Those of us who had our first cars in the 1970s probably had some kind of aftermarket sound “system”. I’m not talking about a fancy integrated stuff with Bose speakers. I mean a factory AM radio in the dash with an 8-track player mounted underneath somewhere. There were all sorts of these players on the market, and I don’t remember ever spending more than $40 on one. Made by Automatic Radio, the seller has a “Grand Boss” 104 8-track player, which also has FM radio capabilities. Likely made in 1973, this vintage music maker can be found in Poland, Ohio, and is available here on craigslist for $55. A shout-out goes to Rocco B. for this tip!

​Most of the tape decks I had were off-brand units, but a Realistic from Radio Shack comes to mind. Mine only played tapes (first 8-tracks and then later I upgraded to cassettes). But none of mine were wired for FM tunes like the Grand Boss the seller has. It came out of a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, which wouldn’t have had such technology when it was new. I’m not familiar with the Grand Boss 104, but I get the impression it may have been one of the better units on the market back in the day. The plus is the FM-MPX radio that comes with it.

Features of the player should include automatic track selection and – if you have a good tape rather than a bootleg – maybe you won’t listen to two tracks at the same time! We’re told this music accessory is in excellent condition, but it seems to have the kind of scratches you would expect from having to hook it up under the dash (the mounting bracket is included). If you’re looking to recreate your cruising ride of the 1970s, would you want to plug this into the fuse box?