Talk about bringing back memories reading this thread.
My very first amp circa 1967 was an old radiogramme (you have to be old to remember those) bare chassis and a 2X8 cab I made in woodwork at school. I still have the cab, wish I still had the amp.
Next I bought a Linear 30, 30w mono hifi amp. Lousy for bass but good for keeping your hands warm on. Cab - Selmer Goliath, a monster of a thing with an 18" speaker and supposedly 50W power handling. I blew it with 30W.
Next I traded it for a Linear 50, still no good for bass but better for hand warming. I added a second Selmer Goliath. It was no good stacking the cabs as I couldn't reach the amp if I did, it was that tall. They had to stand side by side.
I bought my first proper amp when I started work and saved a bit of cash, a Carlsbro CS100TC, 100w tube amp. The Selmer Goliaths were in danger of melting so I traded them against a nice 4X12 at the same time, then made a clone of it so I had a proper stack that could flap yer flares man. Used it right up until the mid 90s. Still have it the and original 4X12 cab. Our guitarist uses it at rehearsals sometimes.