is it possible to record 4 tracks live on SS model akais?

[rasdestroyer]

Hi
I recently came into possession of two old akai "surround sound" reel to reel decks... one is a 280d-ss, which from what i've read is a fairly collectable machine (pulled that one out of the trash); the other is a 202d-ss, which i got for 30 bucks at a thrift store. apart from the anticipated kinks (a little more hiss than i want, sticky buttons) all motors and heads seem to work fine .. i think these are servo and not belt driven but i'm not sure.. anyhow, before i drive myself crazy trying to accomplish the implausible (which i will surely do nonetheless), my question is:

are the "rear" L and R channels on the machine actually 2 separate tracks that i can record onto in addition to the "front" L and R channels?.. i'm guessing from the looks of the deck that it wouldn't be possible to do overdubs (except maybe to record front L and R, then double back and do the rear channels) cos it's not designed for recording, but could i do live 4 track tapes? there are four mic inputs and the deck has the capability to play back 4 channels at once... from what i can see it's the same principal as a four track portastudio - if you use all four "tracks" you only get to the run the tape one way. however, i'm not sure if the "rear" channels are actually substantial or just some weird sub-channel background thing .. interestingly, the decks both have four line outs (one for each channel) on the back panel , so theoretically i could run those back into my mixing deck just as i would from a dedicated recording deck ...

any advice anybody who's used one of these can send my way is much appreciated... i'm not 100% sure, but i THINK i could pull this off.. the real trick would be syncing the two decks and creating a DIY 1/2 8 track.. though i have no idea how i could sync the transports, as they've got old analog timers and no sync connections that i can see.. oh how i love projects that i like the tech skills to mobilize!

thanks so much
take care
bryan