, everything will be fine. Just my thoughts plus I am not paranoid.