Jejdanecky!

Did it overheat at some point? If so, how badly?

Blowing a head gasket is not in and of itself fatal to the flathead Ford engine, be it four or eight; but people in denial CONTINUING to run bad head gaskets just because the engine will still start and run is the main reason one hardly ever sees an old Ford V-8 series with the original flat-head engine in day-to-day use any more.

If you see one of these in traffic it will almost always have the 302 out of a Fairmont or something because the original engine was run with a blown gasket until it overheated and cracked the block. All because the owner thought, "Well, I see oil in the coolant, but it runs ok..."

But if you must start it, ALWAYS pull the drain plug and look for signs of water in the oil first. Only takes a second, and can save the bearings.