CA Guitar Repair Blog: 1983 MIJ Strat

Preamble

To date, a few videos on this sunburst 1983 MIJ Strat have been posted to this blog and social media, some with detailed descriptions. We thought it'd be a good idea to summarize observations, conclusions, decisions, and progress made as of last night and early this morning, it being Friday (July 31) today.

First Look and Initial Observations

Right off the bat, a few issues were staring us in the face. For one, the neck plate lacked a stamped serial number, reason being that the original had somehow been lost. Then there was tarnish and corrosion, which had taken hold of most of the hardware. As for the vintage-style tuners, they were really wonky, especially the High and Low Es. Making matters worse were the non-functioning electronics, no thanks to damaged pots. The volume pot knob spun round and round freely, while the shaft of the second tone pot lifted right off with the knob.

Headstock Face

Wonky Vintage Tuners

Maple Neck

Pickguard and Pickups

Corroded Tremolo Bridge

Second Tone Knob

Free-Spinning Volume Pot

After taking this Strat apart, we noticed an unstamped neck pocket and a neck heel marked "Made in Japan," "9.2," and "9 - 1 83." We'll take the last one to mean date of manufacture (September 9, 1983). Flipping the pickguard over revealed three single-coils (probably Alnico) with cloth-covered leads, a Centralab (CRL) USA selector switch, three A250K mini pots, a poly cap, and skinny plastic-insulated wiring. Meanwhile, unscrewing the jack plate was a pleasant surprise, as the output jack was a genuine Switchcraft (to be retained after servicing). Other notable features include SSS pickup routing, a period-correct "worm route," and a "fat" tremolo block.

Unstamped Neck Pocket

"Made in Japan"

Production Date in Pencil

Underside of Middle Pickup

CRL Selector Switch

A250K Mini Pots

Switchcraft Output Jack

SSS Pickup Routing

"Worm Route"

"Fat" Tremolo Block

Further Observations and Recommendations

It's back to the headstock, then. The lone string tree is terribly rusty and will have to be replaced. As for the cruddy and wonky vintage-style tuners, they will no doubt be retired as well. Moving down, we have a great number of worn, pitted and/or flattened frets all along the fretboard. There's still enough height left in them for a fret dressing, so a full refret will not be necessary.

Rusty String Tree

Tuners Are in Bad Shape

Worn Frets - Image 1

Worn Frets - Image 2

Worn Frets - Image 3

Worn Frets - Image 4

Worn Frets - Image 5

Meanwhile, the strap buttons, though tarnished, should clean up nicely. The same cannot be said for the corroded screws, which will be replaced. Now, about the tremolo bridge. There's widespread tarnish and corrosion. The worst hit are the saddle intonation and hex height adjustment screws, some of which have nearly rusted through. Prime candidates for replacement, methinks.

Strap Buttons

Bridge Plate

Corroded Saddle, Spring and Screws

On a brighter note, we're happy to report that all three pickups are in working order. However, all six height adjustment screws are rusty. The half-dozen latex spacers fare no better, as the years have turned them into crumbly, sticky and compressed "doughnuts," for want of a better term. Yes, you guessed it right. They'll all be put out to pasture.

Testing the Neck Pickup

Rusty Screws / Unusable Latex Spacers

Now, remember those A250K mini pots? Well, the owner wants them replaced with full-sized CTS 250K pots, a wise choice indeed. There's a catch, though. Far East (metric) pots have shafts with 18 splines, as do the knobs. Conversely, CTS (imperial) pots have shafts and knobs with 24 splines. So, the current 18-spline knobs will not fit the CTS pots, and shall be replaced with 24-splined ones. Also note that the current CRL selector switch will be replaced with an Oak Grigsby.

CTS & Alpha Pot Shafts - Comparing Splines

Close-Up of the Splines

Alpha Shaft Splines Match the Current Pots

CTS Shaft Splines Do Not Match

Metric & Imperial Knobs - Internal Splines

Close-Up of Internal Splines

Oak Grigsby Selector Switch

Hardware Servicing Commences

All this happened last night and into the wee hours of the morning. Having separated the hardware that would be retained from that which would be replaced, we were able to move on to the first phase of servicing, a 20-minute bath in a Digital Ultrasonic Cleaner set to 50 degrees Celsius. This helpful device literally "shakes" off quite a lot of crud, turning the "bath water" murky. The single-ply white pickguard, meanwhile, was given a gentle scrubbing with plain old dish soap and water, and hung up to dry. It looks a little whiter now, don't you agree?