Interesting piece of a test kit. It is always wonderful to see specialized equipment just build for specific case, often in small production runs, assembled by hand. Similar eurocard rack enclosures were popular base for one-off prototypes or small volume products where cost was not an issue.
I would have bet that smoke came from those translucent plastic filtering caps, not only because they often fail when aging but also due Daves reaction to smell of the smoke. Once you smell it, you will think twice before connecting old devices into mains
. They do after all, release a lot of smoke with quite gagging odor. The problem is with those type of caps that when hard plastic ages, it develops cracks that cause moisture to seep in that turns them conductive, and when high energy source is connected over them, heating effect handles the rest. Follow your nose, it is actually sensitive tester to, lets say, date vintage electronics, or to locate blown components
.
Dark marks on that big choke also do look alarming, but I have seen similar marks in fully working transformers, where lacquer or waxy potting compound has turned to brown due heat and old age. It is also common to see similar drip marks on transformers where coating was applied a bit hastily during manufacturing. Still, I would test it with megger to be sure.
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