The Nakamichi Dragon from the 80's are going for serious money, like over 5 grand but are probably the best you can get. A friend had one that he let me dupe a few tapes with and the difference from my cheapo deck was universes apart.

 

typically only a dozen or so screws.. and the parts aren't usually that tiny. They use to make stuff so that other people could repair it. everything wasn't glued together like an iphone, back then..

 

Just wanted to give an update,

I ended up grabbing a Pioneer CT-1280WR Double Cassette Deck Player/Recorder off of ebay, that is supposed to be in good working order for $50 USD. That seemed like a pretty good deal. From my research the later Pioneer cassette devices seem to be fairly reliable.

I was also considering a Pioneer CT-W600R, which has more information about it online and is reviewed very highly.

Do you think I chose the right deck? Anyone have experiences with these Pioneer decks?

For $50 it's going to be hard to complain assuming it works correctly.