What is a Highway 1 Tele?

BeardyAndy

I have a parts-caster that has a Highway 1 body and I have a Mx Tele with a battered body and a good neck. If i put the Fender neck and p'ups on the Highway 1 will i be able to sell it as a Highway 1 or have i just created a Frankenfender?

Highway 1's seem to be selling for around £700 so you can see why i'd be interested!

joetele

I'd be wary of selling the Tele as a Highway One when it's not. You'd have to be completely honest in the listing / description.I also doubt you'd get £700 for it but by all means try. 

munckee

Highway 1 is US, predecessor of the american special I believe.  You would have created an all fender partscaster.  The neck on the partscaster is licensed to fender anyway, and stonkingly good : )

BeardyAndy

munckee said:

 The neck on the partscaster is licensed to fender anyway, and stonkingly good : )

I know it is, that's exactly why i'd be keeping it! Really want to move on the other guitar but the poly coat has taken a bashing and puts people off so was bouncing a few ideas around.

joetele said:

I'd be wary of selling the Tele as a Highway One when it's not. You'd have to be completely honest in the listing / description.I also doubt you'd get £700 for it but by all means try. 

I wouldn't try and hide the fact, I know better than that. If anyone was going to get caught it'd be me!

joetele

BeardyAndy said:

munckee said:

 The neck on the partscaster is licensed to fender anyway, and stonkingly good : )

I know it is, that's exactly why i'd be keeping it! Really want to move on the other guitar but the poly coat has taken a bashing and puts people off so was bouncing a few ideas around.

joetele said:

I'd be wary of selling the Tele as a Highway One when it's not. You'd have to be completely honest in the listing / description.I also doubt you'd get £700 for it but by all means try. 

I wouldn't try and hide the fact, I know better than that. If anyone was going to get caught it'd be me!

It sounds like you'd end up with a lovely guitar - could always sell the battered Tele with the parts neck etc as a cheap guitar? 

guitars4you

Fender have ran with a few budget USA models over the years - A more simplistic model that sat below the price point of the best selling AM Standard models -Often with a gig bag as against no case - Less options regarding colours, pick-ups etc

Often bodies and/or necks would come from Mexico o be then assembled and/or finished in the USA in order to qualify as 'made in the USA'

The Highway 1 is one example - As is the International Series and California Series for example

The Highway 1 isn't a bad guitar

I agree with @joetele - If selling you need to be upfront about it as a 'Fender Partsacaster' - And also agree about £700 IMO is OTT

thegummy

I'd imagine the body would be the part someone cared least about if they wanted a specific model.

If everything else was the same except the body was replaced, it still wouldn't be that model at all but it the person might still want it to get the desired specs at a lower price.

If someone is after a specific model, surely it's the shape of the neck and pickups that they desire, isn't it? I can't think what would be special about the body from that guitar that would make it more desirable than, say, a Mexican Standard body.

BeardyAndy

thegummy said:

I can't think what would be special about the body from that guitar that would make it more desirable than, say, a Mexican Standard body.

Nitro finish?.. But yes, I agree with what your saying.

Lestratcaster

I've got a US Highway Tele. Got it for around £450 around 10 years ago, Alder body. Plays nicely, have since switched out stock pickups but the rest of it is stock. Compared it with a Mexican and there's a bit of a difference, not much though, to me.

thegummy

BeardyAndy said:

thegummy said:

I can't think what would be special about the body from that guitar that would make it more desirable than, say, a Mexican Standard body.

Nitro finish?.. But yes, I agree with what your saying.

Would definitely be more desirable then.

I think you might be better off just calling it a partscaster and specifying nitro finished body cause there will be a lot of people to whom the nitro finish would be a selling point but who wouldn't know that that model came with one.

Even in the title of the ad as well as the details; some people really do seem to be willing to pay more for that feature.

Epsilon

It is nitro finished but its a matte finish. Polishes up with use and ages quite quickly. It doesn't feel the same as, say, an American Standard finish at all.

Any guitar with a replacement neck should be sold as such. It's a partscaster with a USA Highway One body and a MIM neck.

For what it's worth a Highway One Telecaster was my first Fender and it was a very nice guitar indeed. Wish I'd kept it now.

crunchman

There were two versions of the Highway 1.  This might help a bit:

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/fender-highway-one-telecaster-25977

CasperCaster

What you would create is a partscaster, and you would need to describe as such if you sold it, indicating which bits came from where. I see plenty of Hwy1's on eBay for prices up to £700, but they rarely sell for that. £500-550 is a realistic price, and only the top end of that if its genuinely in good condition, and entirely a Hwy1 (not a bitsa). Also, for clarification, the first version Hwy1's are finished in satin acrylic not nitro. The finishing moved to satin nitro shortly before the release of the v2 Hwy1's, so a tiny number of v1's are genuinely nitro, but not many. V2 Hwy's are finished in nitro, though I suspect they have some form of poly undercoat. They do all have a thin finish though, which probably counts for more than what the actual chemistry of the finish is. 

guitars4you

CasperCaster said:

What you would create is a partscaster, and you would need to describe as such if you sold it, indicating which bits came from where. I see plenty of Hwy1's on eBay for prices up to £700, but they rarely sell for that. £500-550 is a realistic price, and only the top end of that if its genuinely in good condition, and entirely a Hwy1 (not a bitsa). Also, for clarification, the first version Hwy1's are finished in satin acrylic not nitro. The finishing moved to satin nitro shortly before the release of the v2 Hwy1's, so a tiny number of v1's are genuinely nitro, but not many. V2 Hwy's are finished in nitro, though I suspect they have some form of poly undercoat. They do all have a thin finish though, which probably counts for more than what the actual chemistry of the finish is. 

agree about the £700 asking price as OTT

Good hot rod projects if you can get them at the right price as the 'chassis' is okay

thegummy

Quite possible that everyone knows this but we've all missed things that others find obvious - when looking on eBay for ideas of value, use the "completed listings" rather than the asking price for ones that have yet to sell.

Again, I'm sure OP probably did this but just mentioning in case anyone didn't know about the option.

paulnb57

Serial number on the neck would trace back to the model the neck came off, so it would be a Fender Partscaster

BeardyAndy

thegummy said:

Quite possible that everyone knows this but we've all missed things that others find obvious - when looking on eBay for ideas of value, use the "completed listings" rather than the asking price for ones that have yet to sell.

Again, I'm sure OP probably did this but just mentioning in case anyone didn't know about the option.

You actually want to select “sold items” as “completed” Includes the ones that didnt sell. 

thegummy

BeardyAndy said:

thegummy said:

Quite possible that everyone knows this but we've all missed things that others find obvious - when looking on eBay for ideas of value, use the "completed listings" rather than the asking price for ones that have yet to sell.

Again, I'm sure OP probably did this but just mentioning in case anyone didn't know about the option.

You actually want to select “sold items” as “completed” Includes the ones that didnt sell. 

Ah nice tip.

I just look for the prices that are in green, that means they sold for that price. Will be even better to just filter the others out though.