My first Payphone WE 233G

[captroosh]

Just bought this the other day. A 233G payphone. Actually says 233GXLA inside. This my 1st payphone so as glad as I am to get it. I am just  ignorant about payphones. The fellow I bought it from says internals are complete it is missing the receiver cradle and coin box and a lock. I have added some photos. The nearest date I could find was inside. One of the parts says 1967. I would appreciate any help or thoughts on restoring it. I know it needs a subset to ring but not much more. Got it for $85 on Facebook.


< edit 07-18-21: images removed, rotated, reattached >

[captroosh]

Not sure why photos are sideways.

[Jim Stettler]

Cool Phone.  I th ink  it was a really nice price.
Put it in the July 2021 find of the Month find of the month
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?board=19.0

JMO,
Jim

[Key2871]

When holding your phone to take pictures hold the phone horizontally, then when you post they come out right.
Nice phone good price, enjoy it.

[captroosh]

Thanks to whoever righted my photos. As I mentioned this is my 1st Payphone. I have so many questions with regard to restoring. I want to clean this thing inside and out. Not sure if I should attempt taking it apart. Should I get it working first and then worry about cleaning it up? Obviously the first thing I need to get is a Hook or cradle for the Handset. I have a feeling I'm going to need a new one of those or the guts of one. Handset is extremely light. I haven't opened it yet. The mouth and earpiece are kind of stuck. From what I've read it appears I can cannibalize a 500 or 554 phone to create the subset. I have  ITT and  SC wall phone equivalent. I'm assuming one of those will suffice. While I don't require it to actually function the way it originally did, I do want to keep the coin mechanism to at least keep it as authentic as possible.

I know I need a lock to keep the upper housing secure. I can't figure out what the other lock, that it does have was for. As you can see it has dents and missing paint and some rust. I probably could repaint it but I think I want to keep it as is. I have attached a few more photos. if they help.

[captroosh]

Oh ANother question. Do those numbers on the outside of the Coin Vault mean anything?

[Key2871]

It will need a subset before you can get it working.
But I would clean it up first, being careful of the hook switch pileup. But your going t need a handset hanger/ you have the hook switch.


Have you looked in the payphone section here?
There is a lot of posts regarding wiring and etc to help you along. And the resident expert would be payphoneinstaller, there are several here but he's got parts and knowledge to get you to the finish line.
Jim is his name, shot him a pm he might help you with your questions.

EBay has locks, but check around here first as you will want the correct type.

[TelePlay]

Oh ANother question. Do those numbers on the outside of the Coin Vault mean anything?

Each vault has a unique number used by the collection department to know which phone/location into which it was placed (empty) and how much was collected from the phone/location when returned. An accounting cost/benefit thing.

That is also why each vault had its own unique key unlike the upper housing which used one key for many housing locks.

[captroosh]

Each vault has a unique number used by the collection department to know which phone/location into which it was placed (empty) and how much was collected from the phone/location when returned. An accounting cost/benefit thing.

That is also why each vault had its own unique key unlike the upper housing which used one key for many housing locks.

Ah! Thanks for the information. I love learning this stuff.

[HowardPgh]

Don't try to take the handset apart, because you can't, the transmitter and receiver caps are glued on. Test the handset to make sure the elements are OK.  I wonder what all the letters after 233G indicate?

[captroosh]

Don't try to take the handset apart, because you can't, the transmitter and receiver caps are glued on. Test the handset to make sure the elements are OK.  I wonder what all the letters after 233G indicate?

I wondered the same thing myself about the lettering. I will give the handset a test. But it feels really light. Says western Electric on it.

[captroosh]

 I was shopping for, among other things, a coin box. I came upon this one on Ebay for $15. Claims to be NOS but looks more like new new stock.  Doesn't look very heavy duty. You get what you pay for I guess. It probably makes no difference as it won't really be used as a Pay phone. I imagine I could go with a front cover only, for that matter, as no one will see it. Any thoughts on this are welcome.

[TelePlay]

There are two different WE coin boxes. The image posted looks like the taller type used with newer pay phones. The older rotary pay phones used shorter in height coin boxes.

There are topics on the forum about this. One way to quickly determine the difference is from the front, the newer boxes have equally high protrusions, for lack of a better word, on each side of the pull out loop. The old style that would fit yours have one protrusion shorter than the other.

Also, new style boxes are cheap ($10 to $15 each), old style if you can find one on eBay will be 4 or 5 times higher in price, $50 to $75 based on condition.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Payphone-3-slot-pay-phone-coin-box-and-lid-Western-Electric-Northern-Electric-/202675076576

[Key2871]

Well as Howard said the caps are glued, if it's an original, if someone changed it then you might be able to get the caps off. If it's tight try a strap wrench if you have one. Or run hot water over the edges to help get it loose.
And three slots use the short coin box, not the tall.
The tall ones are for single slot sets only.

[TelePlay]

And three slots use the short coin box, not the tall.
The tall ones are for single slot sets only.

Thank you for the cut off between older (3 slot) and newer (single slot) pay phones, as I tried to say with "newer" and "older" styles when I wrote " There are two different WE coin boxes. The image posted looks like the taller type used with newer pay phones. The older rotary pay phones used shorter in height coin boxes." So, it's single vs 3 slot phones for "taller" vs "shorter" coin boxes.

3 slot boxes are hard to find and expensive. The link in my last post shows a refurbished 3 slot box with lid, if someone could attach its image for comparison would be helpful.