I got another one of those fancy, vintage JVC clone VCRs from around late 80's, pics coming soon! Although being completely operational (but seriously neglected & worn out), it was meant to be a donor unit, to restore one other VCR but that didn't quite work out the way I was hoping - so I successfully put everything back together & restored it the "cheap" way. All the parts are original, but the rubber components have been chemically restored and I did a cable management. Really, how often do you get to do a cable management inside the VCR?!
EDIT
Now I feel stupid for not taking "before" pics... The cable arrangement inside this VCR (especially around the front panel interface & power leads) was a total mess!
Oh well, another one saved... It runs - definitely not in perfect condition, as the idler wheel is struggling to keep up with needed torque but indeed, it runs perfectly fine. These are all direct drive units, with 5-motor configuration & individual motor for every operation: Cassette loading, head drum, idler, capstan & loading (aka mode-switching motor). Needless to say, the entire chassis is made out of metal, which is more than you can say for modern units
EDIT2
For those interested to see one of these in action, this guy on YouTube filmed his Seleco SV-835 VCR, which uses the same tape transport (JVC mechanics)