I haven't used one in a long time but I do recall that by screwing the adjustment screws on the bottom clockwise it was possible to get it to the point where anybody would think the resistance was too much.

If you can't then something is not right - the springs being worn out comes to mind, although I've never heard of it but it is logical and I do see them for sale.

I recall that same problem with the clamp not going down far enough. If there's still some "available" threads when it bottoms out you can sometimes slightly bend the wing bolt wings upward a bit and remedy that, although those type of wings can break off so be careful. An alternative would be to glue something like a rubber pad on the kick hoop. The piece of wood might work better on the hoop than under the adjustment screw.

I used white lithium grease on my springs... I didn't absolutely pack them but I goobered them up pretty good.

TriFlow works great on all the rest of the pivots, it's spray teflon and I prefer it to WD40, 3 in 1 or any other petroleum type lubricant, but they will all work.

As far as motor oil... I recall several times when a pedal squeaked at gigs, going out to my car, pulling the oil dipstick and letting a drip or two do the trick on the pedal. Unless you walked to the gig you have some oil there!

I always had to loosen that screw/washer on the bottom of the pedal that lets you choose how the heel works, and put a small piece of cardboard in there, and then tighten it up so that the heel part wouldn't rattle.

There's others here who could date this much better than me... my guess is late 50's.

$20 is a steal.

I think the SpeedKing design is a great one! It's still my favorite pedal and I have just about all the current hot pedals. The thing about the SpeedKing is that it's somewhat non user-friendly to work on.

Generally, the old SeedKings can bind because the grease they used to lube it, originally, gets old and hardens. At that point, it needs to be cleaned and re-lubed. You'll get a few different stories about how to do that.

You might be able to check it by removing the bottom tension adjustment screws and then spraying some WD-40 (it fixes everything!) into the tubes that hold the springs. Some of the flecks of old grease will dissolve and start coming out. The springs may fall out, too, so be aware of that and make sure you put the pieces all back in the proper order. Once it's cleaned, you can re-grease. But, I have heard tell that some people used motor oil to re-lube the shafts. The only caveat is that the oil will leak out. The grease will stay put.

Some people like to pry off those little chrome caps on the upper section of the tubes. I've never done that and I think it might be a little bit daunting for a newbie.