A '54 named Busty

[dsraven]

for your water pump issues, by the posts with pics, I would say move the engine back and some of the issues will cure themselves.
for the engine, i would say a gasket set is pretty cheap, take it apart and see what you have. deglaze and throw in a set of rings and brgs if you see fit. get the numbers off the cam etc as well for future reference.
for the starter issues, if you have a good starter on the bench then the problem will likely be power AND GROUND supply. ensure good cable size and clean solid connections at both ends. do a voltage drop check if really curious but start with the connections and go from there.