I've got one I just purchased a few weeks ago in a state of 1 large lump of metal and a dozen marked baggies full of parts with WD40 in them to soak.
I am getting a kick out of the restoration part (so far - let's see how happy I am when I put said pieces back into said lump of metal!), but I'm doing it because I WANT to sew on it!!
So jump in, restore and use it. If you really hate the treadle part see if you can motorize it.