Phantom GT Restoration Ideas?

[Supadupadave]

Hey everyone, new to guitar and I think I lucked into a really decent guitar. From what I gather I have a 84 Phantom GT with it's original hardshell case, but just beat to shreads. I think some one tried to artificially age it. Other then that it works and has all the original part except the pickguard, the back plate was replaced with some cheap plastic and two of the screws that lock the nut down.

Is the guitar worth having professionally restored? I know I'll need to post the pictures at some point. I'm not really much of a metal fan which is what I guess this guitar is more geared twords. But regardless, given what I've read hear this guitar is something special. If I ever part with it, I am going to make sure someone who appreciates it gets it.

Supadupada

[Feynman]

No one likes those. Send it to me and I'll take care of a nice Rising Sun refin. Just PM me for my mailing address.

Thanks.

[Supadupadave]

No one likes those. Send it to me and I'll take care of a nice Rising Sun refin. Just PM me for my mailing address.

Thanks.

Oh... I may have gotten a little to excited then. ADHD will do that to you.

[Armitage]

You realize he's kidding?

[veatch]

Yeah - Feynman's is just crabby 'cause he's getting bored with his Newport.

The GT's are killer guitars, regardless of what style you play. Whole lotta guitar for the money.

Post some pics when you can. How to post pics...

An welcome aboard, sir!

[gorch]

Welcome to the boards! We have some guys here who do professional restoration with exceptional results.

[Supadupadave]

Sorry about the poor image quality but this is what I have at the moment. I'll try and take a better one latter.

As you can see both the case and the guitar itself are cosmetically in rough shape, but for $100 I'd say the price was right. The serial number on it is 411535. Considering how highly respected these guitars are, I just want to make sure I do it proper justice.

Supadupadave

[atquinn]

I'd strip it to the wood, oil it and call it a day. Not that I know how to do any of that stuff, unfortunately, but I figure it would be pretty easy to learn. Provided you're confident you can take all the hardware off and put it back on correctly.

-

Austin

[BCR Greg]

Oil it and NOBODY will ever restore the finish. Have it done right or leave it as is, but PLEASE do not oil it....

[dewey finn]

I'll give you 200 for it right now!

Leave it just the way it is and send it to me now!

[gorch]

What has this guitar gone through to look like this?

Supadupadave, check the forum for refinishes and restorations and see what's possible. Some of them are well documented with pictures. Take your time and decide.

[cmatthes]

That's a fantastic score. Those are very sought after, and you could have it pro-restored for well under half what you could sell it for.

Check with Stike here on the board - he does amazing work and uses the correct headstock logos as well.

[Supadupadave]

Do you know anyone who restores cases as well? I think that would add to the value if it were properly fixed up as well.

[veatch]

Mr. Dave, that would be the deal of the year! (so far)

For that $100 investment, i'd say keep it as is for now and play it like you mean it. See if you like it. See if you love it. Whether or not you like/love the guitar enough to keep it long term, or whether you will simply want to restore it to sell may make a difference in how you have it refinned.

...and i'll give you tree fiddy right now for it.

Congrats on an incredible score!

[Supadupadave]

To be honest, I'd like to restore the guitar back it as much as original as I can. One thing I personally like about this guitar is it's simplicity. Some people like to have crazy electronic options and such but not me. Actually this guitar may very well suit me. I originally wanted a Fender Strat. I currently play a Warwick bass now, but I wanted something to jam on by myself. Bass solo is fun only for so long. Plus it helps to understand the playing perspective of the other band members.

I really don't know how long I'll keep it, but it sure beats the hell out of a MIM Strat.

[Jason01]

Like they said, play it for a while as is and see if you like it. You're not gonna want to strip it down and oil it though, that neck joint will stand out like a sore thumb and you won't be able to do anything about it.

Here's your after resto pic.

[Lockbody]

A hundred bux for a GT? the find of the year!

Sorry about the poor image quality but this is what I have at the moment. I'll try and take a better one latter.

As you can see both the case and the guitar itself are cosmetically in rough shape, but for $100 I'd say the price was right. The serial number on it is 411535. Considering how highly respected these guitars are, I just want to make sure I do it proper justice.

Supadupadave

[Supadupadave]

Mr. Dave, that would be the deal of the year! (so far)

For that $100 investment, i'd say keep it as is for now and play it like you mean it. See if you like it. See if you love it. Whether or not you like/love the guitar enough to keep it long term, or whether you will simply want to restore it to sell may make a difference in how you have it refinned.

...and i'll give you tree fiddy right now for it.

Congrats on an incredible score!

Just to give me an idea, what would this go for if I had it restored to be as close to factory as reasonably possible? Does having the hardshell case add anything eventhough it's really rough?

[Jason01]

Having the original case is important mainly because they are so hard to find. As long as its functional and not going to fall apart and let your guitar fall out I wouldn't worry too much about restoring the case, its not going to dramatically change the value of the guitar.

[murkat]

That's a fantastic score. Those are very sought after, and you could have it pro-restored for well under half what you could sell it for.

Check with Stike here on the board - he does amazing work and uses the correct headstock logos as well.

I second the motion.

Great score.

Stike will have like new with a refin.

Very rare, esp with just the one vol control and un modded.

[veatch]

Just to give me an idea, what would this go for if I had it restored to be as close to factory as reasonably possible? Does having the hardshell case add anything eventhough it's really rough?

I haven't seen enough of them sell to get a good idea. I saw one on feeBay go quite a while back for stoopid cheep, like the $600 range, but i don't think that is normal. (and i also do not recall the condition of the guitar...)

I would expect somewhere around $1000 if fully restored, but that's a guess.

Some of the smarter folks around here know better than i on this, though. Hopefully they'll chime in.

Edited for clari-tay...

[zorrow]

If restored by Stike, 1K would be a fair price. How thick is the neck, by the way?

[Armitage]

That's smokin!

[BubbaVO]

score of the year.

[Supadupadave]

Thanks everyone for you input. I'm going to be checking out some of the suggestions you all have made. I will really try to get some more pictures up for you all when I get a chance.

To give a bit more of a back story on this guitar, as I mentioned I was looking for a cheap electic but decent electric guitar to play/learn on. I currently play a Warwick bass. I had been watching craigslist like a hawk and this came up. I knew that anythig that came with the OHSC for a $100 had to be worth at least a look. I almost didn't buy it. It had no strings on it, the input and volume know wasn't attached. But, from looking at the tremolo and tuners I figured I could part it out and get my money back at worst. The seller had said he bought it off craigslist as a project, but lost time for it. After I got home and looked up more information and actually figured out what exactly I obviously was happy.

Is there any good sources of pictures of what these looked like new, and what color combinations they came in? How many were even made?

[murkat]

this is the only color avail from Hamer for a GT. GT stands for Glenn Tipton, Judas Priest.

^ that is the goal.