Red "thermoplastic 302" or not?

[RotarDad]

Wow, Christian is right - those cradle ears do look short (and  the plungers small) like a '37 302.  Strange - I thought that was an E-handset design bit.  Why would a plastic housing look like that - perhaps concern about plastic ear strength in an early-design shell???  Maybe this was built with a red dial blank, and someone stuck in a switchboard dial decades later.... There is a dial mount screw missing, a black gasket, and a lock washer under the other screws that doesn't look correct to me.  Paul F - talk to us!

[rdelius]

Compare parts

[RotarDad]

Thanks, Rdelius - the missing lower dial screw and lock washer type certainly match your manual (non-dial) example.  This supports a replaced dial on this set and that it may originally have been manual.

[Jester]

My apologies to rdelius and Butch Harlow for reposting their pics-- I thought having these two shots together would make the difference more obvious.  Looking at the unused mounting holes on both these covers, notice the red cover has a smaller hole-- just large enough for the screw fit through.  The metal cover has holes big enough for the standard rubber cushion and eyelets to fit through-- the hole in the red cover is the same diameter as those in the 51AL base through the D-- mount.