Blackberry, Congratulations on your score!!! You will enjoy this machine when you get it all cleaned up and working. About the deco stitching - there is a gizmo called the plunger connected to the needlebar. It's inside the left-side door. It is two pieces which slide in and out of one another, like a small piston. If it is gunked up, it won't slide, which prevents the needlebar from swinging from side to side for zigzag and deco stitches. It needs oiling to get it moving. I could try and describe it, but better still - go to Yahoo and join the Singer Slant group. There is a ton of info there and the info on the plunger is in the Files section, I think. Also, read about putting a couple of drops of car oil - not sewing oil - on the upper motor bearing. Almost everything you'll want to know is in that group.
Tate