a while ago i flushed the cooling system in my pinto and took me around four hours to get relatively clear water flowing out again...

now the engine's been standing in my garage with absolutely no liquids at all..

my main concern is:
is there any possibility that during the unknown maintenance the previous owner did to this engine (not much by the looks of it, there was only water in the circuit.. no antifreeze or anti-corrosion)that the cooling conducts may get corroded to the point that a hole appears or the conducts themselves inside the block get so corroded so that the coolant can mix with the oil? cos if it can... then there's not much of a solution to that is there?

Doubt the block would leak but would be worth changing the core plugs

so there is little chance the walls on the block could have corroded to the point of leaking?

Very unlikely, the core plugs are the weakest/thinnest part .

Change the core plugs, you will be fine. The chance of the block cooroding through is very slim indeed. The water channels are pretty thick walled.

A set of core plugs are only about £3. Whack the old ones with a cold chisel to roatae them so you can pull them out with a pair of pliers. make sure you tap the new ones in square and flush with the block.

David

Might pay to dig the crap out of the block before you fit new core plugs even though you have flushed it out