New England Telephone Type - 85 G - Fiddleback Telephone

[Sargeguy]

Here is an interesting conversion on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181102895672

I like how they did the internal wiring using the original hookswitch.  The receiver and transmitter leave a little to be desired:

[Sargeguy]

The phone arrived yesterday after the seller accepted my $400 Best Offer on Thursday.  I have been looking for one of these for some time and keep getting outbid at around $400.  Despite the conversion, I figured the chances of finding a NET & T marked one are fairly remote, so I took the plunge..  I was able to get a better idea of what I am dealing with, even though the pictures provided by the seller left little to the imagination.  I started by removing the handle that the restorer had whittled out of wood and attached with a curled vinyl 500 cord.  There was a small hole drilled behind the binding posts on the bottom to feed the cord into the phone.  Overall the phone case appears to be in excellent shape, with some dings but no water damage, splits or rot.  

[Sargeguy]

All of the original hardware is there except for a few missing screws.  The mouthpiece has been drilled out in the center.  Opening the box reveals the extent of the modifications.  All the original electronics are missing.  These can be easily replaced except for the large, flat condenser.  The hook is still there, and there is a small hole drilled in it.  he way the restorer did the job is kind of clever, and I may try to hook it up as I search for the missing parts.

[Sargeguy]

Notes-

• The *229* transmitter face was undamaged, although I had to add the transmitter guts from the parts bin.  
• I think I may be able to get away with just refinishing the backboard and leave the front part of the phone untouched.
• I will be using the OST receiver I found in a box of packing peanuts the other day on this phone.
• A deburring tool works okay for removing old solder from the ends of binding posts.  Any other suggestions?

Here is a picture of the hardware prior to going into the rock tumbler:

[Sargeguy]

Looking for pictures of the interior of one of these to see how the various parts were arranged.  The restorer drilled a few extra holes.  Also, a wiring schematic wouldn't hurt, although I assume it is wired like most WE common battery wooden wall phones.