Bathilda
... is the name of the Singer 403 that I scored for cheap at a local yard sale on Monday. Named for Bathilda Bagshot, in the Harry Potter series, who was (in the last book) a very old lady with a serious odor problem, inhabited (as it turned out) by a nasty magical snake. Substitute "disgusting roach" for "nasty magical snake" and there you have my Bathilda. (Seriously. That was gross.)
The horrible funk is going away as I clean her, and aside from the smell and the gritty, greasy film she's in remarkably good shape, just a few flea bites to the paint job. I have taken apart, cleaned and replaced the light hood, the stitch length lever, and the tension assembly. First time for me for all of those, and I'm enjoying the process.
Couple of questions for those with more experience: I have been using isopropyl alcohol to clean the sticky oil residue from easily reached areas, and it works well, but I have seen references to kerosene often. Any thoughts on that? Do you just brush it on and wipe it off as best you can, in the deeper recesses of the machine? Also, since these machines are by definition used and may or may not have been stored in the most hygienic of places, do you have any kind of quarantine you follow?