The Apple Tape Backup does insist on restoring to a volume that's the exact
size of the original.
There is a way around this (it works only if your backup is a volume
backup). An INIT called Tape Disk comes with Tape Backup 2.0.1. Install
this INIT into your System Folder and restart. Your tape will show up on
the Desktop--just like a drive icon. You then simply drag over any files
you want to the hard disk.