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1956 WE 500 Ivory: Before and During

Started by WEBellSystemChristian, October 27, 2013, 09:39:53 PM

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WEBellSystemChristian

I recently purchased a 1956 Western Electric 500 in Ivory off of eBay for $9.99. Unfortunately, the shell, line cord, handset cord, and handset were all replaced with modular 1983 parts. Ever since it was purchased, I have been scouring eBay, Etsy, Goodwill, Antique Shops, and Craigslist, looking for a reasonable Ivory parts phone. Finally, I lined up a good Ivory phone for parts on Etsy, ($15) and will be in my hands tomorrow. For now, here are the Before and During pictures. Other than light cleaning and bell polishing, I've done nothing to restore the NOS-looking insides. When I started to peel the old, glued on, flaking dial card off the front, it revealed the original card underneath, in beautiful condition!
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

WesternElectricBen

#1
What are the dates on the replacement parts?

Just finished restoring my 1955 r 72 500 in Pink.

Ben

WesternElectricBen

And I almost forgot my before picture:

Notice how scratched and etched it was. Though I have pictures of each individual flaw, but this thread isn't about me! haha

Ben

WEBellSystemChristian

That's a nice pink 500. I have no idea what the dates are on the parts phone, because there was only one picture of the front corner view. I know it won't be soft plastic, because the feet are the later triangular plastic ones.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

WesternElectricBen

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on October 27, 2013, 09:59:07 PM
That's a nice pink 500. I have no idea what the dates are on the parts phone, because there was only one picture of the front corner view. I know it won't be soft plastic, because the feet are the later triangular plastic ones.

Uh.. Oh well. It's always worth a try, at least you got the right color, and non Modular!! My 1959 Beige is all original (soft plastic) except I changed out the cord and it has plastic feet. 

And thank you!

Ben

WEBellSystemChristian

Yeah, would've taken me a long time to get a softie 500 for cheap, and if I got it, I wouldn't have wanted to part it out. (My weakness).
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

RotarDad

Christian - The switch to rubber triangular feet happened around 10-58, which would still be soft plastic.  Hard plastic phased in about mid-59, so you may still get soft plastic parts on a plastic-footed phone.  Also, some refurbished phones will have soft plastics on them.  I hope you've found some nice parts for that clean base!  Great dial card too!

Ben - Nice pink one also!
Paul

poplar1

Christian, were you able to save the sticker with the new phone number? If so, you might want to hide it behind the EMerson card since it proves where the phone was installed--i.e., which EMerson central office this phone was used in.

Otherwise, you might want to document it somehow so when you get ready to downsize 80 years from now, you can explain where it was originally used.

You'll be able to tell someone how phone numbers were 2 letters + 5 numbers...also what a rotary dial was,  what dial tone was, what a phone sounded like when someone was calling you--even though you had no way of knowing who was calling...
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

WEBellSystemChristian

#8
Bad news guys. When my dad went to meet with the guy selling the parts phone this morning, he realized that the phone was actually BEIGE :(. In the picture, the phone looked Ivory, even whiter than ivory. On the other hand...It's dated 1962, no refurbs, and has an open-center dial, all for $15! It may not be a good candidate for an Ivory parts phone, (Unless I wanted to make an ugly two-tone prototype :P) It'll make a good addition to my early colored collection.

P.S Poplar1, The original card was glued to the dial itself, and when I tried to peel it off, it practically turned to dust. My dad was irritated, because there were little paper flakes everywhere when I tried to remove it. :P
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

poplar1

#9
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on October 28, 2013, 02:23:32 PM
Bad news guys. When my dad went to meet with the guy selling the parts phone this morning, he realized that the phone was actually BEIGE :(. In the picture, the phone looked Ivory, even whiter than ivory. On the other hand...It's dated 1962, no refurbs, and has an open-center dial, all for $15! It may not be a good candidate for an Ivory parts phone, (Unless I wanted to make an ugly two-tone prototype :P) It'll make a good addition to my early colored collection.

P.S Poplar1, The original card was glued to the dial itself, and when I tried to peel it off, it practically turned to dust. My dad was irritated, because there were little paper flakes everywhere when I tried to remove it. :P

These stickers were apparently mailed out to customers rather than sending out someone to update the phone number card. So more often than not, they are glued on top of the plastic window and not on the card itself...that's good because even if you can get the sticker off, there is usually staining from the glue. So this way, the original number is hidden but not damaged.

So it's a good idea to have some new acetate windows on hand to protect the original number card. Then you can hide any newer cards, or stickers along with the plastic they are attached to, all behind the original black and white number card. Just put the new window on top.

You don't have to try to reuse the celluloid window on top  since (1) it is probably yellowed anyway (2) you may have to destroy the sticker to get it off and (3) even after removing the sticker, there will probably be glue residue on the plastic.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

WEBellSystemChristian

Actually, the glue this person used was clear, and came off pretty easily. No staining here!
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

poplar1

The staining I was referring to is when the sticker gets placed directly on the number card, and the glue leaks into the paper card.

I guess it's just a difference of opinion whether it's worth trying to save both number cards.  So I would want the original number card on it but at the same time, I'd like to know where it was originally installed--as proven by the matching 4 numbers + the area code on the sticker.

I probably tend to go too far in the direction of how a phone was when it was when in service and not enough toward restoration. So I have great respect for your and others' outstanding restorations. Good job!
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.