Hardinge HLV new owner requiring information and help

Hi folks, I’m new to the forum and have recently (yesterday) bought a Hardinge HLV. I’ve identified the s/n to be HLV 0186 and is a British built machine. What age does this make the machine?
The machine has had the original feed motor replaced with a 24v dc motor made by hunter manufacturing co but is not wired up as of yet but it seems to work wired up to a 12v car battery fine.
The machine itself needs a good general tidy up but will be a nice we project for me to work on over the winter.

Are there any second hand dealers or private sellers in the uk who specialise in Hardinge bits and pieces (metric change gears, taper attachments 4 jaw chuck etc) I received very little with the machine apart from a number of collets and a three jaw chuck.

I would like to get a new chuck for it, what is the best chuck to be looking out for? Are spindle adaptors available?

Is there a way of adjusting backlash on the carriage movement. Although the bed has very little wear or dinks I suspect it is worn towards the head as if I apply the carriage clamp lightly at the head and move the carriage towards the Tailstock it is gets harder to move after the general working area of the bed.

The machine will require a bit of work but will be a nice addition to my workshop.

Any help or advice on the lathe is greatly appreciated

Scott