This is a real basic question..

I recently inherited a 1980 f100.

The guitar seems impossible to restring. Is there a secret method?

The back of the guitar has a chrome rectangular cover, with two long slots and six access holes.

The old strings aren't budging when I try to push 'em through and there isn't enough room to tug them out.

The guitar wasn't played much at all, and I'm guessing the strings haven't been changed in years.

This is frustrating...I've not previously owned a Fender or G&L, but I have successfully changed strings on other makes for many years.

try squirting some WD-40 in there. most likely it is from not being played, not a common issue as far as I know.

Thanks,

I got them replaced... I was sure something was wrong with my technique, or a major quirk with the guitar.

I hadn't heard of a problem with the F-100, but I believe I'd read that Fender Bullet strings can be a problem with the string-through ASAT Classic. Bullet strings? Perhaps that was the deal? Pic's of the guitar would be nice. Congrat's.

I've had the ball-ends of the strings get stuck in the bridge on some guitars before...not sure if my G&L was one of them. But one of those precision screw drivers worked pretty well to push them out.

Every once in a great while I get a stubborn string that gets caught in the ferrule, even when they're only a week or two old. As Muleya said, a precision screw driver will work to punch the ball end out, but if you don't happen to have one on hand, a fairly heavy-duty paper clip will work just as well. I just bend one end out and "voila" - job done! I always keep one or two in my guitar case.