[Hallicrafters] To restuff capacitors or not?

[Bill Barfield]

If this shows up on the reflector more than once, please excuse. I've had trouble getting my email to go through.

I recently acquired an SX-101A in beautiful shape. I love the audio on the unit. I am, however, using it sparingly. I know that I really need to re-cap the unit, which I will do as soon as I get my workshop back online.  

How important is it to use re-stuffed capacitors in the re-capping? Is having cosmetically accurate capacitors just a nice thing to have? Or will I destroy the collectability of the unit if I replace the old units with modern capacitors?

The main reason I am hesitant to have the old units restuffed is that I don't want to screw anything up. To restuff, I will have to temove the old caps, send them off for restuffing, and then replace them  I will either wind up sending them all at once (which greatly increases my chance of making a mistake in reconnection); or I send them off a couple at a time (wihch will take forever).

Also, how far do I need to go with re-capping? I will definitely replace the power supply electrolytics first.  They can do the most expensive damage when they fail.  Then I will replace the "molded paper" capacitors. What kind of capacitor is the best replacement for "molded paper"?  My current plans are to stop re-capping at that point unless I actually ahve one go bad. I understand that the other types of caps are fairly stable. 

Opinions?

Bill Barfield KD4AL
Charlotte, NC