I originally started another thread waaaaaaaay back in 2015, but I am finally ready to revive it after a long hiatus. So I am beginning a new thread here so I may continue to tell the tale...
My Dad is into classic cars...American muscle cars, hot rods, etc...from '50s to early '70s. Well....me....I am not into cars. I never caught on. I don't why, but I just never got into it. I was dragged to my share of car meets as a kid that's for sure...
His hobby was always buying/selling cars. I must have seen 300+ cars come through our driveway. I got into Model Trains and later music and guitars of course. So, we didn't have much to connect on. However, I got an idea to start building replicas of his cars into guitars.
So the concept for this project started all the way back around 2013. At the time my Dad had a 1969 Pontiac GTO in Liberty Blue Metallic. He told me then that he absolutely loved this car, he had owned one as youngster back in the 70s and that it made him feel young again. This was it. He had finally found the one, he was entering retirement, he was done with buying cars, he was going to keep this GTO forever.
Now, my Dad has owned hundreds of classic cars and I’ve heard this rant several times before, BUT this time he really meant it.
So, I started to draw up a concept for the guitar: Let’s say someone goes out and buys a brand new GTO in 1969. This guy is also a guitar player and has recently purchased a new Fender Stratocaster, one that looks a lot like the Strat Hendrix played at Woodstock. He loves his GTO so much that he would like his Strat to match the color of the car. This guy brings it to a Fender dealer and has it sent back to have it refinished in the same color as his beloved car.
My Dad was stricken with a severe case of left-handedness at childbirth and it was never corrected. He had always teased me to build a left-handed guitar in case he ever wanted to play. Now, I don’t recognize the existence of left-handers, nor should we encourage them to play an instrument. If they REALLY want to play they can flip the guitar upside-down and be cool with it (like Albert King and Dick Dale). However, I figured this was an in to connect with my Father and after all, I could flip it upside down and play righty and I would look just like a mirror image of Hendrix!!! Well, a shorter, fatter, older, paler, more lame version of Hendrix…
I began ordering parts for this guitar in 2013, first ordering a custom made ‘60s style left-handed alder body and a 1 piece CBS-style Maple neck. These were both built by B Hefner in California, which was a licensed by Fender builder, but they have since gone out of business. The neck was built close to ’69 specs with “F” stamp tuner hole spacing, 1-5/8” width at the nut, 7-1/4” radius and a thin D shaped profile. I decided to go with a 1pc construction with the skunk stipe as 1969 was the year Fender went back to 1pc maple necks from the Maple caps they were doing earlier. I also ordered it with slots only because I had planned on installing my own stainless steel frets.
I figured once this guitar was completed, it would be a great companion to his car and he could place it sticking out of the trunk at all of the car shows. After all, he was NEVER going to sell this one…
…then a few months into my project, HE SOLD IT! (Here are pictures from the listing):
My Dad is into classic cars...American muscle cars, hot rods, etc...from '50s to early '70s. Well....me....I am not into cars. I never caught on. I don't why, but I just never got into it. I was dragged to my share of car meets as a kid that's for sure...
His hobby was always buying/selling cars. I must have seen 300+ cars come through our driveway. I got into Model Trains and later music and guitars of course. So, we didn't have much to connect on. However, I got an idea to start building replicas of his cars into guitars.
So the concept for this project started all the way back around 2013. At the time my Dad had a 1969 Pontiac GTO in Liberty Blue Metallic. He told me then that he absolutely loved this car, he had owned one as youngster back in the 70s and that it made him feel young again. This was it. He had finally found the one, he was entering retirement, he was done with buying cars, he was going to keep this GTO forever.
Now, my Dad has owned hundreds of classic cars and I’ve heard this rant several times before, BUT this time he really meant it.
So, I started to draw up a concept for the guitar: Let’s say someone goes out and buys a brand new GTO in 1969. This guy is also a guitar player and has recently purchased a new Fender Stratocaster, one that looks a lot like the Strat Hendrix played at Woodstock. He loves his GTO so much that he would like his Strat to match the color of the car. This guy brings it to a Fender dealer and has it sent back to have it refinished in the same color as his beloved car.
My Dad was stricken with a severe case of left-handedness at childbirth and it was never corrected. He had always teased me to build a left-handed guitar in case he ever wanted to play. Now, I don’t recognize the existence of left-handers, nor should we encourage them to play an instrument. If they REALLY want to play they can flip the guitar upside-down and be cool with it (like Albert King and Dick Dale). However, I figured this was an in to connect with my Father and after all, I could flip it upside down and play righty and I would look just like a mirror image of Hendrix!!! Well, a shorter, fatter, older, paler, more lame version of Hendrix…
I began ordering parts for this guitar in 2013, first ordering a custom made ‘60s style left-handed alder body and a 1 piece CBS-style Maple neck. These were both built by B Hefner in California, which was a licensed by Fender builder, but they have since gone out of business. The neck was built close to ’69 specs with “F” stamp tuner hole spacing, 1-5/8” width at the nut, 7-1/4” radius and a thin D shaped profile. I decided to go with a 1pc construction with the skunk stipe as 1969 was the year Fender went back to 1pc maple necks from the Maple caps they were doing earlier. I also ordered it with slots only because I had planned on installing my own stainless steel frets.
I figured once this guitar was completed, it would be a great companion to his car and he could place it sticking out of the trunk at all of the car shows. After all, he was NEVER going to sell this one…
…then a few months into my project, HE SOLD IT! (Here are pictures from the listing):
. The upshot being we learn everything YOUR way then teach ourselves. My mom's folks were Basque, from Spain named Cruz until the church decided LH was evil and started burning us. So they moved to Italy, added an E and became Cruze. About half came to America 100 years later. All present and none burned, the reason? We're smart enough to pass the writing/ handshake test. Because again you are the majority.
