OP is NOT talking about the classic players strat. he is talking about the classic series 60's strat.

I didn't read the whole thread, so maybe what i will say here has been said already. But the difference IMO is monumental. The 60's is basically a MIA RI but with poly instead of nitro, cheaper pups and pots, and different hardware. i say "different" hardware because i don't consider a steel block trem to be better, only different. But the fact is that the mim 60's and 50's RI bodies and necks are the same bodies and necks that are used to make the MIA RI's. i heard this when the MIM RI's first came out and later taked to a Fender employee that confirmed for me that the 50's, 60's, and 70's MIM RI bodies and necks are indeed made in the USA alongside the MIA reissues. the proof is all around you. Look at a MIM standard body in burst and you can see the veneer on top and the 5 or so pieces under it in the trem cavity. On solid colors they don't need it obviously. But look at a MIM RI in clear or burst and you can look in the cavities and see the top is not veneer and the body is only 2 or 3 piece with nice grain. "Select alder" as they call the MIA stuff. In fact, many are better than the MIA RI bodies. Mine is better than any MIA RI i have yet seen.

The standards are a bunch of planks glues together. Not that it's a bad thing in every case. But there IS indeed a big difference in the MIM standards and the 50's/60's/70's strats. Mine is IMO near perfection, and i wouldn't trade it for a MIA RI.