Franken 302?

[Jim Mc]

My 302 finally arrived and its dial is an AE!  It looks natural on the phone, though.  I'm wondering if anyone else has run across this.  The phone has the F1W handset and the mouth piece is marked from '57.  The body is marked from December 1963!  That seems pretty late in the game.

[Phonesrfun]

Probably not a frankenphone, but not a "Bell System" either.

This was probably a WE that was sold to an independant at the time.  The F1W is the clue here.  F1W is the designation of an F1 handset that was sold outside the Bell organization directly by Western Electric.  A Bell System handset would read:

BELL SYSTEM
made by
Western Electric
F1

The fact that it has a non-Western dial is not terribly uncommon for a set sold to an independant.  A set sold by WE to an independant was either sold without a dial to be added by the independant, or perhaps the independant sent a quantity of dials to Western to put in their phones before shipment.

Although the 1963 date seems late in the game, it is not unheard of.  This could also be the product of a refurbisher.

[Dennis Markham]

I've always had my eye out for a phone dated November 22, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated (with no luck).  That was a Friday and I'm sure Western Electric was pumping out phones on that day.  That December 17, 1963 date is awfully close.

If you look closely to the eBay auctions you will see many 302's with the AE dial.  The position of the finger stop is the give-away clue.

--Dennis

[Jim Mc]

I'm presuming that the dial had a piece of clear plastic which is missing from my phone.  Is that all that goes in that spot or is there a ring too?  If I'm short a ring, does anyone have a spare for this phone?

[Dennis Markham]

Jim, you do need a dial card retainer ring.  There is a seller on eBay (adele0283) that often has them for sale, complete with an original dial card.  They're not that expensive.  In fact, I just looked and there is one listed now.

http://tinyurl.com/y8nw5nw

It looks like in this auction you may either get an original card or a reproduction card with the retainer ring and associated pieces.  She is very easy to deal with and you will find her accommodating should you decide to deal with her.  Oldphoneworks may have them too.

[Phonesrfun]

Jim:

These are readily available.  Oldphoneworks.com, Phoneco, and even on E-Bay.

Adele0283 usually has several, and here is one she has going on right now. She has blank cards and the plastic faces too, but this auction has the complete set:

http://tinyurl.com/yzn6fvu

They simply latch on with that latch that is showing in the center of your dial.

[Phonesrfun]

Dennis:

We have to quit quoting each other before the other has spoken!

[Dennis Markham]

Bill, great minds think alike, they say. 

[Dan/Panther]

I've always been told "Fools Minds run in the same Channel."
I quess it all depends on who it is you are talking about.
In this instance, it's the former.
D/P