So I scored an old payphone. My “vintage replica” just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
It appears to be a Western Electric single-slot 1C from May of 1977.
Decent cosmetic condition, but looks aren’t the reason I bought it. I bought it to learn, play, restore, and maybe even modify it.
It didn’t come with keys — this is problem #1.
There’s a reason these things stayed in service so long, and it’s not just because cellphones were invented and eventually became ubiquitous and disposable. It’s also because they were seriously armored and indestructable. Picking these locks when they’re in good shape is no joke. In fact, I found the restricted Bell document that shows what to do when you no longer have the key to the vault door (the shiny square door at the bottom) — basically you use a circle template and drill through the door so that you have direct access to the latch bolts internally. Then you replace the door and the lock assembly with one which has keys.
The problem is, step one in that process is “remove the cover assembly.” Which is also locked. So what if I ALSO don’t have keys to the cover assembly? Well, I guess I could maybe drill that lock out — BUT I found another tutorial that indicates that with 8-15 minutes of tapping with a dowel and hammer, you basically nudge the four screws securing that lock assembly out from the inside.
It looks like that would have to happen anyway, because these locks looks like shit, and might not be pickable even by a TOOOL expert on a good day.
Fortunately, replacement vault doors, coin vaults and lock assemblies with keys are available on eBay, so eventually this project may find itself nudged further along. I’ll update you.