Great write-up and a nice result.
Your evocative photography is wonderful too. The only thing that's missing is an ash-tray or a pipe (not that I've ever smokes, mind you).
Yes, do build a re-former. I built the one detailed on Paul Stenning's restoration pages. It's very useful and makes me more confident about applying power, as well as telling me whether a big electrolytic is beyond redemption and needs to replaced:
https://www.vintage-radio.com/projec...-reformer.html
I wonder whether the FM is working as it should. I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by the sensitivity, selectivity and fidelity of some early VHF sets, e.g. Bush VHF61/2 and 64 and Ekco A277, but we are fortunate to have a strong signal here in Oxford.
Nick.