No, I didn't-- I tried it straight from the prior owner's re-build... I did notice that he'd recapped a lot of it, as there are Sprague Orange Drops in there, but I didn't check closely enough to see if the cap can was original.
Frankly, a popping cap can was the third thing on my list of possibilities (a tube going out was fourth)... I know from hanging around Steve Hoffman's audio forum that a popping can is a symptom that many people find when they're attempting to rebuild tube amps, and I've run across a couple of stories from folks that had them go totally bad... the central theme was that they made a big mess when they finally gave up the ghost. And of course, it can screw other things up, too.
That's why I'm pretty hesitant to hook the set back up to the juice until I can eyeball the insides... if it's an obvious problem, I'd like to eliminate it, lest I get impatient, do the wrong thing and end up damaging something that's a lot harder to replace. Which I understand is a possibility.
Wish I had your expertise, folks-- but I guess you all had to come by it the hard way-- just like I am. It's just that the first time is a bit intimidating, after being conditioned for years to call the TV repairman when something went wrong. (You know-- because he's a **professional**, after all!!)
Who knew that one day I'd be (gingerly) trying this myself!!
-Kevin