Western Electric - Do these parts come apart?!

[Zombie Dave]

I have a phone I'm eyeballing,  but it's got a chip missing on the back of the case under the receiver.  The under, inside area. Like someone's slammed the receiver down one too many times. So my question is, are these parts separate so that I can swap out that little section? Picture is for reference only. Not the actual phone.

[jsowers]

The bottom half does come out. In older (1950s) phones it has a screw that holds it in. In later hard plastic (ABS) phones it's a force-fit piece and it will come out if you're careful. Which half is damaged? The lower half can be replaced but the upper half is part of the phone housing. Finding that lower half handhold insert piece won't be easy, but you do see them now and then.

Some have had good results with cutting a rib inside the phone and melting the plastic with acetone, applying it to the chip and sanding down the excess, but I've never attempted that. A chip in this area isn't very noticeable and really doesn't detract from the phone's value too much, so I wouldn't go to too much trouble if I were you.

[Zombie Dave]

I might not worry about it.  Just buy it and enjoy it.

[AL_as_needed]

There are also ways to make repairs to plastic leaving the phone hole. If your willing to put in the time and such, there are a variety of chemical methods for filling chips and cracks if you search around the depths of CRPF.

[Zombie Dave]

I should be getting a computer soon that will make this forum use a little easier. I'd really like to be able to fix the plastic parts.  There's a moss green one I want that's been chewed on. 

[Dan/Panther]

Zombie Dave;

Shop around and don't jump at the first phone you see, like I have done, you will end up with a ton of phones you don't want and are not worth anything near what you paid for them.

D/P

[RotarDad]

Dan is right that being selective is helpful.  I would add that decent black 50's 500s are readily available on EBay for not a lot of money.  Buying one to disassemble, restore and learn about can be very helpful also as you search out other models/colors in the future.

[Zombie Dave]

Thank you for the good advice. I'm learning as I go and trying to be a little choosy.  At least until I develop some skills.