Anybody seen/ have one like it? For what he wanted it could easily follow
me home

There's a real good chance the headstock has babbit bearings. If they are
worn out, the lathe is useless till you rebabbit. DAMHIKT. You can check for
this by bringing a 2x4 along. Wedge it under the chuck and lift, if it moves
up enough that you can see it move (.020"?), you're in for this repair.
More trouble than its worth.

Karl