Do I part out this Dual Pro?

[Jon Flynn]

I'm new to the forum and to electric steel and I wonder if anyone here can give me some advice.
I recently bought an early Fender Dual Pro (boxcar pickups, never had legs). It doesn't have a case. It has suffered a non-professional refinish at some point. As far as I can tell, the guy got pretty carried away with the sander on the back neck (that's the one closest to the player, right?) as it is now completely level with where the switch and knobs are. Make sense to the dual pro players out there? Also, he didn't get too fine with the sandpaper as there are a lot of scratches visible in the light. Bottom line - it looks pretty bad. All the components, fretboards, etc are there and look good, but one tuner is bad and something is going on with one of the necks - it can flicker on for a split second, but doesn't seem to be as loud as the other. I cleaned the pots and they seem to work great.
Anyhow, I'm beginning to realize that this is more of a project than I have time for. At what point do you think it's appropriate to "part out" a guitar like this? Do people need parts like this? Or do you think it's better left in the condition it's in? Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking to make a pile of money by parting out a vintage guitar, just wondering how this guitar can be most useful to people out there. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for your replies. I am a big fan of the forum!

[Brad Bechtel]

I would normally recommend against parting out a guitar unless it's completely unplayable. Could you post some photos of the guitar showing the damage it's sustained? It might be easier to fix than you think.

[Doug Beaumier]

I agree with Brad. If the guitar is playable or near playable, I'd say repair it and play it. The bad tuner sounds like the main problem. Those early tuners were soldered in place and have to be "unsoldered" from the pan. They’re hard to repair and parts are no longer available. A good machinist could probably fix it. As far as the intermittent short, it’s probably a bad connection or wire... an easy fix. If it’s a problem with the pickup, those can be rewound. Of course, some repairs are expensive so you need to consider how much you want to spend on this and how badly you want "that sound".

[Joe Kaufman]

I agree, it sounds so close to playable, I would hate to see you part it out! If it were mine I would try to fix it. Seeing pictures or learning more might change my mind, but I don't think so.

BTW I also sent you an email.

[Bill Creller]

The other option would be to build a new body for it. Is it ash or walnut? Those were three sections glued together, and could be made the same way. A bit of work, but it would be a totally new wood body. And all the "stuff could be put on the new wood.
It sounds like the guitar is a real disaster right now.