Well, I consider my solution kind of a caveman fix, but it is functional and easy to do.
I recall the other discussion. I think it may have been in the Antique Radios TV forum, but that site's not responding today, so I can't search for it.
If someone has an intact original gasket -- yes, there are a few out there -- I think it would not be that hard to make a mold and cast a replica made of a flexible material. Smooth-On makes flexible products, for instance.
http://www.smooth-on.com/lifecasting.htm
I have done a little mold making & casting, and it's not rocket science. If you can make a flexible human arm replica, the gasket certainly wouldn't be impossible.
A couple of people have talked about contracting with a commercial company to make replicas. Nothing has come of that, as far as I know. I suspect that the cost might be prohibitive, and I'm not sure the final product would necessarily be better than something you could create in a home workshop. Once you had a mold, you could make repros at home for, maybe, $20 a pop in materials cost.
One consideration is that you wouldn't want to damage the funky original in the process of making your mold. I would simply cover it with saran wrap before making the mold, to make sure the mold material can't stick to it. So what if the final product has a few wrinkle marks in it? The gasket is hidden when installed. It just has to be functional, not beautiful.
In case anyone's curious, here are photos of an original in nice condition.
http://www.geocities.com/reevesradios/vt71.html
Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html