Any reason not to gut this thing and install a flat panel, dvd, cd player?

JUST KIDDING!!!!! A buddy of mine aquired this thing from the old woman who's house he was painting. Its a Philco 51T1874. The manual is dated 6-1951. Overall I'd say it's s 8.5 or 9 outta 10. I believe everything works. Here's some quick pix. Any idea what this thing is worth?

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr304/marcsova/Philco

$100? I'm not a fan of the large consoles...

The value of these giant "combos" is minimal, mainly due to the size. Nothing wrong with that type of TV, but it doesn't look like anything special, either. And in most combos the other components (radio, changer) are also ho-hum from a collecting standpoint. They can be made to work, but nobody pretends they are "best in class."

Around here, the honest value of something like that might be $50, unless you find some hermit who has never seen one before and mistakes it for a rare treasure.

If your buddy likes it, I'd encourage him to keep it and enjoy it -- maybe even restore everything so that it works. He should not expect to turn around and sell it for a bunch of money, however.

Just my $0.02.

Phil Nelson