Is there a source for a WE 500 Shell?

[aaelghat]

Hi - I'm a new member - I was going to post this in Modern "Reproduction" Phones, but this might be a little different question than what would normally go there...

There is a trend in weddings that started about two years ago to do an audio guestbook, which is basically having people call in and leave a recording for the wedding couple. As part of that, some people take a vintage/classic phone and replace the innards with a microcontroller that will record a message onto a MicroSD card. Wedding guests lift the receiver, record a message, and all those messages are made available to wedding couple.

I have run a company for 14 years that has been doing something similar in terms of having people call in from their own phone to leave stories and memories, which are put onto a keepsake. It's used a lot for birthdays and anniversaries, and I want to extend my services and offer several vintage phone options.

This is an example of the phones one company in the US uses (they look like WE 500's): https://afterthetone.co/phones

I already have some working models from reproductions I got on Amazon (modern "dial" phones with an added * and # key) and a 1970's era phone I got on ebay. The thing is that I take out the ringer, etc. from the inside of the phone, and I just need a working handset (so the guest can listen and record), switch hook (which triggers the outgoing message and recording process), and the shell.

I feel bad taking a perfect working classic phone that someone has restored and gutting it, and I wonder if this group can think of a source of authentic looking shells that I can use and handsets that I can use. Barring that, does anyone know of a good looking modern dial phone that looks retro and doesn't have the * and # keys? The closes I have come are these from Amazon that look like GPO and WE 500 phones, but the dial still has the extra keys.

Modern GPO Look

WE 500 Look

I do like the phones in that second link, but I don't like how the cords aren't the same color as the shell.

Any thoughts on how I can balance the goals of getting something that looks authentic, but not take a working classic phone and destroy it, and/or get my hands on some authentic shells and handsets?

Thanks.

[aaelghat]

Based on another thread a few below mine, I did just stumble upon Phoneco. That works - I didn't realize you could buy a good looking WE 500 (or similar) phone for less than $100, and I guess I'm OK with the guilt of gutting a working phone. Are there other companies like Phoneco?

Thanks.

[LarryInMichigan]

If you are not particular about the color, year, condition, etc., you can find a WE 500 for next to nothing.  Many of the members on the forum here probably have some that they would like to get rid of.

Larry

[FABphones]

Rather than destroy a vintage phone, perhaps consider a new reproduction. Some are more closely based on original designs than others, but there are many styles of repro (for example made in India) that do not have the * and # keys.

Two random image examples attached. A collector can recognise these as unoriginal but this type of phone is readily available and  may serve your purpose.

[poplar1]

Rather than destroy a vintage phone, perhaps consider a new reproduction.

I agree with Larry: the 500s are so common here (inexpensive). A 500 will be more nostalgic than a cheap Chinese import, and will work better.

Millions of 500s were made. Millions of leased phones were sent back to AT&T by people who no longer wanted to pay $4 per month rent. (After divestiture 1/1/1984, AT&T retained ownership of the leased "embedded base." ) In the 1990s, AT&T sold them for 11 cents a pound to a scrap dealer, who shipped them to China.

To quote Tom Selleck (Frank Reagan in the TV show "Blue Bloods"):
 "You can't save all the puppies in the pound."

[FABphones]

...I take out the ringer, etc. from the inside of the phone, and I just need a working handset (so the guest can listen and record), switch hook (which triggers the outgoing message and recording process), and the shell.

I'd like to see the inside of one you completed. Any photos?

...A 500 will be more nostalgic than a cheap Chinese import...

True. More work aaglghat making them look good for your presentation but definitely nicer phones (especially if your clients know what a 500 is).

Just don't start pulling apart any Oilcans or coloured 'Bakelite'.

If in doubt - ask here first!

And keep us up to date with your results - we like pictures! 

[HarrySmith]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Great idea, at least some old phones or old looking phones are being used and it might trigger an interest in someone. How many phones are you looking for? I have a few old black 500's that I will probably never get around to restoring anyway that I may let go. Also as already stated, PLEASE do not gut any phones you are not sure about the scarcity of.

[MMikeJBenN27]

Try Ericofon.com.  They sell shells.  If you want a 500 phone, you can buy a late-model modular one through E-Bay.  They are cheap, and are not valuable.  Modular means with those quick-disconnect cords.  Please don't do that to a hard-wired phone though.

Mike

[aaelghat]

Thanks so much for all the replies and feedback!

Knowing that the modular 500's are common enough that you can't save "all the puppies in the pound" (good quote poplar1) is good perspective.

I reached out to ericofon.com, and looked at some of the Indian-made reproductions before I knew about ericofon. I will post pictures when I can.

Thanks again for the input so far.

[TelePlay]

This topic is related by project, not parts sources, so it may or may not be helpful.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=26441.0