1985 fender strat

[HartzogGuitar89]

I know it isn't Warmoth related, but I picked up this 85 strat MIJ for 200 bucks and I can't seem to find a whole lot out about this particular year. I'm kinda wondering what this guitar is really worth because i know some of the Japanese strats are really sought after. I also want to know if anyone is familiar with this tremolo I have never seen one think it before. It is missing the lock down screws and piece on the head stock and i am wondering if anyone knows where i could get the part or would it be better to just put on string trees. Thanks for the help!

 

[SustainerPlayer]

It's a Fender system one tremolo. It is also missing the fine tuner screws on the bridge.

I don't know about the US market. Here in DK it is not one of the sought after models. And when all those parts are missing it seriously degrade the resell price.

I would guess that you paid just about right for it.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Found this:

http://www.wammiworld.com/System%201.php

Hope it helps.

 

[HartzogGuitar89]

Thanks for your help! Yeah i assumed it wasn't that great of a piece considering i couldn't find out much about it. I mainly went ahead and bought the guitar because i thought the pickups sounded great for a cheap buy. I will probably use this body for a future neck purchase!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I wound say that is a good one.  Leave as is, and replace any missing parts.

It's MIJ and not CIJ.  The early MIJ ones are the good ones.

 

[Wolfie351]

I can't quite make out the serial #, is the first letter a K?  If so, I don't think it's an '85.  I'd have to look it up, but I think they only used E and A for '85.  Still a good buy though, you could flip it for double.  I've had a few mij contemporary Strats, great guitars...maybe even better than what was coming out of the US plant at that time.  The mij contemporary squiers were really really good too and still a fantastic bargain today, I recommend them to younger players because of the thin neck and shorter scale.

 

[HartzogGuitar89]

It is an E#. According to fenders website it is an 85, I will probably get it fixed and keep it as is. I have seen other MIJ strats sell between 6-9 hundred.

 

[bbl4ck]

I have an ~82 Jap Strat with the same hardware.  I too was missing the lockdowns and found a couple sets on Ebay.  The fine tuning screws I have not seen and are a major part of that bridge.  I would look around Fleabay and I bet you can come up with some.  I keep mine around just because it was my first electric guitar.  Good luck...
:rock-on:

EDIT:
After looking at the page that Sustainer posted, the fine tuning screws are available on that sites parts page for $7.00 each.  I would grab them while they are still around.  They are found here: http://www.wammiworld.com/pS012.php

 

[stubhead]

It looks as though that Wammi World has what you need to restore it, at which point it becomes a "collectable." But, if it was mine, AND it was working OK with the parts, I'd probably just play it as is. Some of these locking things were... slightly bizarre. It's like they saw the Floyd, but didn't quite "get it." You might just collect the parts, bit by bit. I mean, if it's got good wood, good neck, and sounds good, IT IS GOOD not withstanding the efforts of the Sniffer Brigade to down grade everything they don't own... There's a batch of Ibeni, in between the Artists & Studios and Musicians of the late 70's (that last is a hopeless lust object for me) and the RG's. They were called "Roadstar II's" (there were no I's :icon_scratch and they kicked it, hard. But they had little top locks on the bridge pieces that served no function whatever. Strings being whammy'd very rarely start bumping string bindings over the bridge pieces, it's the nut end of things that go weird.

 

[bbl4ck]

Here is one on Ebay with a asking price of $900. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FENDER-MIJ-MID-80S-E-SERIES-VINTAGE-3-COLOR-SUNBURSTBODY-W-SYSTEM-ONE-BRIDGE-/221390878398?pt=Guitar&hash=item338becb6be

Also a Youtube of the same guitar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgbM_R2VJiU&feature=youtu.be

:rock-on:

 

[Wolfie351]

Here is one on Ebay with a asking price of $900. 

It's always best to click the "sold" checkbox on searches if you're looking for the actual value of something on eBay.  Similar guitars that have recently sold are in the $300-$400 range and are 100% original.  Still a good deal for OP, but thinking it's worth more than that is unrealistic.  But, all that matters is the guitar found a good home.

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've had one of these pass through me hands before. As far as value goes, they're not worth as much as other models only because most of the people really into collecting the Japanese Fenders are only interested in the most basic, standard Strat and Tele specs (i.e. 6-screw, non-locking bridge). The actual build quality is the same as any other.

Fix it up and keep it as a player. Yes, you'd only make a couple hundred if you sell it fully restored, but as a guitar to use it should be about as good as you can get withough splashing out on an actual Custom Shop unit.

 

[Cagey]

It's always best to click the "sold" checkbox on searches if you're looking for the actual value of something on eBay. 

Absolutely. People ask some wild prices, but what things actually sell for is the real metric.

 

[m4rk0]

They are worthless.. but don't worry, I will still give you 50 bucks for it!

Seriously, I have a bunch of them (mostly in parts) and really like them. it's the contemporary series, and this particular model (also known as the "standard 22" was different to the rest of the series because it doesn't have a black headstock. the necks feel perfect to me! mainly because one was my main guitar for about 20 years!
I even built my first warmoth around one!!!