[Arran]

Some of those natural rubber covered cords do get that bad, I've had a few sets where someone coiled the cord up and stuffed it inside the cabinet where it became a petrified lump that you couldn't unwind it without the rubber shattering into pieces. In any event that's pretty minor, but step number one before giving a repair estimate is to ohm out the power transformer, output transformer, speaker field (in an electrodynamic) and all of the coils. Sometimes you don't even have to do that, the smell of a broiled power transformer is unmistakable, even if it burned up years ago it will still stink. and have left blobs of melted tar everywhere. These are just some insurance policies I have against getting stuck with someone else's radio, if there is a major expense it's best that everyone knows up front.
Regards
Arran