[Ron Ramirez]

If memory serves me correctly Ron mention a yr or two ago that this seller dissembled a some what
low production Philco set.

This guy will disassemble any radio he buys, no matter how low the production, and try to sell the pieces at ridiculous prices.

"Me buy radios. Me tear up radios. Me sell parts. Me make BIG money."

He keeps doing it because there are enough suckers out there willing to pay his sky-high prices for parts.



anyway...

Yes, Skip, the transformer is original. In all likelihood, the transformer has been stressed by bad electrolytic capacitors as has already been mentioned. I remember one of the first complete old radios I ever owned, an RCA 5T1. It used the same chassis as the 5T but had a different cabinet and smaller speaker. Also different dial scale. In any event, it had a bad power transformer which sizzled when power was applied. It required a new power transformer. Once replaced, I was amazed at how well that radio performed.