OK, hopefully those came through!
So I put some oil in hopefully all the right spots (I followed the manual) and it does sound a little better now. It has that "clicky" mechanical sound I'm not used to hearing but it runs nice and everything seems to be happy. (I like the sound) The motor sounds growly compared to my modern machines but seems to work fine - everything spins and it doesn't get hot or smell funny, anyway! It's not loud or grindy, it's just a "motory" sound, if that makes any sense. This is the first machine I've sewn on with an external motor so I think I'm just not used to hearing it so clearly.
One problem...I can't get the clutch to disengage. The manual says to rotate it counter-clockwise. No luck, if I really crank on it, the needle & pick-up arm start to move even if I'm holding the hand wheel steady. I drizzled some oil into the oil hole there but I don't know what else I should do. I haven't tested winding a bobbin yet but the winder mechanism seems to move correctly.
I think I do need to replace that rubber drive wheel after all. It doesn't have a flat spot, but it's been worn convex over the years and doesn't have a very good grip. I have to give the wheel a little push to get 'er going. So that plus the bobbin rubber tire. Not a bad list! The cord even feels nice and flexible, no cracks.
I was happy to discover the light works too! I didn't think to test that so I'm glad to find it's working.
I didn't take any pictures underneath but it's nice and clean under there, just some old oil traces but nothing gunky or dirty. This machine is definitely used, but it looks like it's been well taken care of too.
I sewed on a test quilt sandwich and it stitched right through no problem. The stitch isn't as straight as I would have expected, though, considering this is a straight-stitch machine. The stitches look just slightly slanted. Not really a problem, just not what I expected. I got the tension just about perfect now, just a nudge on the tension lever did the trick.
All in all, after a much closer inspection...I'm pretty darn happy with it.
Now I just need to figure where the heck it's going to go in my sewing room!