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Eight Track Cartridge types

Over the eight track's lifespan, different tape duplicators and record labels used a variety of different cartridge types and styles. Shown on this page is a variety of the more common cartridge types I see and how they can be opened for repair.

Cartridge repair

Classic rock tapes

Other good tapes

Blank cartridges

Odd and quad tapes

Whenever you are opening an eight-track cartridge, make sure you are holding it flat with the top label facing up when you go to finally open it so that the tape pack does not fall out.

"Three-tab"

This style of cartridge was used by MCA, Columbia, and many related labels and is very easy to pop open - push the three tabs showing through the front of the cartridge towards the middle and hold the two parts of the shell open.

A variant of these shells has more "guarded" bottom tabs - you can usually still pop these open with a flat-bladed screwdriver, or at worst break the tabs and just tape the sides of the cartridge together later, as was common in the era.

"Five-tab"

Another relatively easy-to-open design has five plastic pegs that stake through the rear body shell, usually one in each corner and a fifth through the middle of the tape spool. Usually I have found that popping the two upper catches (usually the most easily accessible) gives enough leverage to get the center stake to pop through and then the bottom two usually hinge apart. Sometimes the tabs have to be dug out more than slid to one side, as they are often more of a one-way interference fit

Capitol/Audiopak

Starting in the late 1960s Capitol and their associated brands used a cartridge they called the Audiopak which came in a few variations, most annoyingly sometimes with a screw through the center of the spool from the front that is hard to remove and slightly less annoyingly some kind of glue towards the bottom end of the cartridges

Warner Bros.

Late 1970s and 80s Warner Brothers Records and related brands often released on these annoying clipped cartridges. Older Warner and related tapes used Audiopak-style carts.