Picked up another Western Electric 302 telephone
 

Several months ago, I picked up a WE 302 phone with a chip out of the case and a stuck dial and stuck plunger. Yesterday, I picked up another dirty 302; but, the case is not cracked and everything moves freely. This one also has a cloth handset cord; which, is shot and needs to be replaced. Looking at the internal parts, one part has a late-'49 date code on it. Everything else is date-coded 4/1950. Were they still using cloth cords that late or is that something that someone installed later? I've found a source that has repro cloth cord and that's probably what I'll use.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps32eeaf8e.jpg

My 302 is dated '49 and has the rubber coil cord. However, Ma Bell was well known for reusing parts.

I know the famous early 50's 5302 (a refurbished 302 with a 500 case) used cloth cords sometimes when they had a F1 handset. I have seen some 302's with a G1 handset that I assume was replaced when something went wrong with the original F1. Both are kind of funny looking frankenphones with the wrong handsets.

5302
 

I just looked at my 5302. Coiled rubber cord on an F1. I think 5302s were a bit like snowflakes. They were all converted 302s, so exactly what parts were used depended largely on what was still usable from the donor 302. In my case, I'm guessing it had a good handset with a bad cord.

Interesting, if not particularly attractive phones.

Al

Say did you have trouble opening the mike and speaker portions on your handset on the previous phone (I seem to remember a thread here where someone had that problem)?

If so I had the same issue, and found a solution. I poured 'Goof Off' onto the screw crack and that got it loose (I tried WD40 first and that did not work, but may have contributed to the goof off's success).