Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This'll be fun to watch! Post profusely!

Will do!

Very lucky find!! Good for you john !

I'd love to hear the story on how you scored this one, JW, congrats! Who will be doing the restoration, if you don't mind me asking?

Well, Jake, it goes like this.....a fellow in Alaska got in touch with Glen Lambert about a '58 325 he had. He was interested in selling. Glen got in touch with a few people who might be interested. I thought about it for awhile. I called the guy up, talked about the guitar over a period of time. We agreed on a price but I was worried about the condition of the guitar since it had been re-finned in RED. It was missing the nut, bridge, base plate, Kauffman, lower p/guard and the tailpiece bracket. On the day that I was supposed to wire the money, I talked it over with Leftybass and decided at the last minute NOT to buy the 325. I am sure the seller was upset but I would've been more than upset if the guitar had a filled in F-hole or a broken neck or a busted back, etc... I felt relieved.

Fast forward to early Feb. and one night I thought again about the 325 and decided to email the owner to see if it was still for sale. He emailed me back and made a time for us to talk on the phone about it. I called him two nights later and he had indeed been upset with me about reneging on the deal. However, we smoothed things over and we agreed on a price AND with a contingency plan. We both felt the guitar was ok beneath the red finish.

The 325 arrived 4 days later, after I wired the $$. He sent it overnite and it arrived in perfect condition. He packed it very well in it's OHSC. Lots of foam and peanuts. It was a feeling opening the case and picking up that guitar. Probably the Holy Grail model of Rickenbackers ,unless you have another favorite, of course!. I had to know what was under that RED paint. I decided to strip the guitar myself. I was nervous but didn't think that I would ruin the guitar. I got the CitriStrip, scrapers, gloves, etc...and went to work. I did the top first. No repairs or damage there. I did the headstock, front and back...no problems there. I did the back. No problems there except that there appeared to be a couple of small cracks. No wonder.....the back is 1/8" thick. I am sure they can be glued/repaired and not noticeable. I then stripped the rest of the neck. Again, no problems. Yay!

It is being hand delivered to a certain shop on Tuesday, Feb. 29th. The fellow doing the refinishing expects the refine to take about 6 weeks. I am thrilled! The missing parts are no problem. Plenty of pics will be taken so we can document the resurrection of V86. It will be re-finned in it's original Two Tone Brown.

That is the story so far.........

John: Wow nice work. This deal was certainly not for the faint of heart. I look forward to the photos documenting the resurrection. I only have one question at this time. Why RED!

If she was mine, I'd refin it in natural .. and I'd get the finish ambered and slightly aged, God I wish I had that guitar john!

Amazing! Congratulations John The Holy Grail of Rickenbackers, indeed. Very much looking forward to pics of the resto process!

Thanks for sharing your story, John. I, too, am anxious to watch the restoration. Hopefully it will play as good as it looks!

Im very happy that I know who is "not" going to get to paint it !!

This is what it looked like when it left my abode....

It'll be a little stunner when it's finished John. Two tone brown it has to be!

When JWilli and I talked about the guitar, and not just ANY guitar, a '58 325----it was my opinion (along with a few others) that for the large investment that John was about to make, some effort by the seller should be made as to the integrity of the body wood (and neck) under all of the red paint....as in scrape some off here and there to see what we can find out. You can imagine how it would rightly suck if the body had seen some major repair during it's lifetime after buying it.

I told John that if you cannot be sure, then maybe it's best to leave it alone for a while, if not forever.....by anyone's standard it is a big risk.

Well, in the end, it has all worked out and the guitar will look fabulous when it's done. Can't wait..!!

I bet that thing could tell some stories.

jwilli wrote:This is what it looked like when it left my abode....

drool ..