Hi John,
 mine is also a 1955 wide front.  My oliver has also  original paint.  I have been working on it and got it running  now. I purchased a manual for it and followed the electrical, and rewired it and it started up right away. My manual states its a 12v positive ground i believe.  It was sitting for over 12 years.  I was completely shocked it started that easy, i thought for sure the carb would need work.  I checked the generator and i got good output from it.  My waterpump is leaking, so its going to need a little more work.  I am up here in Canada so i am working on other things  also getting ready for the winter around the place.