replacement tape deck for 88 honda civic

[loretts]

The tape deck in my 88 honda civic hatchback died. Tapes just run forward and backwards, do not play. The radio does not work either. I would like to replace with tape/CD combo.. Is there such a thing for my old car??

 

[Randolph]

The tape deck in my 88 honda civic hatchback died. Tapes just run forward and backwards, do not play. The radio does not work either. I would like to replace with tape/CD combo.. Is there such a thing for my old car??

Go to http://www.crutchfield.com, then click on "What Fits my Car" under the "Car & Marine" heading at the left of the screen. They have at least one CD/ Cassette combo that fits the '88 civic (Sanyo FXCD-550, $269.99). The prices at Crutchfield are good, but not rock bottom. They include wiring harness and mounting hardware, and their tech support is second to none.

 

[SoCalMike]

The tape deck in my 88 honda civic hatchback died. Tapes just run forward and backwards, do not play. The radio does not work either. I would like to replace with tape/CD combo.. Is there such a thing for my old car??

i went with a blaupunkt head unit w/ tape player, and 10 disc CD changer.

do you absolutely *need* a combo?

ive been (dont laugh!) ripping all my cassettes to my computer in MP3 format. doesnt take long, sounds better than tapes, since for some reason the converting loses a bunch of potential hiss and lets me make custom mix CDs and load up my MP3 player.

these days, id likely go with a cheapass headunit that doesnt look like its worth stealing (OEM?)and rig an ipod or something to it.

 

[Matt Ion]

The tape deck in my 88 honda civic hatchback died. Tapes just run forward and backwards, do not play. The radio does not work either. I would like to replace with tape/CD combo.. Is there such a thing for my old car??

Well the good news is, your "old" car, like almost all Japanese vehicles made since the 70s, will fit a standard DIN-sized stereo unit. Which means the vast majority of decks made in the last 35 years will fit as well.

The bad news is, I don't think you'll find anything that combines a tape and CD into a single-DIN unit; there really isn't enough physical space for both mechanisms. There have been several over the years that are a
1.5-DIN or double-DIN format (same width, one-and-a-half or twice the height) but those won't fit your Civic.

Options are:
* A cassette head unit with CD-changer control, and a changer mounted elsewhere in the car
* Tape or CD head unit with front-panel input jack, to plug in a portable CD or Walkman
* CD unit only, then rip your tapes to the computer and record them to CD
* CD unit only, and record your CDs to tape (not recommended, unless you enjoy getting laughed at)

My wife's Caravan has an MP3 CD deck with rear AUX inputs, and I ran a cable out that she can plug into her iPod Mini and play it through the system. This works quite well.