cord conundrum

[finlover]

Hi, guys,

I feel a little silly asking this question, because I should know this!  Which handset cord is correct for a '67 Western Electric--the early kind with the squared off bushing (grommet?) where it enters the handset, or the later tapered one?  And what year did they make the switch?  Thanks for your help!

[Greg G.]

That's ok, I was going to ask the same question, when did the stubby-end handset cords stop and the long tapered-end ones start? 

[Phonesrfun]

Good question, but I don't know either.  I am pretty sure there was no set exact date.  Probably had to do with the supply on hand of the older styles, and of course if a phone went through refurb, and the old cord was good, they would not have changed it.

[Dan]

I have a few from '65 that are squared. My 1970 is tapered. Others could chime in here, but at least i narrowed it down a little bit.

[Dennis Markham]

I don't know the answer to that one.  I think 1966-1969 is probably the time when a change was made.  Like mentioned earlier, once the design changed it was probably some time before all stock was used up so there may have been a mixture of both.  Just a guess.

[jsowers]

I think they made both for a few years and maybe switched to only tapered around 1970. I've seen many 1967 and 68 500 sets with the stubby strain relief. So my answer would be either one is acceptable. It's also possible that they had different suppliers for these cords and that would explain the differences. Again, as Dennis said, just a guess.

And it's not a silly question at all. I think it's great you're concerned with the cords because to me they really help the looks of the phone when they're right.

[rp2813]

I agree with what's been said regarding either type being OK.  It could be a regional thing too.  I have a stubby type from 1967, so that type would be fine on your phone if you prefer it.

Ralph

[finlover]

Thanks for the advice, boys!  I have a '67 turquoise 500 that is came to me in near mint condition except that someone had put a 12ft aqua handset cord on it--yikes!!  I stumbled upon a bunch of new old stock turquoise cords a while back, but they all date between '69 and '71.  Just wanted to make sure the strain relief style was appropriate.

[Greg G.]

Latest dated phone I have with a stubby-ended cord is my 1971 SC:

[benhutcherson]

I've recently acquired a couple of phones with mid-'60s refurb dates that have tapered cords.

Based on my observations, the tapered cords are pretty much standard on the refurbs from the mid-'60s on. The date-matching phones which have tapered cords, though, seem to be from about '68 on.

[HobieSport]

Thanks for posting the photo of your stubby ended cord, Brinybay. I finally figured out what we're discussing here, since my most recent 500 is the 12/68 that I just refurbed and have been posting about. It has the date matching tapered cord.

[Jester]

I have been known to swap out that bushing/grommet to match the one found on the phone when I didn't have the appropriate cord available--or maybe I should have let that one go...

[Greg G.]

I have been known to swap out that bushing/grommet to match the one found on the phone when I didn't have the appropriate cord available--or maybe I should have let that one go...

Are you referring to this thing?

[Greg G.]

Thanks for posting the photo of your stubby ended cord, Brinybay. I finally figured out what we're discussing here, since my most recent 500 is the 12/68 that I just refurbed and have been posting about. It has the date matching tapered cord.

I modified the post with an example of each.

[Jester]

The other end, Brinybay.  You have the part I was referring to circled on your green SC.