Buy it and put in the time and effort to raise it to the standard of the rest of your collection or pass and wait for a better example?
It's missing the power cord, the hinged door over the cam assembly, and has no feet or attachments. It has a few dings. No cabinet (thankfully) but also no carry case. I ran it using my 301A power cord (3-prong input on a 2-prong machine) and the light works and it runs, but slowly.
Fix it or part it?
Update: I have begun to refurbish this forlorn 401A.
As mentioned in the comments below, I purchased a hinged cover (the one with the decals) -- spool pins included -- and have both lubricated the captive bearing and cleaned the motor, i.e. polished the commutator, fired off the carbon from the brushes, cleaned the brass spring housings, etc. It had a broken stabilizing clip (replaced with one from an old Touch-and-Sew) and the insulation strip (the one that falls out when you take the motor apart) had been in the wrong position.
Not only does this machine now run, it runs like a bat out of hell. I now need to find a replacement cord and pedal and see if I can snag a box of slant feet and a cam or two. I'll then adjust the machine's settings to make sure all stitches can be sewn and I'll then put it up for sale.
I'm sure glad this is just a hobby, as I would have gone bankrupt long ago. As inexpensive as this machine initially was, I will likely put at least $50 into it in parts. Of course labor is never included. Still, it's a good feeling to get this thing running well if not quite sewing as yet.
