uh oh, I bought a '78 stang

analogsystem · Post by **analogsystem** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:35 pm

That is going to be a radical project, and a great deal for all you have to work with!

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:47 pm

yea I'm just hoping it doesn't weigh 20 lbs. or something.

I'm trying to guess what color it could have been originally. so far the only colors I have found for 1978 mustangs are sunburst, natural, walnut, wine red, antigua and white. no black.

also, I was wondering about those split shaft pots on there. it seems '78s came with strat knobs.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:53 pm

my 78 musicmaster had strat knobs on split shaft pots when i got it.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:26 am

dudes, I got it.

this thing is beastly.

I got it playing in about 15 minutes. there was a ground wire loose coming from the pickups. someone has played the shit out of this thing. they must have really liked it. and I can see why. feels great, sounds great, looks gnarly as hell. someone has done some of the usual mustang mods to it. replaced with bridge pickup (pretty nice sounding pickup but I'll probably put something of my liking in there soon enough), and bolted the trem in place. unfortunately the rest of the working parts of the trem are not with the guitar.

besides the missing parts of the trem, the bridge pickup and the one tuner, everything is original '78 stang. the finish, surprisingly, is original. I pulled the guard off and you can see the original color was indeed black. and there's numerous chips and flakes where you can see that it's the only finish on the guitar. it came from texas and it looks like it's been siting out in some dusty sun-bleached plain for a good while.

the pots are the orginal pots. they're still passing a signal but the volume is pretty much on full all the way around and the tone is fine except half of the shaft is broken off so you can't put a knob on it.

I'll try to take some better pictures of it tomorrow. it's late here and I could only take crappy flash pics.

edit: oh yea, it's not overly heavy either (like some fenders from this era have been claimed to be). it weighs maybe 2-3 pounds more than my music master with the 60s body. or about the same as a strat.

edit#2: fatass neck.

love it.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:39 am

dude, that is fucking gnarly
i'm stoked that you got it.

clarkbar · Post by **clarkbar** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:26 am

very cool dude

Sidney Vicious · Post by **Sidney Vicious** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:44 pm

Very cool grab for cheap! - thanks for posting the pictures -

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:21 pm

That looks great! Makes me want to find a beat-up Fender student Model and bring it back to life. Looks like you will have some repairs to do, but nothing over the top. Cheers to you for the find. The good deal almost makes the guitar seem that much cooler. If you add more pics, make sure to get some neck shots as well.

DICHOTOMY · Post by **DICHOTOMY** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:35 pm

do an bargain

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:29 pm

some rainy day seattle pictures...

taylornutt wrote:If you add more pics, make sure to get some neck shots as well.

the neck you say? alright, will try to get some later.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:49 pm

I love the dark stain of the headstock. So Cool.

Sidney Vicious · Post by **Sidney Vicious** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:46 am

Man! The more I am seeing of that the better I am liking it - that dark headstock IS very nice.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:33 am

<3 contours + grime

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:52 am

Very nice!

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:18 pm

ok, so I "cleaned" it. there was a ton of caked nicotine and grime on this thing. and on close inspection I realized there was a second coat of paint, on top of more nicotine and grime! so I sanded off the second coat with 220, 320, 400, light cut meguires, and then meguires polish. if you were in love with the old worn mojo, don't worry, plenty of mojo left. I sanded through in one spot (woops) but it doesn't matter, it's so beat up you can only tell if you know what you're looking for.

(many nicks and scrapes. can you see my booboo?)

so the tailpiece is from a '65. I got it because mine didn't have any springs or posts. all I need now is a trem arm, new pots and to put the knobs on.

edit: also, there is residual polish in the cracks in the finish. does anyone know a good way to get it out?

Ty · Post by Ty » Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:46 pm

Was the bridge flipped and then locked down? Any better pics of it? Looks like a fantastic Mustang, love the beat up look.

Sidney Vicious · Post by **Sidney Vicious** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:24 am

Looks GREAT!

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:38 am

Stealthstang might be my favorite color combo for stangs.. the checking and wear looks LUSH

Sidney Vicious · Post by **Sidney Vicious** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:03 am

cobascis wrote:Stealthstang might be my favorite color combo for stangs.. the checking and wear looks LUSH

Me too - otherwise they can look too busy IMHO. The black on black cleans it up SWEET.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 3:18 am

That thing is gorgeous in a rather honest kind of way.