What’s the best way to restore a Heathkit HW-101 without losing authenticity?

[RileyTW]

I’ve finally got my hands on a vintage Heathkit HW-101, and I’m staring at this rat’s nest of original wiring inside. I want to restore it to working order, but I’m honestly torn between keeping every original capacitor and resistor for authenticity or doing a full safety recap and replacing the obviously tired components.

[JasonDA]

I kept the look honest and did a safety minded recap mostly in the power supply area. I swapped the leaky electrolytics and a crusty wax cap and left most of the signal path parts alone. It runs cooler and it feels safer, but it does not scream original inside.

[Nora.R]

I keep wondering if the risk of a fire is the real barrier or if I am chasing a ghost problem?

[CamilaMW]

One thing I did was start with a small area and listen for noise and check heat after a test run. Some voltages looked hopeful others were off and I did not trust the old gauge. I paused to think about it and walked away for a bit.

[Andrew_M]

I keep thinking about preserving the original wiring and keeping the labels intact. Yet the insulation around the wires feels brittle and the heat sinks look tired. I am tempted to slow down rather than push for a fully original under the hood