Some time ago I had a small collection of 70s era GPO 740 series rotary dial telephones which I sold for a pittance when I moved house, something I since regret. I recently started playing with analogue telephony again, and my suppressed passion for old telephones returned.
I picked up a couple cheap of 746s from EBay and Facebook Marketplace but it didn't quite scratch the itch. I needed a "proper" bakelite phone, so I picked up a 312 from Facebook Marketplace for £30 which is relatively cheap, but it turned out to have some damage to the bakelite shell. I then found a 332 at a car boot with a sticky dial for £25 and quickly ended up with another 332 in very poor condition for £17. Finally I picked up another 312 with a damanged handset at RetroTechUK for £20.
So that left me with 4 phones in varying states of disrepair for £92 - not too far off the price you'd pay for a fully restored 300 series phone. But now I had to restore them.
I won't fully document the process here, but with some part swapping and some spares aquired both online and at a Telecommunications Heritage Group "Swap Meet" I was able to restore 3 of the 4 phones to their former glory for less than £60 each, which includes the cost of purchasing all 4 phones and the required spares - not bad!
I intend on getting hold of another phone in poor condition to document the actual restoration process, which I'll post once finished. In the meantime, enjoy the photos:
