You did a beautiful restoration job! My husband used these turntables which were installed new at AM 580 CJFX Radio in Antigonish Nova Scotia, Canada. The year was 1978. And yes they took only an inch to attain full speed. The station used Harris Cart Machines, Gates Consoles, these turntables and new Ampex Reel to Reel Tape recorders in 1978.
Excellent job! and worth the effort. I have one too and love it to bits, mine is in a Panzerholtz plinth, with the same EPA B500 armbase and EPA A250 tonearm. An excellent tonearm in my experience as that superb on the fly is priceless for dialing in your carts sweet-spot, especially the more tricky to nail, stylus profiles, like the Fritz Gyger S on my re-tipped Ortofon Cadenza Black.
that's absolutely amazing job! well done! so beautiful, another level of beauty and mechanism... i own a 1210GR and i'm so happy with it. technics are just brilliant!