WE 502 A/B

[LarryInMichigan]

This: ebay link was sitting on ebay for the past day with a $14.99 BIN, so I decided to take a chance.  The seller told me that the receiver cap has six holes, but I couldn't get info about a date stamp inside the shell. 

Larry

[jsowers]

Larry, it looks like you scored a nice ivory soft plastic phone! And at a bargain price too. The cords look original, and rarely if ever do they refurb the plastics and not replace the cords. Also it has the original number card.

I use denatured alcohol to get paint off cords and automotive rubbing compound to get paint dots off the plastics.

The fingerwheel looks like it could be solid, so it's possible the dial was replaced sometime in the field along the way, but they did keep the number card.

Please post some pictures of the phone when it arrives and you know more and maybe this can be a May find of the month.

[LarryInMichigan]

I am really anxious to get this phone now.  The seller told me that he would ship it tomorrow and, he has already provided a tracking number, so I hope to have it this week.

Do you think that this is ivory, and not white?  I have a white soft 500 which I bought recently, and I have been looking for an ivory one.

Dennis Markham's method of soaking in sudsy water to remove paint has worked for me in the past, so I will probably start with that.

Larry

[Dave F]

That's a really nice phone.  Looks white to me.

502A/B has a pull-up exclusion key in place of the left side hookswitch button.  Also has a 6-wire line cord (nice and rare in original white).  The exclusion feature is used to cut off other extension phones during a call to insure privacy.  Info on this set can be found in BSP sections 502-515-100, 502-515-300 and 502-515-400.  A very nice phone at a great price -- congrats!

Dave

[jsowers]

I'm thinking 4/57 is too early for white. White was one of the colors that came along late in 1957, with pink, light gray, aqua blue and light beige. But we'll see. You'll know soon enough. I think you'll be happy with it.

Also, to me the paint on the end of the mounting cord looks white and it's whiter than the phone. Thanks, Dave, for the explanation on why there are so many conductors on the mounting cord. I noticed the conductors and forgot to look up what a 502 was.

[LarryInMichigan]

Ivory would be nice.  The USPS shows that the phone has been shipped and should be here by the end of the week.

Larry

[RotarDad]

Larry - Here's my -50 Ivory 500 from '57.  This is a tough color to get a read on from pictures.  I bought a yellowed white one (hard plastic) before I found this one.  Even with this one I wasn't sure from the Ebay pics.  The plastic does seem to age differently in different places also.  As you can tell, my mouthpiece cap is a bit darker than the handset.  Yours may look whiter due to the camera flash, but I agree with the other comments - I don't think it's white.  Your cords look like the right 50's "fatness" also.  Ivory just looks great, especially with an aged dial card - I hope you've found one!  Paul

[LarryInMichigan]

There is an ivory soft 500 on ebay right now for a reasonable BIN: ivory 500.

Larry

[Dennis Markham]

If it were me, I'd wait for a nicer one to come along---even for that price.  The foot pads are the later, large Neoprene pads.  Since no photos are shown there could be rust.  The handset cord looks Light Beige.

These Ivory sets seem to be the most common.  I picked one up a short while ago from 1955 (leather foot pads) for just a little less than the buy it now price on this one (that Larry mentioned).  They're out there.

http://tinyurl.com/7dufsxl

[LarryInMichigan]

I can see that Dennis's phone looks better, and the handset cord on the current one does look beige in comparison.  Never mind...

Larry

[Dan/Panther]

In that auction, the BIN price is almost as low as the opening bids, if the shipping were lower it would be a steal.
D/P

[LarryInMichigan]

The 502 arrived today.  It appears to be the real thing.  It is ivory soft plastic, and everything looks to be original (4/57), except for the dial which is a 9CA from 1976.  The phone is extremely dirty, and the plastic is quite discolored.  It will need a thorough cleaning and bleaching.  I already put the cords and handset parts into an Oxiclean solution to soak.  I will have to find an ivory soft plastic dial bezel and open finger wheel.  I should have a 1950s vintage #7 dial somewhere.

Below is a picture under the hood.

Larry

[JorgeAmely]

Larry:

Contact the administrator of the Soft Plastic Repository in Michigan. If not, I may have some ABS numbers wheels available.

[jsowers]

Gee, the cord wasn't the only place to get painted. Look at the earcap! A big ol' paint drip. Larry, I'm glad it's just the dial parts you need. That housing with the exclusion switchhook stuff would be very hard to find. The insert, where the handhold and switchhook are, is different than a regular 500.

As Jorge says, the Repository sounds like a good bet. Good luck getting it looking great. You have a nice project. Keep us posted.

[LarryInMichigan]

The receiver cap was actually stuck to the handset with paint.  I had to cut through the paint between the cap and the handset with a razor cutter and then use a strap wrench to unscrew the cap.  Fortunately, the paint was latex, so it was easy to remove after a soaking.

BTW, the metal handset cord restraint is stamped:

"H4BH"
"KS KK"
"I 7"

Does this mean, by any chance, that the cord was made by Kellogg?

Larry