Jwilson did a conversion of his EM machine to a re-themed machine. It was a lot of work and I would guess that his skills in tackling that task where challenged.

It is a big job that may overwhelm, leading to a machine that could be difficult to roll back to its former state.

Fixing a EM is also a bit of a challenge too.

Given the options fix EM machine or convert EM machine to home brew, my suggestion would be fix EM machine.

There is a whole journey of learning the art of repairing an EM. One that can be rewarding in understanding how EM work.
EM machine will likely live longer than their solid state counterparts... They were built like tanks.

If you do decide to go the home brew route, there are many build article on this web site. They may inspire your imagination for building ideas.

Good luck on what ever route you choose.