For Christmas in 1980, my parents bought me a Montgomery Ward stereo system that had am-fm radio, turntable, cassette recorder, and 8-track recorder.
A problem I found with 8-track tapes was that the little foam pad that the tape itself sits on inside an 8-track cartridge most often disintegrates from age. Sometimes I was able to get a compatible piece of foam and make a new one, but the tolerances were quite fine and you had to get it just right in order for it to work.
It was still rather fun recording onto 8-tracks in the 1980s though, because I was definitely in the minority in that hobby at that time.
A problem I found with 8-track tapes was that the little foam pad that the tape itself sits on inside an 8-track cartridge most often disintegrates from age. Sometimes I was able to get a compatible piece of foam and make a new one, but the tolerances were quite fine and you had to get it just right in order for it to work.
It was still rather fun recording onto 8-tracks in the 1980s though, because I was definitely in the minority in that hobby at that time.