[Eliot Ness]

Indiana collector Michael Feldt has a NOS 181 chassis nicely pictured on his website along with pages from a 1941 catalog that show the radio you are interested in:

http://www.indianaradios.com/Midwest%20181%20Radio.htm

That is an interesting and complete example of one of the last pre-war Midwest radios. Not as desirable as some of their earlier deco styled radios, but perhaps a little rarer. I think it would be a very nice looking and performing radio when finished. The bezel doesn't look too bad and I wouldn't be so quick to re-cone the speakers until further examination; it's hard to see if (and how bad) they may be damaged from the picture.

Value is hard to judge, and the phonograph will turn off some radio collectors. Personally I think the $100 +/- offer is in the ballpark, but I may be partial because it's an 18 tube Midwest, I live close to Cincinnati, and I have a couple of other Midwest's. If their appraisal comes back high you might have to make an offer and keep checking back with them. I would, at the very least, contact Mike Simpson (Midwest expert) and see what he thinks about it:

http://www.midwestradiomuseum.com/welcome.htm

Good luck!