The Resto-Mod will be documented in a 10-episode YouTube series
(Image credit: Fender)
The Fender Custom Shop has teamed up with Barrett-Jackson Builds on a one-of-a-kind creation: a custom 1969 Ford Mustang fastback with a matching Fender Custom ’69 Stratocaster electric guitar, and a Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amplifier custom fitted to the car’s trunk.
This project will launch a digital series called “Barrett-Jackson Builds,” featuring collector car restorations designed to educate and entertain automotive enthusiasts documenting car builds and unique partnerships.
The 1969 Ford Mustang Resto-Mod will be fully documented in a 10-episode Barrett Jackson Builds video series streaming on Barrett-Jackson’s YouTube channel.
You can check out the trailer below.
The stunning guitar itself, meanwhile, was built by Fender’s Custom Shop director and Principal Master Builder Ron Thorn, and is a Resto-Mod version of a ’69 Stratocaster using modern high-performance components, refined styling and aggressive tones.
The guitar boasts an alder body and maple neck, but Thorn deleted the pickguard and rear loaded the knobs and push-button switching for a “more modern and aggressive look.”
The round-lam ebony fretboard features a more modern 12-inch radius and larger fretwire with “MUSTANG” inlaid in sterling silver with the same classic font found on decklids of early Mustangs.
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Additionally, the guitar boasts triple-taillight stylized EVH high-output humbucking pickups and custom covers constructed from actual 1969 Mustang side marker lights, and then installed without the use of bezels to match the 1969 Mustang’s taillight assembly.
(Image credit: Fender)
The traditional six-screw tremolo unit, meanwhile, is replaced with a modern two-point system coupled with Sperzel locking tuners and a graphite nut. And in a nice touch, the tremolo arm has been machined to match the turn signal arm of the Mustang.
Custom knobs were machined to match those found on the Mustang’s radio controls, and in place of a standard selector switch the guitar sports a ’60s NOS push-button assembly sourced to mimic the AM/FM radio-station selector, and then laid out similar to what would be found on the car’s dashboard.
Finally, the Strat is finished in Raven Black with flat-black competition-stripes-and-Pony design, with chrome hardware, custom back plates and red accents.
Said Thorn, “This collaboration combines my top two passions in life – Fender guitars and high-performance cars. Stratocasters and fastbacks have long been two iconic symbols of high performance. They are loud, but also classic icons with beautiful lines.”
(Image credit: Fender)
He continued, “Resto-Mod is the perfect term for this guitar. Although built from scratch, we’re taking the core 1969 Stratocaster model and modifying it with customizations and high-performance components exactly how the Barrett-Jackson Builds team is doing to the car.”
The car, Stratocaster and Deluxe Reverb amp were “built ‘together’ in separate locations but fit seamlessly together,” Thorn said. “When this guitar is plugged into the built-in Fender Deluxe amplifier in the trunk, the player can riff on a tasty blues jam or tear it up with full shred action!”
The Fender Custom ’69 Stratocaster will be unveiled prior to Barrett-Jackson’s flagship Scottsdale Auction on March 20-27 at WestWorld of Scottsdale. The custom Mustang, guitar and amp will be sold as a set with No Reserve.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
