"Here I go again", I thought!
Anyway, this weeks project is an Hitachi TRK-8600E found on eBay(UK) and going cheap 'cos it had some issues and I'm a bit of a mug for a new challenge!
The condition was a little worse than described - and no mention was made of the nicotine coating, mouldy speakers, rusty grills or DNA embellished controls although the picture went halfway to revealing the darker side of the box. What was mentioned is the noisy/faulty tape deck and the crackly pots. Was this all? NO!!! The box that arrived was also damaged in transit thus adding to my woes as the case was cracked in three places and the tape door & button panel had popped out. The seller offered me a sweetener by way of a Hitachi TRK-8300E which had seen better days so I went for it. After all, I'd not spent much on the 8600 in the first place and I've also gained another project!
I could have simply returned the damaged box but........I thought, perhaps, it may now be seen as being a no-hoper by an unappreciative seller and just thrown away 'cos it was too much hassle to deal with. It's a rather smart looking box that only needed a bit of TLC.
(Now, before I start posting lots of pics I need to say that I've already used up much of my 'image allowance' so I'll be reducing the file sizes and using fewer.)
This first pic is just about all I knew before the box arrived. I failed to notice the incorrect antenna, the missing spacer in the tape control button panel or the missing 'button' on the R/H side of the cassette door cover. I did notice some grime and the speakers not looking their best:
What you can't yet see are a couple of broken internal posts, a section of broken plastic profile from beside the tape deck (inside) and the tuner window that had come adrift with a cracked corner.
Two of the casing cracks are shown next: One from the R/H speaker to the tape deck and the second to the rear by the motor. I also founds a third, minor crack which I repaired. The main (first two) cracks couldn't be repaired using anything but small patches of plastic internally as the crack had limited space for placing reinforcing sections. Reinforcing pieces were cut, shaped then Contact Adhesive was used, allowed to dry and followed by an application of Plastic Weld around the edges.
Inside, before and after. It appears somewhat 'biity' or patchwork but there was a limit to the space I could use:
Crack repairs completed, the signs are still visible and can't be hidden without a re-paint but at least the casing is now robust once again.
The damaged panel, a broken control knob with a botched repair, 2 X broken posts and section of profile from close to the deck which have all been repaired. The deck button facia panel would ideally need to be replaced.
Repairing the internal posts. These posts are hollow and not used to secure the casing together with screws. They provide internal support only so I used Q-Tip/cotton bud shafts to position the posts until the Plastic Weld was set.
The speakers: Dear me, what a state! I'll say nothing other than mould and rust, the pictures will say the rest:
Speakers have now been subjected too a good clean and they turned out quite well. The grills required the loose rust to be removed with a wire brush, rust treatment applied, re-sprayed then finished with a couple of coats of satin lacquer. This is now all done and they're looking pretty good!
The tape deck was the next job. Everything went well after this was cleaned:
The controls were de-DNA'd and the details repainted in white like these:
I cleaned up the tuner window and secured it in position with a contact adhesive. A small area in the corner of the window had broken off but this is hidden by the tuner window recess so can't be seen.
So far, this project is going well. The box is in quite good condition overall and, although there are a few minor areas of damage, these are quite small and minimal.
The box is now reassembled and, upon testing, I have a problem with the tape deck. So as not to clutter up this resto thread I've started a new topic for the deck problem HERE so any help will be very much appreciated!
This is as far as I've got so far. Almost done now except for three parts needed along with the tape deck issue to be solved, I'll post more pics soon of the finished box. This has been interesting!
Anyway, this weeks project is an Hitachi TRK-8600E found on eBay(UK) and going cheap 'cos it had some issues and I'm a bit of a mug for a new challenge!
The condition was a little worse than described - and no mention was made of the nicotine coating, mouldy speakers, rusty grills or DNA embellished controls although the picture went halfway to revealing the darker side of the box. What was mentioned is the noisy/faulty tape deck and the crackly pots. Was this all? NO!!! The box that arrived was also damaged in transit thus adding to my woes as the case was cracked in three places and the tape door & button panel had popped out. The seller offered me a sweetener by way of a Hitachi TRK-8300E which had seen better days so I went for it. After all, I'd not spent much on the 8600 in the first place and I've also gained another project!
I could have simply returned the damaged box but........I thought, perhaps, it may now be seen as being a no-hoper by an unappreciative seller and just thrown away 'cos it was too much hassle to deal with. It's a rather smart looking box that only needed a bit of TLC.
(Now, before I start posting lots of pics I need to say that I've already used up much of my 'image allowance' so I'll be reducing the file sizes and using fewer.)
This first pic is just about all I knew before the box arrived. I failed to notice the incorrect antenna, the missing spacer in the tape control button panel or the missing 'button' on the R/H side of the cassette door cover. I did notice some grime and the speakers not looking their best:
What you can't yet see are a couple of broken internal posts, a section of broken plastic profile from beside the tape deck (inside) and the tuner window that had come adrift with a cracked corner.
Two of the casing cracks are shown next: One from the R/H speaker to the tape deck and the second to the rear by the motor. I also founds a third, minor crack which I repaired. The main (first two) cracks couldn't be repaired using anything but small patches of plastic internally as the crack had limited space for placing reinforcing sections. Reinforcing pieces were cut, shaped then Contact Adhesive was used, allowed to dry and followed by an application of Plastic Weld around the edges.
Inside, before and after. It appears somewhat 'biity' or patchwork but there was a limit to the space I could use:
Crack repairs completed, the signs are still visible and can't be hidden without a re-paint but at least the casing is now robust once again.
The damaged panel, a broken control knob with a botched repair, 2 X broken posts and section of profile from close to the deck which have all been repaired. The deck button facia panel would ideally need to be replaced.
Repairing the internal posts. These posts are hollow and not used to secure the casing together with screws. They provide internal support only so I used Q-Tip/cotton bud shafts to position the posts until the Plastic Weld was set.
The speakers: Dear me, what a state! I'll say nothing other than mould and rust, the pictures will say the rest:
Speakers have now been subjected too a good clean and they turned out quite well. The grills required the loose rust to be removed with a wire brush, rust treatment applied, re-sprayed then finished with a couple of coats of satin lacquer. This is now all done and they're looking pretty good!
The tape deck was the next job. Everything went well after this was cleaned:
The controls were de-DNA'd and the details repainted in white like these:
I cleaned up the tuner window and secured it in position with a contact adhesive. A small area in the corner of the window had broken off but this is hidden by the tuner window recess so can't be seen.
So far, this project is going well. The box is in quite good condition overall and, although there are a few minor areas of damage, these are quite small and minimal.
The box is now reassembled and, upon testing, I have a problem with the tape deck. So as not to clutter up this resto thread I've started a new topic for the deck problem HERE so any help will be very much appreciated!
This is as far as I've got so far. Almost done now except for three parts needed along with the tape deck issue to be solved, I'll post more pics soon of the finished box. This has been interesting!
