Lincoln "K" Technical Questions

Hello,

This is my first post to this forum. I recently purchased a 1931 Two Window Town Sedan at an estate auction. I have never owned a vehicle older then a 1950 GMC truck. In other words, I'm a novice. The motor was rebuilt by former club member Sig Stinsman in 1978, but was never reinstalled in the car. It is mounted on a 4 wheel flat cart. I plan to restore the car using this engine. I'm uncertain as to the condition of the engine and would appreciate any advise about steps I could take to determine it's condition. It is not seized. I was able to rotate it a few degrees from the flywheel. I pulled each plug and looked inside the cylinder. The piston tops look clean. The oil site glass appears to be clear. I'm not sure if there is oil in the motor. I prefer to not pull the heads unless that must be done to determine condition. I've considered purchasing an inspection camera to look into the cylinders, but am uncertain about the need to do that. I'm located in Northern Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati. I would like to locate a good local mechanic who is knowledgeable about these engines. All the parts required to run the engine are not attached to it. I don't want to try to start it prematurely and risk damaging the internals. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

I need to determine the state of the engines internals and rather or not I should prepare to run it. I'm considering purchasing an engine stand so I can rotate the engine and drop the oil pan. I'm unsure about the weight of the engine and what type of engine stand to purchase. I read on a Ford forum that flathead engines should not be attached to engine stands from the back of the engine where the bell housing attaches because it will not support the weight.

I have attached a picture of the engine on the 4 wheel cart. It is not sitting on the oil pan, There are higher bolt hole positions on the iron uprights that the rear of the engine is attached to. I might be able raise the engine on the current stand an re-attach it to the iron uprights. That might give me enough room to drop the oil pan and inspect the bottom end with a mirror.

I'm also considering pulling the heads / valve covers, but am unsure about the availability of new head gaskets. I have three head gaskets that came with the car. They look to be unused. I have attached pictures of these gaskets. I think there are two McCord 5631 and one Victor 846. The copper patina can probably be cleaned up and the small bends made flat if I need to use these.

What do you all think about this situation, should I pull the oil pan and valve covers / heads? What have others used for an engine stand? Are the attached pictures for the correct head gaskets for the 384 cu inch V8? If not, where might I locate new gaskets? Thank you.

Olson's has your head gaskets:

https://www.olsonsgaskets.com