Hi John!
You think you just bought yourself a cool radio but what you've really done is fallen down a rabbit hole! Welcome! ;)
I am not an expert but run several vintage radios around my home and have learned a thing or two over the years. I hope that I can provide some real world/practical advice.
I just bought an RCA New Vista Victrola Stereo Cabinet from my local Habitat Restore. I'm having trouble finding any information on it and any information regarding restoration of stereo cabinets in general. A few basic questions I have are: Could I keep the old speakers and just replace the wiring, Is there any way to keep the vintage radio and readjust that (no clue what it's called) red wire piece that shows you what station you're on, and if theres any sources anyone could point me to regarding my model (VJT47F) or stereo cabinet restoration in general.
1--"I'm having trouble finding any information on it and any information regarding restoration of stereo cabinets in general" Yeah, you're not going to find a lot! The thing is, restoring a radio is a two front war; Front One is the electronics overhaul, Front Two is the cabinet refinishing.
Unfortunately, transistor based mid-century stereo cabinets are largely looked down upon by the antique radio community. Anything that does not have tubes but isn't one of the 1970's powerhouse receivers and accompanying component equipment gets overlooked. These cabinets are somewhere between audiophile and nostalgia without being solidly in one side or the other. But I do see more of these coming to market and buyers getting interested in vintage audio. So maybe things will change.
2--"Could I keep the old speakers and just replace the wiring" Why on earth would you replace wires? Is there something wrong with them? A correct and proper restoration of the electronics would begin by replacing ALL the original wet capacitors (called recapping) and wet resistors with modern dry caps and resistors. Next step would be to replace any dial strings and refresh any lubrications as well as clean potentiometers. Also, along the way, if there are any concerns about the condition of the power cord, this should be replaced and possibly grounded. You absolutely should keep the original speakers and every other component as these are what give the unit its signature sound. You can even repair or have repaired original speakers if they are blown. Finally, the radio needs to be aligned and if you have a turntable, it needs to be completely rebuilt. Usually, radio guys do not do turntables and turntable guys do not do radios. So you've got two experts to find right there.
3--"Is there any way to keep the vintage radio" Yes, this is the entire point. Some people remove old electronics from cabinets and install modern ones but this totally obliterates resale value (which, you may not have intention to resell but after investing a lot of time and money into this, having a final product worth more than $5 will become important!) and, to many of us, negates the point of owning and enjoying a unit like this.
4--"and readjust that (no clue what it's called) red wire piece that shows you what station you're on" Adjusting the tuning indicator is only one TINY thing of the many laborious things that must be done! The radio expert who does your recapping will probably handle this as part of the alignment of the tuner.
5--While all the electronics are taken care of, you can take the cabinet to a furniture restoration expert to totally strip and refinish. That is the proper way to do this. However, I am not this wealthy or buy radios that look bad so I have never done this. Just touched up scratches, cleaned and shined.
5--"if theres any sources anyone could point me to regarding my model (VJT47F) or stereo cabinet restoration in general" It's all Google really. I don't have this model or anything really like it so I don't have any direct resources. You're going to have to do the legwork yourself. Joing antique radio forums and ask. Look up radio restoration shops in or around your town.
If I can be of any more help just email me at JohnnyMartyr@Hotmail.com but largely, this is going to be a road you'll have to go down on your own. I am just another vintage radio fan who pays experts to do the work. I am not an expert myself, having read enough to appreciate and respect the level of care and intelligence one must put into this near artform.
I hope you are as smitten by your radio as I am mine and will go to all sane, and some not sane, lengths to get it back into regular use! Oh and by the way, a I have an Amazon Echo Dot connected to my two main radios. This breathes so much life into these things it's unbelievable!
Take care and good luck! Please be kind enough to choose a best answer!