My dad bought a '47 where the motor would not turn over. He thought about rebuilding the motor but decided to just pull it apart to see what was going on. What he found was a single kernal of corn that had dried up and fell in thru an open valve when a mouse was living in the exhaust. That one piece of corn was keeping the piston from following thru the entire stroke and stopped it just before TDC.
He put the motor back together, and drove it for 2 years. Moral of the story? Open it up, see what is wrong before the most expensive route is decided. If you are doing a full restore, it would be worth pulling the motor to rebuild. If, like me, it's going to be a work truck, try to get it running first.
Just my opinion.
Good luck,
Dave
