Ben,
I agree that you should update your sound system in your 1978 B, but
make sure you carefully save that gem of an 8 track deck. They may be
in disfavor now, but wait 10 or 20 years. Someday you will have
fanatics like me who are restoring their cars and want "period" auto
accessories. Just like those chrome and Formica 1950s dinette sets,
they were hated for many years, now they are collectors items!
As for the AM/FM/MPX designation on your deck, if you are younger than
40 you probably don't realize that FM car stereo was a big deal in the
1970s. Most home receivers could decode FM stereo broadcasts by the mid
1960s, but car sound lagged behind. The "MPX" designation stood for
Multiplex, which was the circuitry that allowed you to receive FM stereo
stations. Most low end car radios of the period could only pull in
monaural FM, so the "MPX" was a desirable buzzword of the time.
As an aside, in the early 1960s before the widespread use of FM
multiplex in home stereos, there were several attempts to provide stereo
broadcasts by transmitting one channel on an AM station and one channel
on an FM station! My folks bought a house that was built in 1958, and
it had a built-in stereo system with that feature. The tuner/preamp
weighed in at about 40 pounds, had 17 tubes, and could heat a small
room. The separate power amp had two large output tubes that lit up
with an eerie purple glow when operating.
Cheers,
Paul Kile
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