Thanks for the update. Sounds like you are making progress. It is hard to imagine how something like those valve adjustments got done. Things like have taught me to never be surprised at what I find on an old vehicle.

I agree that you need to gauge to confirm the dipper height. If I remember correctly the dippers on my car are fairly square. The idea is that you want them to just scoop the surface of the oil in the troughs. If they go too deep the bottom end of the rod displaces all of the oil out of the through. Plus it is adds drag on the rod throws of the crank.

If you look calculate the dimensional differences of the gauge you should find that the dipper only goes about 1/4” below the top edges of the trough.