Congrats on the new to you machine!! Its wonderful that you know some of the history behind her and now you can continue the stewardship.
I dont know if I would try to force it to sew through all of those heavy layers. But I have not used one of these only to test run it after I repaint it. So hopefully some of our more knowledgeable members will pitch in and let you know about that. Cant wait to see photos of her!!!
Billy