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Here's my .02: If you're interested in learning repair & restoration, I'd start with a very basic "All-American 5" set from the early to mid 50s. It'll have the typical 50C5/35W4/12BE6/12BA6/12AV6 lineup...so if tubes are needed they're easily found and cheap to boot. Low parts count makes the repair/restoration easier. I picked that time frame so that you'd find a radio with a metal chassis...thus avoiding vexing circuit board problems. Only the most basic tools are needed...soldering iron, inexpensive digital meter, a few screwdrivers, etc. You could spring for a tube tester if you want, but usually substitution reveals the bad guy quickly. An isolation transformer is a very wise purchase, since simple 5-tube radios have had a "hot chassis" (connected to one side of the power line) since the dawn of time. Radios with a transformer power supply don't present that problem, but, as always, high voltages are present and the usual cautions apply in all cases.
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