I recently purchased this stereo at a thrift store for about 2 bucks. When i plugged it in it lit up perfect. One of the channels doesnt work and something heats up on the back. It has such a cool look to it I cant see gettin rid of it. My question is if it is worth fixing or even a complete refurbish? Any ideas on what it would cost me either way?
Take a look on the web for pricing of this and other Scott solid state receivers. I doubt you'll find anything going for even $50. As a rule early generations of transistor gear aren't sought after or well thought of based on their sound quality and engineering. Parts are difficult if not impossible to find and most repairs are made by salavaging a junker. That means you'll have to find someone willing to do the job who might have access to the right parts. That in itself is a tall order as very few repair techs have any desire to be tied to a component such as yours. You'll almost certainly need to send the unit off for repair unless you live around a large city and can luck into an old timer who does this stuff on the side just to keep their hands in the game. Any refurbishment would certainly include replacing 90% of the capacitors in this receiver and realigning the tuner, that and a general cleaning and such should cost you around $100 - twice what the unit might bring on the market before you add your shipping cost.
I agree the vintage receivers have a unique look which alone might be worth the money, but don't expect to use this receiver for much music listening. It's not horible but it's not very good either as reflected in the resale prices - you got your's for $2. Even a bottom of the line Pioneer or Marantz from the '70's can bring $25-50 and oftentimes more.
Check here; http://www.atlasaudiorepair.com/ for more specific advice. In the end, anything is worth what someone is willing to put into it. You probably won't understand the analogy but what you have is the equivalent of finding a deal on a '61 Dodge Dart, slant six with a push button transmission and bench seats. Worth keeping for sentimental reasons but not much else when there are numerous other vintage components you could buy that would be worth owning.