How To Repair an 8 Track Tape

braxus

braxus

FeCr Type III
I got an 8 track off Ebay. The pressure pad has deteriorated, so I took it out. I found on Ebay a seller that sells pads that will substitute the original in the tape. Problem is the tape had also broke in two and has since wound its way back inside the shell. This tape was made in the late 70s, so it may be able to come apart. How do I go about this and fix the tape? I may if I can find it have my reel to reel repair splice tape somewhere.
 
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It's typical for the splice at the metallic strip to fail. You need to get the case apart to fix it. The splicing tape from your reel to reel is the same size. You can use foam weatherstrip from the hardware store to fix the pressure pads. If you go to the "8 Track Heaven" website, you'll find tips on repair.

http://www.8trackheaven.com/index.html
 
I use the foam weatherstrip method myself. The metal clip with felt is good, but it is easier to put peel and stick foam in there than to glue felt down.

If the tape is "special" to you, try to pick up some less special stuff at a thrift shop to practice on. You can learn to do it, as I did, but the chances of wrecking and unspooling one is a sure thing the first few you do, and sometimes you just have to break the case to some degree to get in there.

The worst is when the rubber wheel turns to goo. I have only been able to save one tape when that happened - using naptha to clean it off the back of the tape - nightmare.

It is a labor of love, to be sure. Good luck.
 
braxus said:
I got an 8 track off Ebay. The pressure pad has deteriorated, so I took it out. I found on Ebay a seller that sells pads that will substitute the original in the tape. Problem is the tape had also broke in two and has since wound its way back inside the shell. This tape was made in the late 70s, so it may be able to come apart. How do I go about this and fix the tape? I may if I can find it have my reel to reel repair splice tape somewhere.
Click to expand...

Hi,
I send my broken 8 track tapes here, or the ones that I know I want to keep before I play them.

Link: http://www.katestrackshack.com/

They do great work.
John.:music:
 
Replacing your pad

The pads where usually made of felt ( any fabric store). The pads need to be replaced every so often; they tend to cause tape abrasion and get hard and slick. Depending on case construction the halves may be screwed or glued together. If glued use a sharp exacto knife or a rotary skull saw and then re-glue. I think the tape was a standard 1/4" tape. Not hard to find and computer companies sell used bulk IBM reel to real computer tape. Next get a tape splicing kit ( single edge razor blade, tape butting and cutting fixture, splicing tape, and tape glue)( source audio houses, movie houses, and computer houses, they all spliced film and tape and still sell supplies). The down side of course you will loose some recording from the trimming and splicing. Have patience and good luck. Photo Optical audio tracks on movie film have similar splicing problems unless the optical sound track was glued on as a separate strip of cellulose acetate ( but they useually caught on fire first).
The old tube jockey.
 
Worked for quite a while at GRT (the blue ones in your collection, plus we made 100K runds fro ABC, Warner, et all under their labels with generic tan or white cases). All the 8 tracks we made were snap cases with one center screw under the label.

The label was put on with quick set water based glue. Steam will let you lift it off. Once under the label, you can figure out the assembly method. If no screws and only deep well snap holes, you'll need to make a release tool. Take a small screw driver and grind or file it down with a ramp on one side so when you push it down the hole it forces the snap pin to one side. We could always open the cases as part of QA, so they were never glued.

Other MFGs may have glued, but that's really close to the loose tape and a drop of glue and it's a tosser? More likely they heat welded that case with a hi-freq (ultra-sonic) pressure welder. Those cases will be a B**ch to get apart. If you do, have another doner ready with a clip/screw design so you can transfer the pancake and lay the tape around the rollers.

Good luck. The 8-track is a remarkable kluge of a design. It worked on the principal of endless mobius strip and the back side of the tape was lubed so that it would slip from the hub/ramp and feed without problems. We'd never try it today. But back in the day 1/4 tape was better than early cassette by a long margin. The question was how to package fro convenient portable in car use - viola, the 8-track.
 
If any one is interested I have a Wards Airline 4 speaker (2front and 2back) receiver with an 8 track slot and a plug-in cassette adapter for the slot. It also has a rubber wheel drive BSR TT. It would be perfect for a 60's collection bar (Planet Hollywood or Fred Sanford's junk yard) of things that should have never been made, something a design engineer would never admit to and things we prefer not remember. I would part with it for a basic preamp (lol).
 
Do not use my method..

I tend to be ham-fisted with my 8-Track tapes. I grab the cartridge with my fingers in the play slots and POP them open. It is really an art to keep from spilling the reel on the floor (once that tape comes off that half reel...the game is over,,,)--I practiced on several 15 cent flea market 8-track tapes growing up before I mastered the skill. I slap some reel to reel sensing foil on there and then tape the case halfs back together with 2 inch packing tape.

Some of the heavier BASF (I think) tapes had screws--just jab your screwdriver right through the label like an allergy shot and unscrew.

I remember when the tapes would pop in my dad's '75 Grand Prix Pontiac he would say, "Here work this out..." Yep, I lived for his tapes to snap...LOL

Yep, all in the hands and the right amount of pressure.....

For pads--good ol' Dr. Schols bunion pads cut to just the right size....
 
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my first 8 track repair was tommy, by the who. it was wound tight and little did i know it would spring all over the place, there was no hope. so i dragged the tape all the way down the street to see how long it was. it was long.
thats all i got
 
To tell the truth, the best repair tool I have is a skeet gun. It is sometimes the only solution.
 
Felt pad, sensing foil replacement and the tape has gone inside the case? That's a really easy fix provided you have the case that clips together. You can do this.

Hell, you can even get inside the once way screw sealed case. All you have to do it drill through the screws and you're in. Consider swapping your beloved tape into a new case once you've drilled though.

Good luck.
 
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