I am looking at a 84-88 American hardtail Strat, the only thing that is giving me trouble is the code in the neck pocket. The code reads IC June '03 on both the neck and the body, the serial number comes up as a 84-88 American but I have been unable to find out what the code means. If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

You're looking at two different guitars. The Standard Strat (made in USA) is not the same as the American Standard which was introduced around late '86/87. Also note: some early American Standards used neck decals with an "E4" prefix from left over decal stock. The guitars themselves, though, do not date back to 1984.

Thanks for the info but I was already aware of all those facts. I have researched both the dates of the guitar as well as the E4 serial numbers, I have even talked with Fender but their records don't go back that far. I understand what the guitar is I was mainly curious if anyone had ever seen a code like that before.

How about posting some photos of the guitar and code in the neck pocket? It's hard to tell without seeing what you have.

I have tried but I can't get the pics to load, it is a stamp though not hand written. The only thing I have been able to find is that the "03" may refer to the neck haveing a skunk stripe. The June portion is pretty self explanitory but then there is the "1C" prefix ( not IC as I originally posted). I have looked everywhere and have still found nothing, I know the 80's were a transitional period for Fender but I am going to pull my hair out if I can't figure this out .....lol

To post photos here you have to have them on a hosting site like photobucket or flicker; then you can just copy the link that has the [IMG] codes.

I thought a photo might jog some memories - I'm pretty good at tracking the model changes, but not so great with the code stamps, etc. However, the head of Fender's Consumer Relations deptartment, Rob Schwartz, does check threads and posts from time-to-time. Rob started at Fender back in the early 80s - he was still doing QC or assembly in the early FMIC era and may recognize these code stamps.

I appreciate the tip, I will try to the photobucket thing in a little while and see if I can get it to work. I hope someone may have an Idea, I have seen numerous fact sheets in regards to codeing but nothing that matches exactly. In any case I may just go ahead and buy the guitar and finish the research at a later date. It is too good of a deal to pass up. It is the first hardtail that I have messed with and has got a very differnt tone compared to the rest of my strats.