Period correct 8-track installation instructions?

[PerryB]

Hi - just bought the pictured Cadillac 8-track player off eBay.  Any idea on how to install this thing into my '68 Eldorado?  Leads on where to find a corresponding user and/or installation manual?  Otherwise, anybody have one that they'd be willing to copy for me? 

Any information on these units would be appreciated...who made them, were they dealer installed, factory option??  Seems like I've seen very similar units with other makes named on the cassette door...?    Thanks!

[PerryB]

Woops - thought I posted a picture of the front also....here it is.

[Doug Houston]

There were two different 8 track players that were sold for installation in GM cars. Both were made by Delco. Both operated in the same manner. The tape player is a self-contained unit, with complete circuitry to drive the car's speakers. It's an attachment to be used with the stereo radio in the car. In order to install the player in the car, there is a special harness that couples the tape player into the radio installation. That harness was usually baled up with the car.

When installed, the tape cartridge is inserted into the player slot. A cam switch, operated by the cartridge, cuts power to the radio, and tranafers the speakers to the output of the player. The radio doesn't need to be switched on for the tape player to work. In this mode, the tape player is the complete system, until the tape cartridge is removed. The speakers are then returned to the radio's output, and the 12 volt Dc feed is restored to the radio.

The player shown is the later model, after about 1964, and is the one found in Cadillacs from 1965 or so. Cadillac first offered stereo radio in 1966, but I believe that tape players were sold before that. They would have had a special speaker system. I'm foggy on that.

Some of these players were mounted beneath the dash, some in consoles, and some on a pedestal on the transmission tunnel (Pontiac). I have one of those on my '70 convertible. I had to make the interconnecting harness for the installation.

Probably, there would have been instructions for tape player installation, but I wouldn't want the job of finding one. A guy with the service notes for the player and radio could work out an installation. They work pretty nicely.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I wish I could see the pictures in better scale, as the ones here are bigger than the ones when downloaded.

Did you use the pictures from the Ebay advertisement to show us?

Bruce.

[PerryB]

Thanks so much.   I have the car in storage now, but I'll have to get out there and try to find cables - hope they're there somewhere!  You mentioned use with stereo radios....my car has the AM-only radio (with the neat pushbutton seek feature).  Is this going to be a problem?

Yes, I used the ebay pictures since it had not arrived yet.  I arrived today and just opened the box.  It looks pretty good.  Once possible concern...the Program button is not quite set squarely in the unit....less side sticks out just a tad more than the right side.  When I push the button, it moves inward apparently against a spring and moves back out as you release it....but somehow I was expecting a 'click' or some sort of detent-type feel as the button is pressed.....a more mechanical operation.   Should that be the case,or is this thing broken?   Maybe it needs to be running to 'feel' right?

Thanks again!

[Jim Skelly, CLC #15958]

I remember a post a year or so ago indicating that the 8-track player was a dealer-installed option starting in May of 1968.  Used and NOS wiring  harnesses are occasionally listed on Ebay.  I'm not sure when it became a factory option. 

The integrated AM-FM stereo/8-track radio was first available on the 1971 Cadillac.  I've still got mine from my 1971 Eldorado.  I shut the engine off once without ejecting the tape and the eject button never worked the same after that.   

'68 Eldorado
'77 Biarritz

[PerryB]

Here's another piece of information that I received from Elliott's Radio:

Cadillac made tapes available in the 681/2 models.  69 and 70 don't used the same wiring connectors.

68 1/2 GM supplement #7
6D-1968-1
Cadillac Stereo tape
Date----May 15, 1968
Page ----H-19

2 speaker wiring assy is Part # 7309899 Harness Assembly

Can anyone provide me with a copy of page H-19 from this manual, or advice on how to acquire a copy?

Also, the model number for my 8-track unit is 05CT412.  When I google this, I find only one reference that seems to indicate a model from 1970 1/2.    So, any similar info for that model would also be appreciated.   I may have to get into a custom harness, orpossibly trade with someone who has a 8-track unit specifically for the '68 model year.


Thanks again!
Perry

[PerryB]

Hello  -  still hoping for a copy of this Delco service manual supplement 7 (May 15, 1968), 6D-1968-1, page H-19, for part number 7309899, to install the pictured 8-track unit (05CT412, from 1970) into my 1968 Eldorado with 2-speakers.  Thanks for any leads!

[Perry]

One more time....anybody have a lead regarding pursuit of this harness or related info?

[Ted in Olympia WA]

Does anybody know the value of a 1968 8 track player?  I'm thinking of buying a 68 Coupe DeVille parts car with the original 8 track and trying to decide if it worth paying a bit more for becasue it has this option.  Have no idea if it works or not since this is a non-running car.

Sorry for coming into your post Perry but since you recently purchased one you might know?

Thanks

TED

[JohnJanota]

i know this is years past but i hope to add some information on this subject. i have a 1967 cadillac eldorado that came with the am radio with one front and one rear right speaker. a fine gentleman in new jersey rebuilds these radios so he rebuilt for me an original 1967 am/fm stereo with a 1970 8 track player to go with it. rebuilt all internal components he also made a custom wiring harness for all so it became a "plug and play" system. no way to be done without it. the 8 track player had to be with a stereo player as all 4 speakers are in use for the 8 track player. hardest part was to find 8 ohm speakers so the impedance didnt burn out the newly rebuilt stereo. turnswitch.com use to supply these speakers but the owner died last year. so instead of finding a 4ohm dual voice coil for the middle speaker section and making it into 8 hm, i used 2 4" 8 omh full range speakers mounted together in the original middle grill and found 6x9" 8 ohm rear speakers from big jeff audio. talk about almost impossible to find!.  ialso had to figure out where the amplifier goes and custom fit that above the glove box under the top dash. plugged in and works great. also had the original antenna rebuilt as well as the original clock (oh what a nightmare to reinstall)!! it appears that most people are going with "modern" stereos that have 4 ohm systems for the speakers but since my car is fully loaded with no rust i wanted to keep it as original as possible. so there is hope... just a lot of research to be done to do this as correct as possible.

[J. Skelly]

that's good information, John

the problem I have found with 8-track tapes is that since they haven't been sold since around 1982, the adhesive on the tape splice has failed or is about to, making the tape come apart or jam

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

I believe that under dash unit is a 4 track.
Greg Surfas

[Scott Nellis]

  Jim is correct about the unfortunate unreliable and unpredictable nature of the actual 8-track tapes. For fun back in the '90's I created an 8-track bar in the upper level of my previous house. I found the tapes dirt cheap at garage sales and amassed a collection of about 600 tapes. I needed that many because they were constantly self-destructing. The Columbia label tapes with a red plastic case were the worst. Some of the tapes held together fine and I still have several hundred in my basement so there is hope. I'm certainly not trying to discourage anyone from installing tape decks in their Cadillacs. I installed an under dash unit in my 1966 Plymouth Belvedere back in those days as well and had lots of fun with it. The key is not to pay too much for the tapes to avoid disappointment when they grenade on you.

[wrench]

I always hated the place they split the track on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon song ''Time' just as the guitar solo started....

Yeesh, talk about a buzz kill. You couldn't listen to that album on an 8-track, totally ruined it.

My favorite 8 track from that era was Marshall Tucker Band 'Long Hard Ride' title track...

[fishnjim]

I'd look for tape(s), before I spent money installing that dinosaur - museum piece...   Otherwise, it's just a eye catcher paper weight, mount but leave unwired.   

If it didn't come factory with it, it won't add any value to the vehicle either.   

I threw out my "cassettes" (next generation) decades ago, and 8 tracks didn't last as well.   Nostalgia is nostalgia, not worth much.

[TJ Hopland]

I would guess that the shops that convert old radios with modern guts could do the conversion on one of those just as easy as the regular radio.   Maybe that would be an option?   You could then keep the actual radio stock but have this be the modern bit.

[69Deville]

I installed the same player in my 69 Devile. I have a mono AM/FM radio in the car so I used these two sets of harnesses.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/350833596259?hash=item51af4fd763:g:p68AAOSwucxh~Tq7

https://www.ebay.com/itm/253228480834?hash=item3af597f942:g:VrAAAOxyxU1Q74Kp

This setup worked flawlessly. I agree with the other commenters about finding a few tapes to test it before mounting it. Even when I have bought unopened 8 tracks online, the sponge under the tape is so dried out that it starts to fall apart in use.

Also, your mount is missing one side and the support on the back left hand side of it.

[J. Skelly]

Another option in the aftermarket was a cassette player that partially inserted into the 8-track tape opening so you could play cassette tapes.  So, all hope is not lost if you decide to mount an 8-track player or wish to continue using your existing player - just play cassette tapes.  Of course, this comes from someone who had a cassette tape jam up inside the factory stereo on his El Camino! 

[Matti R]

My 67 has had 8-track player with am/fm stereo. Player did not come with the car and I had to remove the additional harness to get radio working.