So my roommate knows about my obsession with surf music and vintage Fender gear. So he brought me his dad's 1986 Japanese, 62 reissue Stratocaster. It is all stock and has had almost zero use. There are small bits of rust on the screws, pickup poles, and screws and the jack is having some serious contact issues. It has a 3 way selector but came with the 5 way, which I will be installing along with NOS tone and volume pots plus a paper in oil capacitor. Now the one issue I can see in the future is the pick guard. He and his dad want me to replace the stock with a black one but I have no idea which ones will fit. If you have any input I am all ears!
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Strat Project
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131 
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Posted on Feb 22 2014 06:43 PM
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 22 2014 06:45 PM
Here are some NSFW pics. Only for the feint of heart!
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana 
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Posted on Feb 22 2014 11:10 PM
I don't recall whether the MIJ reissues used the 62 11 hole pattern (like the AVRI 62) or the modern 11 hole pattern. Do you have an American Standard pick guard there you can use as a test? I swapped out the pick guard on a MIJ reissue a while back, but I don't recall which pick guard fit. The pickguard I used was one of those two. Later, |
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 22 2014 11:58 PM
normj wrote:
Thanks Norm. Unfortunately I sold my Start for a Squier Jag and Jazzmaster. I called some local shops and they were clueless(no surprise there). I might just make a call down to Fender when the open. |
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana
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Posted on Feb 23 2014 01:00 AM
If no one else has any information, I will take my MIJ 62 reissue apart to check which pick guard fits. Maybe someone else will know so I don't have to do that. I'll give it some time. Then if no one has an answer, I will open mine up. Talk to you later, |
Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England 
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Posted on Feb 23 2014 04:33 AM
I own a 1983 export Japanese JV Squier and I can confirm there are differences in pickguard hole alignments even within Japanese stock. I have just made up a loaded Pickguard with different electrics only find three of the holes are out of alignment by about 1/8"in. The Pickguard came from a bottom of the range 1996 Japanese Fender logo Stratocaster of which I dismantled and sold for parts. I'm not an expert on Japanese reissues but I know a little about the JV home (Fender logo) and export Squiers and what I don't know I can find out through 21 Frets I'd say your pickguard isn't stock, the pickups with the masking tape wire tidy look good but the rest of it looks like it has been altered. I have never seen a Japanese body with a "L" shaped routing under the bridge pickup. But for sure the home market versions were closer to the American models with extra refinements. Also looks like a thin skin nitro paint model. Is the three way switch a sought after "DM-30", check the pot code dates, does it say "Made in Japan" under the headstock logo. I'm only suggesting the owner should do some homework before altering it because original stock home market reissues are starting to make good money! Last edited: Feb 23, 2014 05:01:38 |
Joined: Dec 11, 2013 Posts: 2537 Akron, Ohio
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Posted on Feb 23 2014 05:13 AM
Don't have an answer to your question but I will say congrats on the new acquisition. There is something about a partscaster when it all comes together and you have tweaked it into an instrument that sings is very rewarding. My seafoam started as someones project disaster that I picked up for 30.00 on craigslist. I put a Jimmy Vaughn neck and loaded pickguard on it and just ordered a wilkinson trem for it. The old one I threw in it was just to get it running. The tex mex pups don't get a lot of credit but I like the tones I'm getting out of this guitar that my other strats weren't quite giving me. I've 250.00 into it now. Enjoy the ride! —The Kahuna Kings https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447 |
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 23 2014 05:22 PM
normj wrote:
Thanks again Norm. So I got a hold of the owner and he had an interesting story for how he acquired the guitar. In the 80's he won a radio contest and the prize was the guitar in question. The pick guard was signed by someone from Metallica. He then played the guitar for a few months without changing the strings let alone any hardware. So it is our understanding that everything but the autograph is stock. |
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Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 10:31 AM
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 08:50 PM
crumble wrote:
Holy cow! Ya thats like the same guitar! Do you really think he will get 4 grand? |
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 09:04 PM
Cowabunga! I just did like 5 minutes of my own research and found it that is in fact a 1986 Fender made in the Corona California plant! The father and son were convinced it was Japanese so I took their word for it. Ok now that that is on the line I guess Im just going to load up a new pick guard with fresh electronics and just swap them out. So do you fellas have any new input? |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 10331 southern Michigan
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 09:29 PM
Beautiful guitar! Quite a score! I think those early Corona Strats may get a $100-200 premium over other '62 reissues - there's NO WAY it'll sell for $4 grand. $1300-1400 is about the best they'll get. But still, that's a heck of a guitar you've got there! I have an '87 '62 reissue Strat, and I love it, it's plays like butter and sounds simply like a great Strat. Enjoy! —Ivan |
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 11:00 PM
The pickups in the 1986 AVRI Stratocaster are wonderful. Why do you want to change them? Later, |
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana
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Posted on Feb 24 2014 11:02 PM
Just out of curiosity, how did you decide it was an AVRI as opposed to being MIJ. Those two guitars look very similar, but there are many small differences. |
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Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 12:23 AM
Sorry I didn't mean changing the pickups. The guitar doesn't have any MIJ or CIJ marks and its serial number puts matches Corona records. When we I agreed to work on it, I was under the impression I was bring a defunct Japanese guitar into working order. My buddy wanted to modernize it a tad. Not like any of the Modern player bull crap though. But yeah this has kind of changed our mind. |
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 02:38 AM
If you have a 1986 Fender AVRI 62 Stratocaster there, don't do any upgrades. Everything you change decreases the value. Verify it is stock. Check the pot date codes. Check the saddles to see how Fender is stamped. Check the spacing of the dots at the 12th fret. Check the name on the pickup selector switch. Those are the quick easy checks to differentiate a Fender Japan from a AVRI. If it passes all those, leave it alone. Talk to you later, |
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Joined: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 882 central Indiana
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 02:50 AM
The early Corona AVRI Stratocasters are moving up in value. Here is one that the seller (foolishly) put a buy it now price of $1285. That was way too low. Here is one that sold for $2450. Here is one that sold for $2225. Here's an 88 that sold for $2770. If you have the original case and the guitar is completely stock, it should bring (at least) $2000. Think twice before you start changing things on it. Later, |
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Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 10331 southern Michigan
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 09:17 AM
Norm, wow! This rise in the prices must have happened just in the past year or two at most. I was following the prices for a while, but I guess not very recently. Very interesting. I have a felling the '86 reissues may be a bit more expensive than '87 and beyond, as I think a lot of people think they were still using Fullerton parts. And then you have the fiesta red one, which is in absolutely STUNNING shape (and look at those photos! I'm saving those!), and which always gets a premium simply due to the color. (I think the same may apply to the surf green one.) Well, anyway, very cool, I'm glad to see that at least one of my guitars is rising in value! Ivan |
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Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 09:26 AM
Does the Corona Strat mark the end of CBS and the beginning of Fender greatness once again. Are they the first of the U.S. Reissues? Last edited: Feb 25, 2014 09:27:00 |
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Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 10331 southern Michigan
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Posted on Feb 25 2014 09:29 AM
Malc, not quite. The reissues started in '82-'83, under CBS, and they were managed by Bill Schulz and a few other guys that bought the Fender brand in '84-'85. So, there are CBS-era reissues, the so-called Fullerton reissues, which are extremely highly regarded and now go for several thousand dollars. The Corona reissues mark the start of the post-CBS era. Hope that helps. —Ivan |
BTW, LOVE that vintage white/cream finish on a '62 reissue! Please visit our friends in the surf music community:
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