Yes the machine is made by Norge.  Its actually a great washer and worth the time to restore it.  This Norge design originated in 1964 and was made through the 80s.

I have a 1964 model that had the exact same leaking issues, while the design of my machine is slightly different than yours I believe most of the parts to the seal are very similar.  Here is a thread showing what I did to fix it.  I had to replace both the seal and the spin hub bearing...

This is a Norge built washer, they were good performers but not real durable and very difficult to do major repairs on. As a seasoned repairman we repaired several of the main seal and tub bearings in these years ago and concluded it did not make economic sence as in most cases the machine won't last much longer after the repair. However there may be many good reasons to attempt this repair, only you can decide. But if you just need a washer and want an older classic top loading washer you would be better off with a WP KM or GE or Hotpoint washer, older Maytags are also good durable choices but if it is the great washing performance and capacity that you liked about the Wards washer you may be pretty disappointed with a Maytag. Our web-master Robert did a tear-down and rebuild on a similar machine last year you can search it out with the super searcherlater and get a better idea of whats involved to fix this Good Luck.

Try using a propane torch it doesn't have to get real hot just smoking a little and try tapping it off.