1966 Fender Mustang Restoration

It might be hard to believe, but this is a 1966 Fender Mustang.

What’s that? You don’t think Fender were doing black bodies and surf green scratch plates in 1966? I think you’re right.

At some stage in the years between leaving Fender and being rescued by me, someone has taken to it with a paintbrush and “updated” it.  I came across it a couple of years ago, almost overlooking it given the dodgy colours. Pretty much on the spot I decided it needed to be put back to its original state.

It was a bit of a punt to be honest, but I hoped that given they’d spent so little time on the paintjob, that hopefully they hadn’t taken the time to open it up and really screw with it.  It has been stored since then while I got some other projects done, but I’ve decided to kick off the restoration, and document it as I go.

My goal is to keep it as original as possible, repair and restore parts wherever I can rather than replacing. If I really have to replace, I’d like to replace with vintage parts from the same year. This may mean the restoration takes longer than I’d want, but I’d rather take the time and know that the result is original. I’m not aiming for it be “as new”. It’s a 50+ year old guitar, it should look like that. However I’m aiming for a 50 year old guitar that has been very well taken care of.

Any feedback welcome. This isn’t my first guitar restoration, but it is my first Mustang, so I’m open to all the help I can get.

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