Gary,
I've had good luck getting NOS tubes and components to repair the radios from:
http://www.vacuumtubes.net/http://www.oldradioparts.com/pg1.htm You may want to find someone who has a tube tester who can check your tubes out. I found a good one on EBay for under $50 and it checks most tubes from the late 30's to 50's. Came with a built in tube chart for setting the tester controls. If you are looking for one make sure you get the tube manual or chart with the tester, it's useless without it.
One part that usually needs replacing in the radio are the capacitors. These may be shorted, open, or be outside their designed value.
They're are paper and mica type capacitors in these radios. The paper ones are usually cylindrical shaped, the mica ones are rectangular or square.
If you're comfortable doing electrical work they can be replaced with some soldering iron work.
A brief overview of what you're getting into:
http://www.justradios.com/captips.html Regards,
Dave
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