1987 Stanley Clarke Deluxe ... but no serial?

[Secret Squirrel]

Hey Folks,
Just received a nice SC, believed to be a 1987 model, but the brass truss cover is obviously a home made one, and there's no serial in the electronics cavity (unsure if there ever was on that model and period). I'm not particularly nervous about the provenance of the bass - it has the right metal logo, through-neck, beautiful quilted maple etc. Weirdly, though, the MOP inlays on the fingerboard are almost transparent.
I wondered if anyone with the same model could take a pic of the truss cover? And how can I determine the serial? Is it even possible? And does that really matter?
Very many thanks ... I'll see if I can put up a pic or two.
Jas

[Secret Squirrel]

Here's the guitar. Still trying to sort out a higher resolution pic but that is less than 1MB.

[Secret Squirrel]

And the truss cover ...

[edwardofhuncote]

Check the end of the fingerboard, just beyond the 24th fret. Should be stamped in there.

[hieronymous]

Maybe the truss rod cover is upside down?

[mica]

If the serial number was on the truss rod cover it would also be in the electronics cavity. The end of the fingerboard looks like it could have been modified. Check under the neck pickup for a number we may be able to cross reference to the serial number.

[Secret Squirrel]

I checked - not there, but yes, that is an excellent suggestion.

[Secret Squirrel]

Thank you, Mica! 

[Secret Squirrel]

If the serial number was on the truss rod cover it would also be in the electronics cavity. The end of the fingerboard looks like it could have been modified. Check under the neck pickup for a number we may be able to cross reference to the serial number.

Mica, the number looks to me like 2058.

I am conscious that the serial number may have been deliberately removed, in which case we should check to see which SC models have been stolen. Perhaps photos of any stolen ones could be compared with the maple pattern on this bass as the figuring is unique - like a fingerprint. Let's hope there's a good/credible reason for the neck carpentry! I'll upload a pic in a minute.

[Secret Squirrel]

Under the neck pickup ...

[pauldo]

Check the end of the fingerboard, just beyond the 24th fret. Should be stamped in there.

From what my old eyes discern it doesn't look like there was significant material removed from that location to eliminate a SN.
A close up of both sides of the 24th fret may show otherwise...

BCSI !

[keith_h]

You might try taking a rubbing of the end of the fretboard to see if it might bring out a number.

[gtrguy]

Mica may be able to take the 2058 number and find out what the serial number is. Alembic maintains a file of stolen instruments that I am sure will be checked against that number. For now I wouldn't panic. There is probably a simple reason why you can't find the number.

[Secret Squirrel]

Thank you to Pauldo, Keith_h and Gtrguy - really appreciate your ideas and advice. I'll see what Mica can uncover in the interim.
So for now, nothing I can do apart from play it, and listen to the rain lashing against the windows ...

[Pete si]

This is an old trick. Take a piece of copy paper and place it tightly where the sn# would be. Then with a #1 pencil run it over the paper using the side of the point end. If there’s anything left of the sn# it would be visible on the other side of the paper. It’s worked for me in the past. It’s one of those ‘just give it a shot’ kinda things.