oil leak at the front of the engine, repair questions

I got the 8N that I was given started for the first time today, and it runs very well actually with the completed 12V conversion, rebuilt carb and tune-up.

I have a serious oil leak at the front of the engine, just under and in front off the govenor housing . I did not have a camera with me or I would post a pic of what I am talking about. I am not familiar with these engines, and is it very greasy. All that said, I cleaned it up as best I could and tried to find the source of the leak. It looks to me like it is coming from behind the cover on the front of the engine, behind the water pump. Timing cover maybe, that unbolts from the front of the engine, but the water pump, radiator, etc all look like they will need to be removed to get at it. It looks like it goes over the top of the crank, and mates on the bottom to the oil pan or a lip on the block, so I assume there are multiple seals that I will need to replace if I tear into this.

Can anyone tell me how big of a job (it looks like a day's work to me) this is and what gaskets I am going to need? I have some rear wheel seal leaks and it needs some brake work so I am trying to get a parts list together for my next order from YT.

That may be more than a one day job. It would be for
me. You may just want to run it for awhile and see
if the leak slows. If the engine has not run in a
long time the rope seals may have dried out. Running
may splash enough oil up that after some time the
seal may swell up and seal better. I suspect that
most rope seals leak some. If you decide to replace
the front seal you will need a pan gasket, timing
cover gasket, front seal and may be other stuff as
mission creep get you.

(quoted from post at 03:50:59 09/03/14) That may be more than a one day job. It would be for
me. You may just want to run it for awhile and see
if the leak slows. If the engine has not run in a
long time the rope seals may have dried out. Running
may splash enough oil up that after some time the
seal may swell up and seal better. I suspect that
most rope seals leak some. If you decide to replace
the front seal you will need a pan gasket, timing
cover gasket, front seal and may be other stuff as
mission creep get you.

Click to expand...

I was afraid it would be something like that. As one of my schoolmates used to say, "like a gristle, the more you chew on it the bigger it gets".
It has been sitting for at least three years, maybe closer to five according to the previous owner. I think I will take your advice and run it a bit to see it the flow decreases. I have other things like brakes to fix first anyway.