I have collected a few yard sale items, also. It can get expensive if you have to buy many replacement parts.

I had an old Coleman stove that had a good sound "suit case" and good burners, but the generator was bad and the tank had a hole in it. Not wanting to spent the money or time, I found the cheapest solution was to buy a Propane conversion kit like this one:

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86801

By all means clean it up and restore it, but if you get into too much costs with the tank and generator, the Propane kit is an option. (Since you already have an $11 propane stove, maybe not.)