Charvel Experts Please

[Clyde42]

We got in a Charvel Spectrum at the shop, and I am in the process of cleaning it up. It has very little playwear, but all of the metal parts are chalky and rusty from being stored in a swamp or something. The truss rod appears to have never been turned, and the frets show minimal signs of use.

 

Anyway, I wanted one of these badly in about 1990, and am considering grabbing this one. What I am puzzled by is the locking nut. It is a Kahler part, like the one used on their Steeler model, and appears to be stock. In the few photos of this guitar that I have seen, they have a standard looking Floyd type nut. The vibrato is a Jackson, which is severely oxidized, and I would consider replacing, just to clean up the overall appearance. Plus I have heard that these trems suck, and it does appear to pretty poorly cast metal.

 

So, I guess the questions are:

 

Would this have come with a Kahler nut? I found a manual scan for the Jackson vibrato, and it did not spec a nut for it. Perhaps they used whatever was available.

 

Will a real Floyd or Schaller Floyd drop in with no problems?

 

What the heck are these worth? Nothing passed through ebay recently, and the Blue Book thinks $400. The boss wants $250 from me, though I do get the privelege of cleanup/setup to my standards while on the clock. Seems like if I look I can find one cheaper, but it is good value to be able to fully gut it while getting paid, and it is my color(metallic blue).

 

Any input?

[Clyde42]

Anyone?

[mc5nrg]

Bump for any info on these Spectrum models, sites with info on later MIJ "Toothpaste " Logo Charvels etc. Checked the major sites which lean towards the early USA models.