There an 8 track player in my car however it would need to be taken apart, cleaned and have new belts. I tried out a Led Zeppelin tape and it played fine for about 5 minutes...then the death silence came...... I ejected the tape but it was too late- yards of it stayed in the deck..
i think im gonna throw the one in that was in my dads 67 charger. I was looking at it yesterday and i dont believe its the original one since it said made in japan or china?? I have an 8-track recorder that i can wire up a cd player into it then record on to 8-track. I used to use it as my bass guitar amp at one time (dont tell my dad!!) LOL
I've repaired a number of 8 track tapes, the toughest thing to find is the tin foil tape for the splice. It serves as the splice, and also tells the player when to change tracks (it just provides a short circuit against the sensor).
It's also tough to replicate the foam pad that holds the tape against the head. Some of the cartridges used a felt pad to hold the tape, it's much easier to replicate. Getting the darn tapes open is often a challenge.
Yeah i fixed a lot of 8 tracks over the years. Good quality tin foil will actually work as the switcher/splice section but it is really tough to find the foam pressure pads. I've had a lot of people give me old 8 tracks so I've been robbing them for parts. I was into quadraphonic 8 tracks in my teens and I still about a hundred or so and a player set up in my garage. Talk about a trip back into time! Some of the quad mixes they had really make for different versions of songs than you could hear any where else. I.E. in Riders on the Storm by the Doors you can hear Morrison singing the vocal in the front two tracks and you can hear him evilly whispering them in the back two. Thats what makes it sound so creepy.
Its almost like having your own 4 track master tape except of course for the hiss and trying to get it to play without disintegrating
I alsp managed to swap some parts for an original factory option underdash 8 track for my 70 chev truck. Weighs about 20 lbs but looksd pretty good hanging under there. I guess I should actually hook it up one of these days.
There is still a cult following and I guess I'm a member!
