Ok i'm, with you having that many Morris's i thought you must be from the UK
Hope you get that tail piece or you might have to go to the drawing room!

Well, this thread has been dead since last November, but I have news. Not only did I find and purchase the "F" style tail piece that I started a new thread about. I found it right on RIC's ebay web presence.... the best part is that it is RAW, that is to say casting flash still on the pieces and it has not been chrome plated. This is going to allow me to modify this tail piece in a way I had only dreamed of doing. The main complaint about the "R" tail piece is the difficulty in stringing the guitar. The ball ends not staying in their slots while one fiddles with the other end of the string trying to affix it to the tuner. My plan is to fill in the slots with weld, which you would not want to do if it had already been plated, and mill the new solid piece so that the faces are all nice and even. Then I plan on drilling holes though this new solid area instead of slots thereby trapping the strings ball ends and rendering the traditional issues with the "R" tailpiece non-existent. This will solve another problem that I found when the tailpiece arrived. I did not know before laying my hands on one that the strings do not "track" straight into the tailpiece. The spread from string 1 to 12 is exacxtly 2.0" on my bridge but the trace is 2.25" on my tailpiece. This would not be a problem with the "normal" shorter "R" tailpiece as there is enough length of the string behind the bridge to allow the strings to splay out as they reach the tailpiece, but since the end of the "Harp" is so much closer, there might be a problem with the angle being too great for the strings to have enough down force to stay seated in their grooves without deepening them. By welding the tailpiece slots closed and making this area a solid block, I will be able to readjust the trace of the strings to a straight through pull. I will post pix of my progress as it happens. But to be sure, it will look cool. I tested it for fit by just laying it on top of the long trapeze style that is on the guitar now and it looks great. Now off to the shop.....

Remember these are cast, not forged, so a "weld" might be a bit of a problem if not done very, very carefully.

Thanx for the warning. I wish I had the skills to do this myself but I do have just enough common sense to know that I need help with this task. I am not NEARLY welder enough tro tackle this delicate project. Do you have an opinion on which route I should choose of the two methods my little pea brain has concocted. 1) fill all the slots with beads and grind the resulting mass until it is "surfaced" in such a way as to allow me to drill the holes where I want. or have the little teeth (for lack of a better term) which make up the slot arrangement, milled off first then weld a solid block to the flattened area? The first method might present a problem with the drilling if the weld that fills between the teeth is not of the same or similar hardness and might cause the bit to wander. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Thanx in advance for any ideas.

Its been exactly a year since Ive won the 320 on Ebay.
That was the weekend of Hurricane Irene passing thru NYC.
I hadnt even realized Id won til that Moday morning after the auction closed Saturday Nite.

I still love the guitar, and try to play it a bit every nite. But yes, I still think about picking up a 325C58. Although Ive been determined to resist Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I havent modded the body & only bought new strings for it. So its been a little exercise on playing music, and not tinkering with the parts. But hey, eventually I'll need another Ric, right?

Many thanks to everyone on the forum.
-Brnrd

MrBern Yes I remember your first post, it was an interesting purchase from ebay and for a short while we were concerned as it only had one truss rod. Mr Hall was good to explain that for a short period around that time some were made with a single rod. I recall your guitar was also sign Maria.....We thought it may have been Mario... it was Maria!

Now did you find a name for her???????????????

i think another Ric would be great for you, but try to play different models, new and older and vintage and maybe not all short scale......unless that's your thing!

I'm glad you still love the guitar, play it every night, that's really good.

Hi there, I have a mid 80s 320 and it has a single truss rod. I had a similar concern about the single rod, but the guys at Rickenbacker confirmed that it was correct. Enjoy your guitar!!