Thanks to Bob Timmons and LaPastenague!
Since most of the pertinent discussions are closed, I thought I would make a separate post to thank you both for your invaluable advice and unsung service.
Several years ago my 500 GB Time Capsule suddenly died. Being only an average home user and not wanting to be very long without WiFi, I quickly bought a new 2 TB TC and threw the old TC in a drawer. I figured that there was a lot of sensitive personal information on the TC but didn't know how to safely dispose of it.
Recently I decided it was time to figure out what to do with the old TC. After pouring through your old posts, I concluded that the WiFi was dead but that the HDD was probably still OK. Using your references, I was able to remove the old HDD and install it in a new enclosure. (I believe it was LaPastenague who mentioned that one could buy an enclosure for USD 25 or less. I splurged, however, on a Sans Digital Mobilestor MS1CT+ that I am very pleased with.) I was able to erase my sensitive info from the old HDD and now plan to use it for photos, archives, or something like that--with the proper backup, of course.
Again, thank you both very much for your excellent advice and keep up the good work.
iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 2008 iMac, 500 GB Time Capsule