I am finally ready to get my car around town and as i put new oil in the frersh 396 I noticed a frothy buildup in the valve covers. I pulled the covers and found shaving cream like thickness throughout both. I went to the local speed shop (there vary big on racing obvously) and he said that it was just condendsation even at the rate i was seeing. He thought since i had only had it runing in the drive way and a few times around the block that i was not getting the temperature high engough for it to disapte away. It made sense so i cleaned up everything and drove the car for an hour today up to 70 mph. i pulled the covers after and sure enough the shaving cream was back. I dont know what to do i dont think its a cracked block because i only have oil in the pan when i drain it the only place it appears is the covers. I also pumped the radiator hose to try to find a leak through the heads but i think the thermostat was closed.If the heads were cracked wouldnt it be in the pan and likewise for the intake manifold. I am all out of ideas and i'm starting to think about pulling the block. I want to have the car before high school school ends.(senior year) So if i make it change it will have to be soon . I happen to have a brand spanking new 454 bored .30 over fresh from the machine shop just lyeing around. so i have to move fast. Any ideas would help greatly

Aluminum valve covers ? Cold temps outside ? Not running a hot enough thermostat ?Is the oil in the crankcase clean ? Could still be condensation. Try changing the oil and using Mobil 1 and see if it goes away, synthetic oil seems to be much more tolerant of conditions that can cause condensation.
If it's still there, it might be worth taking the time to send an oil sample in for analysis. Most truck repair shops have the kits and I think NAPA might have them. Its pretty cheap (less than $20 ) And might save you some headaches trying to figure it out. The oil analysis will tell you if there is any coolant in the oil, among other things.
One other possibility is a cracked oil pickup tube allowing air to get in the system, but that should be frothing up all of the oil, not just under the valve covers.

Do you have breathers in the valve covers? a pcv valve, sounds like condensation to me too.

im running cast iron heads the engine is numbers matching. the temp outside is about 68-75. I do have a breather plugs in as well. It sounds fine i havent tuned it perfectly yet so its running a little rich

also the pcv valve is leaing the foam as well but its coming out liquid not foam obviously but it was gunking up the valve so i canged it and after the drive i could see that the valuve had let some liquid trickle down the valuve covers.

i would check the intake bolts to make sure they are tight. then do a pressure test on the radiator to see if it leaks. that is way too much for it to be condensation.

hope that helps.

thanh

[QUOTE=BBC396 I do have a breather plugs in as well. [/QUOTE]

Breather plugs? If you mean that the pcv system is plugged that could account for your problem. As already posted, moisture in the crankcase is normal but proper venting takes care of it. Considering how rapidly this "frothy buildup" occurs, it sure sounds like water is leaking into your oil to me.