Technical Inline 8, Oily spark plugs? Tips are not fouled.

I changed the plugs in my '50 Buick over the weekend. It's got the original inline 8, 248. I bought the car last summer. It's been run in my driveway and around the neighborhood mostly. It also survived about a 20 mile drive to a local glass shop last fall before being stored for winter.

However, this is the first time I've gotten around to changing the plugs, oil, working on the brakes, etc. My question is this. The old plug tips weren't fouled or gummed up, however, the threads where the plugs seat, on a good 4 or 5 plugs, were coated in oil, some worse than others. The oil was mostly on the upper threads where the plug seats.

Now, I saw online this morning that spark plug grommets/seats can be changed. A few other places suggested changing the valve cover gasket. I'm thinking both of these fixes may pertain only to modern day motors though. The engine runs smooth, no issues with overheating, I'm not getting any smoke from the exhaust or engine itself, so I don't believe it's burning oil, but how can I get so much oil to burp from the combustion chamber without possibly a valve or ring leak.

Hoping it's a fix I can handle without a complete overhaul or sidelining the car for another summer. Kind of doubt this is "normal".

Looking for advice from the inline 8 gods out there. Thanks!

 

You would think that maybe the oil drained into the spark plug wells from the valve cover or something like that. Not from the cylinder on inside.

 

If it starts, and runs good, gap your new plugs and dont worry about it. Old cars that have not been restored leak a little now and then. Not enough to add a quart a year. Just enough to mark its territory.

 

I guess it could be maybe that...oil seeping down outside of head and into spark plug well... I've gotten other suggestions to make sure plugs themself are also tightened down enough and/or even the right size.

 

Are you saying the oil is running down the outside of the plug? Or working its way up from the combustion chamber? The difference should be obvious. If oil is leaking down onto the plugs, clean the engine then inspect carefully after a drive to see where the oil is coming from.