New Sears 14/6 with siezed deck

I just bought what I believe to be a 1977 Sears 14/6 model 917.25161 from a friends parents. I live in Chelsea Quebec and am somewhat handy. I drained the gas, added some fresh stuff and the Tecumseh roared to life. It sounds and smells alright and it seems pretty strong under no load.
The Deck(917.253540 I think) is 42 inches and has seen better days. It has a couple of 1 inch by 1 inch holes and is siezed. I have looked at the manual and am going to take it apart and find out what is wrong with it.
I like the site and have enjoyed the history of these old machines. I would like to add attachments later but for now I want fix my deck.

Is searspartsdirect.com a good source for parts shipped to Canada?
Are these mower decks generally reliable?
Any Advice or comments would be appreciated. Thank you

Your siezed deck is most likely the spindles the spindles that hold the blades. They have grease fittings, so try to free them up if possible, as the spindles are hard to find. Sears no longer has much in parts, but try any way, last year I got a bunch of Transmission parts, but this year I couldn't get anything I was looking for. To access the to end of the spindles, you have to remove the center pulley,(Which is likely the only other part that could be siezed) and pull the cover off the top of the deck. My 42" deck is in great shape for 37 years old, but I have a 46" deck that was a wreck, and I had to replace or reinforce most of the sheet metal in the bottom end. No parts, so I had to fabricate it from Automotive sheet metal. Good Luck.

I also believe I have a manual for the 42" deck, if it is the same as the one on the Suburban. I can email it to you if you send me your Email. sgdorcas@accesswave.ca

The problem with the 14/6 is it's a "custom" not a Suburban. Many parts do not interchange, i.e. the decks are different, suburban front attachments will not work on a custom.
Can't help you on shipping to Canada and good parts sources. You maybe able to find parts on sears parts direct, but probably Ebay or maybe joes outdoor power maybe parting one out would be your best bet.
That motor also uses the overhead valves in the head, make sure all debris is clean under the motor tins and if you can run it slightly rich, that will help keep head cool. The 16hp of that motor are notorious for dropping the valve seats out of the head, don't hear alot of the 14's doing it.