Oh, boy! 4th of July?
Chernobyl?
You wouldn't just pour water into the radiator, new gas into the tank and drive a 1975 barn-find car full of original parts very far before the first thing breaks.
Putting it back into service without releasing the magic smoke first requires more than just plugging it in. That amplifier is famous for clobbering a radio's final transistor when the relays become worn. First or second key, usually.
Filter capacitors tend to cause collateral damage when they break down. Even if an electrolytic capacitor got replaced when it was ten years old, the "new" one is over thirty. Much cheaper to replace them before they create additional damage.
Time for a YT vid "How NOT to care for and feed a 45 year-old linear".
That radiator hose looked okay before it exploded.
73
I warned him about using a variac to slowly bring the unit up to voltage first time, i did i did. Relays as you said can also be an issue. The relay replacements we got from you work flawlessly, thank you.
From what i understand this is a dad/son thing where dad had a 300a years ago and wants another to school his son. Unfortunately they didnt realize the amp was missing the supply before buying it. Im always suspicious of a 2 piece amp thats missing the transformer.
I've filled him in on my experience with my 300a and what i did and and how much was spent to make it reliable. Ive just about got him to contact Carl and order a pill amp. I have a feeling the 300a may need more than theyre hoping for. Its doubtfull the seller took the time to pull and number the tubes or even pack some bubble wrap between them so tubes making the cross country journey to the PNW are fairly slim.