Thanks eveyone
I'm looking into a Nakamichi.. I've restored some music gear from that era and pretty familiar with the internals.. I recapped some yamaha gear with Audio Note and other stuff. The boards are really easy to work on. I think I should try that with a Nakamichi and see what they can really do :)
Seems I want one with their discreet heads, but simple internals. Simple audio path. Some have tons of aged cable harnesses and whatnot...too many "features". Hm