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I have the same kind of philosophy about vintage gear. I've got more sets in my collection than I expect to find time to restore any time soon, but I'm getting to them one at a time. My working sets are a hit with visitors. Even the most presentable non-working ones, I display as they are until I can get around to recapping and have the prongs of their plugs covered with shrink tubing so I'll remember not to plug in that set without a metered Variac for troubleshooting or just remove the cords if they're not riveted to the backs or HV cages. My RCA 630TS and Fada 799 both need tuner service, and Quality TV Tuner Repair has both tuners undergoing repair right now. Today was a day of re-forming electrolytics in my Tek 547 scope. Every 2 years, I lift one side of each can cap section and re-form to 1/5(sqrt(C*V) uA leakage current at rated working voltage. Since the actual applied voltages in the circuits they're in are about 2/3 their rated voltage, my 547 runs great and is good for the 2 years before the next go-round plus a year if I forget. After that, it starts getting rough on line fuses after about an hour of run time and reminds me I've neglected it. Re-form all 8 cans and one axial electrolytic and it's good for at least 2 more years.
Incidentally, there's a pet shop in Akron that sells cheap aquariums that are styled after 50s televisions but smaller. I have to admire the maker of those for offering an alternative to gutting authentic antiques.
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