Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This is an interesting guitar and fun to bring back to life.

Broken neck repaired with West System Epoxy.



Someone painted over the numbers and I was able to remove the black funk and preserve the numbers.

Good job getting the black paint residue off the body--I know its not easy. Looks like a like a lot of hard work but it turned out great. Just curious--How can it be determined this was not a Rose Morris issue? Serial # check?

love that kind of fireglo !!!

Ditto. Great work, Curt!

To anyone who is wondering what all of those magic marker marks are, next to the 345 numbers--my impression is that they appear to be a short-lived attempt to
document various steps in the QC pass-on process...I've seen these on a small number of '60s hollowbodies...

Well done, Curt! Your FG is stunning and you made the project look like nothing, excellanto!

hallewa wrote:Just curious--How can it be determined this was not a Rose Morris issue? Serial # check?

Me too...maybe the knobs (silver-tops)?

No, not the knobs, because my '64 F-hole Non-Rose Morris has the black knobs. Typically the domestic models didn't have the vibrato, just a trapeze, and the case didn't have the Rick logo.

Nice job, Curt.

I recognize the photo taped up to the backdrop that I assume you used as a guide for shooting the FG -- my 1967 1998 (or 345S for the purists).
You can see in the control cavity photo the "EXP-F" written (by Jill) in pencil, and also "EXP" in red marker.

I assume "EXP" stands for export and "F" stands for f-hole. In my experience "345" is found in the control cavities of both 335 and 345 models. The middle PU was added or not after the finish work was done. As there is no hole drilled in the body for insertion of the middle PU, I assume yours was a 1997 or 335.

Paul W. mentioned the colored magic marker marks. I have seen those in 1964 to 1966 semi-hollowbodied Ricks, but not after. My 1967 doesn't have them. So maybe that's a date clue if you don't have anything else to go on.

Do you have the hardware to put it back to stock?

Good luck!

Thanks everyone!

I don't know if the owner has all the parts or not and that's funny I used your guitar as a benchmark.

JakeK wrote:Well done, Curt! Your FG is stunning and you made the project look like nothing, excellanto!

+!!