I just picked up this one this past weekend. Other than having a couple of issues that I need to deal with, it plays pretty nice. It looks like the hardtail bridge isn't centered so That's a big one. The rest are cosmetic for the most part but it's all good as I didn't pay much for it. The wood for the body appears to be an oiled finish and is actually purple-ish. The CIJ neck is outstanding and I really love the feel of it. The Dick Dale autograph appears to be correct and looks like most published autographs of his but I have nothing to prove it is his. Any input would help figure out what I have here.

Not sure if it's the angle of your pics, but something doesn't look right about the body to be. Something about the contour looks off.

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"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

Maybe the neck can be adjusted. Loosen the neck mounting screws and tilt the neck towards the low E string, then re-tighten the screws.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

yeah I was thinking the same thing.

The neck is pretty tight in the pocket and it looks like they had to remove a little bit of material to fit it in. It also appears that they fitted the CIJ neck into some non-original Fender body to me. I will most likely have to drill out the screw holes and glue in dowels to scoot the bridge over or find a different one. Maybe look into routing the body for a tremolo, that would be cool!

Good eye guys...that is definately NOT a Fender body. The upper horn is too long, and the bottom contour is way off and it appears the body thickness is off as well.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I'd junk the body and get a replacement Warmoth (or other) aftermarket body or even an MIM body.

The contours are off, it's possible that the neck route was off center which would explain the discrepancy between the high E and low E strings.
It's possible the bridge is offset, but being a thru body string set up, that will take a lot to redress.
It is however possible to address the neck pocket issue without too much trouble..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

I basically have the value of the neck in the whole guitar so I'm sitting pretty well as far as what I'm into it for. If I get a different body for it, I'm still going to have to get into it for a reasonably low price. I guess keeping an eye on eBay might be worth doing! Damn I love the feel of that neck though, so sweet!

Yeah, it's a nice neck. It's a 62 style, so if it was mine and I was going to switch out the body, I would try to find something like a mexican 60s classic style body for it.

Your options as far as bodies are quite varied....
Keep in mind however that, If you go with an MIM or MIA body, they will be of the same dimensions...
But Squier bodies however are not in some series, the thickness of the bodies are 1"5/8th whereas the MIM's and MIA's are 1"3/4.
It doesn't seem relevant until you install components meant for an MIM or MIA configuration.
Simply put, the Tremolo pocket will be shallow and the bridge block will protrude enough to interfere with the backplate....This is also true for the 5 way switch .

Just make sure you will be hooking up a body and components that fit...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

You could also go with a MIJ 60's style body. I saw one on ebay that's pretty cheap at the moment.

That body is a little funky but I kind of like it. I'm going to try moving that mystery bridge first and see if that takes. If not, I'll start shopping for another body.

Anyone have any clue about the origins of that odd looking bridge?

well, it's hard to tell from the pic, but I think I've seen ones like it on Ebay, when I was looking for a hardtail bridge to mod a squier 51. Think they were pretty cheap, like $25. Let me see if I can find them.

K is it like this? This one is gold, but like I said, can't tell from the pic so not sure if this is the same kind.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-GOLD-Hardta ... 2ec18b20d9