Need help finishing Zenith Porthole, Kansas City area

[ShartZenith]

I need someone in the Kansas City area or fairly close by to help my friend and I finish up my Zenith porthole. It's a 1951 model. We've recapped it, tested the flyback and the picture tube and have done everything we know how to do. My friend is a radio guy and he's gone as far with it as his knowledge allows. We fired it up once a few months ago with a variac and it smoked from a very localized area. We need someone with more tube TV experience to help us figure out whether its ready to try again or what the problem may be. Please, no guesses or complicated questions. We need someone, a warm body in the Kansas City area to help us. We're past the point of trying to trouble-shoot it ourselves. Thanks for any and all help!
Steve