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I was given a Mosrite body that was "Re-Routed" by someone (not sure why) but now the cavity is larger than it should be, and the pickguard doesn't cover it. Now, I'm a bit weary about cutting a "plug" so to speak and glueing it into the cavity, then routing it again in the correct shape.

My main concern is that the different pieces of wood might expand and contract at different rates causing the finish to crack and show where the repair is. Any sugguestions?

I don't think that a properly selected and glued in patch will move any different than the original body wood. Pick a wood of similar characteristics, and install with matching grain and direction.

What will the final finish be?

I'll most likley finish it in lacquer. Any clue what sort of wood would (say that three times fast) have been used by Mosrite in '65?

I would say that they were more than likely Alder or swamp ash. But I steer more towards alder.

Anyone else?

The production guitars of the '60s were either Alder and Basswood. You will find both. After the original Bakersfield factory closed different woods were used on custom builds but again most were Alder or Basswood.

Ok, so I've got two votes for Alder (I've also read this elsewhere) and one vote each on Swamp Ash and Basswood... Is there anyway I can tell the difference? Grain pattern? Weight? Etc...

most mosrites I've come across are basswood. that is the ventures one/mark one style. i've seen them in alder too, but mostly the japanese models. but again thats just what i've seen. I can't recall any mosrite in swamp ash or regular ash. many times finishers stay away from swamp ash because it's so hard to finish. I had to refinish a custom shop fender swamp ash strat, cuz the finish crack up and separated from the guitar. sometimes you have to put a poly undercoat to keep the nitro lacquer stable enough. amazing tone though, for my money swamp ash is the best wood for guitars with that real nice vintage fender like twang. alder is on the treble side too, but not as much, basswood has more bass with a lot more midrange. a lot of metal guitars are made of basswood, like jacksons, ESP, for example.
most joe maphis/combo models were walnut. at least the back was. it's been so long since I've played one to remember what's on the top. but my guess would be either alder or basswood.
I've always wanted a ventures one mosrite with a mahogany body. I'l make one, some day.

if you could post some pictures of the guitar in question, i could tell you what kind of wood it is.

ps-make sure that the guitar was indeed rerouted out. some mosrites have bigger pick guards, and maybe it was made that why from the factory.

hope this helps,
cheers,
Aaron

Cool, thanks for all of the input, I really appreciate it. The body was definitely routed out, and poorly at that (a chisel or two may have also been involved ) The pickguard is off by at least an inch and there's some extra holes drilled into the body. It was a pretty bad hack job.