Rai
An end view and something to give a scale may help identify the lathe it's for. Given the apparent age it's probably for an American lathe as most UK ones of that vintage had flat beds.
HI Hacksaw,
> is there a clutch/slip mechanism in the power drive somewhere
1 – Probably not, although some lathes have this feature it would be obvious as there are lots of trip levers etc..
> Or should I chicken out and do the last bit of surfacing by hand ?
2 – Yes.