All about 8 tracks
 

I have a 69 Firebird AM/FM Stereo radio with the multiplex. I also have a 69 Firebird 8 track tape player.

Assumption #1 - You cannot have an AM/FM stereo red-dot in a 69 Firebird with an 8 track.

Option #1 - The car came with an AM radio. I have the original radio and could refurbish it and connect it to the 8 track which is mounted on the 4-speed console.

Option #2 - Remove the AM and install the AM/FM stereo (currently being refurbished). I also have an original 69 Firebird wiring harness and kick panels for the stereo option along with some 10 ohm NOS Delco speakers. No 8 track.

Option #3 - Figure out a way to make both work. This would probably involve hooking up aftermarket amplifiers feeding the speakers.

I have a bunch of parts and data on these options, but what I really want is nice sounding sound system with an 8 track. Which option should I go with? An info would be appreciated.

The 69 Camaro you could have both Stereo and tape player. I know someone who has the setup. I'd think the Firebird would have the same electronics. In 1968 if you had both you needed to ad a switch part number 988544.

How much do you know about this switch? From what I've investigated so far, the only feasible scenario for an AM/FM stereo with an 8 Track stereo is ordering it from the dealer. The makeshift switch was done to bypass the 4 speakers. Do you agree?

You could order both a Stereo radio and 8 track in a 69 Firebird. The 8 track is identical in all 69 Pontiacs and the stereo radio is functionally identical (differences are only length of pushbutton and control shafts etc) to other 69 Pontiacs (all have separate multiplex amplifier). However 69 Firebirds equipped with either a 8 track player or a stereo radio (or both) came with a Chevrolet style 4 speaker cross balanced system rather than the typical 2 or 3 speaker front rear balanced Pontiac set up.

So what is unique is the wiring harness that connects the radio to the 8 track and to the speaker harness. These are available for less than $100 from most of the guys who offer radio resto services like Joe Viera in California or Howard Foulds in New Jersey. (the actual speaker harness is also repro'd)

The correct 4 speaker system included two unique sized small speakers in the lower kick panels (speakers, grille covers and wiring harnesses are all available repro but not from any Pontiac vendors, you can buy them from Camaro Central I believe) with two normal 6x9 rear speakers either in the package tray for coupes and topwell for verts. Note that the normal front dash mount speaker was not used in these applications so the factory just taped in a black piece of cardboard to cover the grille on the top of the dash.

This is not a cheap project btw, the front and rear repro speakers, the grilles and or speaker housings, the speaker harness and the 8 track to radio harness turn into several hundred dollars before considering the cost of the stereo and 8 track purchase and refurbishment.

Here is my 69 Sprint. It was factory built with AM radio and 8 track, you can see the correct speaker grilles in front (these are repro but they are very close to my beatup originals)

Thanks for the info. I bought a 4 speaker harness, dash harness, front kick panels and the speakers out of a 69 with stacked gauges years ago. The Delco speakers I bought NOS are close enough, but I'll have to modify the front ones a bit to make them work.

Can you take a picture of the bracket under the 8 track? I bought the repro one from the Parts Place, which I really didn't want to do, but they were the only vendor to make the bracket.

My plan with the radio/multiplexer/8 track is to replace all the electrolytic caps first and then fire it up to see what does and doesn't work. There are some special Delco caps that I can't source that have 3 caps inside, so I'll have to kluge in single caps if it turns out to be bad.

The 8 track is a very cool slice of technology. I had one in my first car, which was a 69 Chevelle. I only had two tapes: Yes - Fragile, Jethro Tull - Aqualung. I remember hearing the spots where a song will slowly fade out, switch tracks and then fade back in. When I'd hear the song on a record, I'd subconsciously be waiting for it to fade out. I can't wait until it's installed and I can play them again.

I can't find my book with the option costs, but I believe the AM/FM stereo radio was over $250. In 69 money, without that you could have had a much faster engine. It all adds up, but the 69 AM/FM stereo radio is a very cool and rare option.

If anyone can post a picture of the 8-track bracket to a 4-speed console I'd really appreciate it.

That's an awesome car.

There isn`t an 8 track floor bracket per say with the console. There is the U shaped forward console bracket found on all consoles and then the standard two piece upper 8 track bracket used on all 69-72 8 tracks across the different Pontiac models.

the two screws on the left side are correct, it screws into the console itself not a floor bracket (I think there are four inserts that act as the nuts pressed into the console inlay panel.

Because there is no floor bracket for the 8 track itself Firebirds (unlike all the other 69 Pontiac models) need a ground strap for the 8 track player.

The combination of an 8 track and a stereo radio was almost $400 in 69, big money!

Thanks so much for that picture. It's similar in shape to the repro, but different:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-72-Pont...dVulmS&vxp=mtr

Is there a reinforcement bracket under the console to support the 8 track?

no there isn`t

I found this link very interesting on power antennas for the first gen Camaros/Firebirds:
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=6536.0

Could you order a front mounted FM power antenna on a 69 Firebird? I looked through my book on the 69 option codes and UPC384 (AM/FM) , 382 (AM) and 388 (AM/FM stereo) all state "w/man antenna".

It's a pretty interesting evolution from AM to FM and the 8 track. The 394/U57 Stereo tape player was $133.76 and was not available with U391 (rear speaker) in 1969. I found a switch (part# 988544) which was supposedly used when a customer would order an AM/FM stereo and an 8 track through the dealer, but you couldn't order it from the factory (correct me if that's not true). This switch basically selected the radio or the tape player to allow it to be stereo. Once I get the switch I'll post a pic if anyone is interested.

The reason you couldn't order a rear speaker with either the 8track or the stereo radio is that the price included front and rear speakers (2 front an two rear).

When you ordered a mono radio (either AM or AM/FM) without an 8 track it came with one front speaker only. Optional with these radios was a regular or echo style single rear speaker. The regular rear speaker option (Sepra-phonic) slid over the right tuning knob of the radio and the bezel controlled front to rear. The echo option (verbal-phonic) worked with a remote unit that was controlled by a switch of same design and location as the power top, rear defogger etc.

The only first generation Firebird available with a power antenna was 69 and it was mounted in the trunk. In 67-68 a manual rear antenna option was available but no power feature. Standard antennas for all three years were mounted on the front fender and were manually height adjustable.

Do you know of any aftermarket power antennas that will fit a 69 Firebird front fender? The boner antenna is a pain when it comes to a car cover.

I don't know about aftermarket but the original antenna screws on, if you leave it finger tight you can pull it to install the cover. If imagine there is plenty of room for a power unit.

So could you order a 4-speaker AM/FM multiplex with an 8 track in 69 that didn't require a switch? I'm told it was built into the 8 track?

There was never a separate switch with the four speaker system, it was controlled by either the balance bezel on the stereo radio or the same switch on the 8 track.

The switch number you mentioned is not a 69 part number, early 70's I'd say.

This is just something to keep in mind:
Before you go to too much trouble with the 8-track player, make sure you will be able to play any tapes once you get it all done.

I still have all of my 8-tracks (about 100), and I still have 3 home players. But I can't use any of them because of this:

The play and record heads press the tape against pieces of foam inside each tape cartridge. That foam, on all my 8-track tapes, has turned to a sticky mush. If you put those tapes in any player, that sticky foam residue will get all over everything. Plus, since that foam has lost all its resiliency, the play head is no longer pushing against the tape and the sound is lost.

Ages ago, I looked for replacement pieces of foam and found nothing. I tried making some and didn't have any success. So, before you spend too much time and money on this venture, look at your tapes and see if you will be able to play them when you're all done.

There are a few guys on eBay who sell the foam by the foot as well as the other common ailment which is the splice-switcher on the tape that lets go. Honestly though I just buy 8 tracks cheap at flea markets, eBay and Craigs, $1 to $5 seems to be the going rate so think of them as disposable.

The 8 track is really a novelty. I paid about $15 for the tapes I really wanted off eBay that have been rebuilt. The tape player in my basement actually plays them fairly well.

That's great to know. Thanks.

I actually bought some of the foam. The trick is getting the 8 Track apart. One of the ones I bought off eBay rebuilt had the case split in half. If you figure out how to replace the foam let us know how you did it.

I usually bought the album and recorded it onto a blank tape. I would play and time the entire album and then divide that by 4 (4 tracks/channels). I then ran the new blank tape to a few seconds after that 1/4th time, opened-up the tape, removed all the excess tape, and spliced it back together. Then, I recorded the album onto the tape. I never liked the fade-out and fade-in at the channel change. I woud much rather be in the middle of a song, hear a short click, and then the song continued on. That's how I did it. And, a few seconds after the end of the last song, the tape changed to channel 1 and continued on (because I removed all the excess tape). Recording all my new albums onto a blank 8-track (or open reel tape), and then playing the 8-track left me with a lot of albums that have only been played once or twice.

Sorry for that explanation; but I tell you all of that so you know I have a lot of experience taking apart Memorex and Maxell blank tapes, as well as factory tapes.

On the back side of the tape there are small plastic tabs in the holes of the pinch and end rollers. There is another one in the center of the tape that holds the spool of tape. With a small screwdriver, push both of those tabs on both roller holes to the other side of the hole while gently pulling up on the (back) half of the cartridge. The "tape end" will very slightly separate.

Next, while still pulling slightly upward, do the same with the middle hole to release that one. You will have to poke a hole through the tape's label to get to that hole.

Next, on the other end of the cartridge (away from the exposed tape end) there will be 2 more tabs, or sometimes a lip click that will just pry apart.

Don't open the tape all the way until you flip it over onto it's back! Or, you will dump the spool of tape. Take note (a picture) of how the tape travels through the cartridge. Make sure you don't pinch the tape in all the open-end tangs when you put it back together.

Other tapes will have the tabs in other locations but all will have a tab in the hole of both rollers and the center spool. Some will have tabs on the front.

On the Machine Head and Alice Cooper tapes you can see the indentation of the paper at the center and 2 bottom tabs where the holes/tabs are.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...psrgpjntbn.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...psfbk0iy7v.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps48jvyxbz.jpg