RA81 destruction

[Jay West]

I'm not one that ever advocates tearing apart classic gear. But in this case 
I think it's warranted and I'd like some advice.

I have more than a few RA81's that are all clearly labled "BAD HDA", and the 
person I got them from confirmed "these are all dead". I grabbed them 
anyways as they had to be taken as part of "the deal".

I am not familiar with these drives at all. From what I've heard over the 
years, they have a fairly high failure rate and thus people who use them are 
often looking for HDA assemblies. This makes me think that it's unlikely 
that I'll be able to just pull the bad HDA's out and obtain good ones to put 
in. Plus I don't need this many drives at all, so I think it's time to tear 
them apart and scrap them.

Since I don't know anything about RA81's yet (have never used them or opened 
one up), and because I do intend to keep one or two of the drives running (a 
few don't say "bad hda" on them), can someone tell me what parts I should 
scavange off the dead ones that are worth keeping as spares? I know the 
obvious like the light bulbs and drive select plugs, but what about 
components on the inside that "those in the know" would advise I not just 
pitch with the drives?

Lastly, are the casings for the RA81's mostly steel, or aluminum? I'm 
pondering putting them in the van and taking to a scrap metal dealer. I 
wouldn't do this, but they are clearly dead, HDA's not likely to appear, no 
one wants them, and I need the space.

Jay West