Oil in the intake manifold

[pip007]

Just taken the (twin Stromberg) carbs of my 1970 US-spec S2 to try and solve a starting problem (I think I have sticking needle valve). In doing so I noticed that the inlet manifold is full of oil. Not seen that before. Any idea how the oil may have got in there? There's a lot of oil so I'm guessing it is not damper oil. Related question: would oil in the inlet manifold cause engine not to start? (the reason I took the carbs of in the first place). Thanks.