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Look what I bought...

Started by jeremylivin, February 26, 2010, 08:28:57 PM

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jeremylivin


http://tinyurl.com/ycq486k

I don't know why, but here I've gone and bought another phone before I even started on my first one.

I probably paid too much for it, but the auction got me all excited...  and really it's not going to break my budget so I don't care.


What do y'all think of it?  How should I fix it up?    ;D
Jeremy Livingston

Dennis Markham

Jeremy, your link was bad.   I fixed it.  It looks like a nice phone and a good buy for $26 and shipping.  You will be able to find the dial card retainer ring and associated parts on eBay.  Looks like a nice, heavy pre-WWII phone.

jeremylivin

Thanks for fixing the link!


Yep, I look forward to working and learning on it.


Any pointers on which dial card retainer I need?
Jeremy Livingston

Dennis Markham

Here's what you need.  This is from Oldphoneworks.

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/western-electric-dial-card-kit.html

You see them on eBay.  There's one there now but the guy wants $12.99 but free shipping.  You might try e-mailing Adele Vaverchak and see if she has one.  She has a bunch of stuff listed but no W.E. rings at the moment. 

Her eBay name is adele0283.

Her e-mail address is:  acurbrider@yahoo.com

jeremylivin

Jeremy Livingston

Dennis Markham

Jeremy, one more thing.  You want one made of metal, not plastic.

jeremylivin

THe phone you mean, or the card holder?
Jeremy Livingston

Phonesrfun

I am sure he meant the card holder.  Plastic 302's are fine.  The cardholder was only originally made in metal, but now some are making reproductions in plastic and while they look original, they are not and they are not as robust as metal originals or metal repros.

-Bill Geurts
-Bill G

Dennis Markham

Yes, I did mean the dial card retainer ring.  I think they released some of the later phones with the plastic ones.  They discolor and just aren't as nice as the metal ones.  That phone should have a metal one.  Actually I think early ones were brass and painted black.

Craig T

Nice buy Jeremy, looks to be in great shape too, even the cord. There is a good thread here about printing dial cards if you are not familiar and care to try.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=670.0

McHeath

Looks like a good buy.  Wait till you pick it up!!  Those metal bodied 302s are heavy beasts. 

Dan/Panther

Jeremy;
The 302 was the first phone I tore apart and cleaned up. That style has turned out to be my favorite.

There are several topics about repairs to the 302 in our forum.. Check them out before you start, get familiar with the set, then jump in.
You said you bought a second phone before you finished the first. It won't be long before the ones waiting for repairs outnumber the one finished by about 10 to 1 or higher.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

jeremylivin

Haha, yep I'll be reading a lot here before I doing anything!

I'm glad you guys are here to help.
Jeremy Livingston

LarryInMichigan

Jeremy,

It looks to me like you got a good deal.  It is unusual to find a dial face in such good condition.  Usually, the '1' is worn off.  I paid $25 for my 1948 302, and the handset was in bad shape, so I had to buy a replacement.

With a bit of effort, the phone can be made to shine like new.

Larry

jeremylivin

Ok so I just got the phone last night.

It looks GREAT!

Dang I swear I could just plug it in and it'd work fine (if I had an adaptor for the phone cord).

The auction looks so bad because it's very dusty, but just hand wiping the dust off it already looks incredible.  There are no cracks or scratches anywhere.  The dial turns nice and smooth.  Even the foot pads seem to be in pretty good shape (no tears or excessive wearing).

This phone must've gotten shoved in a box for the last 30 years or something because it doesn't look like it could be that old.

I also checked the dates.  They all seem to match from 1944.

I'm so happy!   ;D
Jeremy Livingston