233G payphone arrived today

[KeithB]

It's originally dated 1962 with a BellSouth refurb occurring in 1975.  The coin mechanism was replaced with one dated 1973 and an armored handset cord   was installed.  The poor dear had probably 98% of her parts intact, but the wiring suffered terrible indignities in somebody's quest to use her as a home phone.  Tonight I disassembled most of the phone and removed all of the ersatz wiring and electrical tape.  It has some minor rust that should clean up easily.  With the upcoming three-day weekend, I plan to complete removing the internals and then strip, clean, and prime the shell.  She needs two new locks, a more appropriate handset, and lots more gentle care and feeding.

Photos coming soon...

[HarrySmith]

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you
Can't wait to see the pics

[Dennis Markham]

Keith, hopefully you're taking some "before" photos.

[KeithB]

I downloaded all the BSP documents from the TCI library today, especially the wiring schematics    Some of the original wiring had been cut and removed, and there was a patchwork of 24 AWG single-strand wire twisted together to make connections, then covered with black electrical tape.   There are definitely a few spools of wire and crimp-on spade lugs on my "to purchase" list.

Does anyone know which handset and cord were original to these phones in the early 1960s?

[KeithB]

It was interesting to see how they had built a makeshift subset within the phone.  They removed the coin relay and bolted an unmarked induction coil  where the coin relay was originally mounted.  A two-wire 452B capacitor dated 'IV 57' was tucked behind the coin mechanism and wired in.

My shopping list has a new item, a coin relay.  Here's a picture of one from the Porticus web site.  The grey metal body on the right and bottom is present, but the entire mechanism (on the left) is missing.

[HarrySmith]

Hi Keith,
Mike Davis from the ATCA specializes in payphones, he has a "site" here: http://webspace.webring.com/people/am/mvtel
He can probably help out with whatever you need

[Shovelhead]

At least yours was firmly attached. My 425A network was kinda sorta bolted in and the ringer more or less tossed in. A terminal strip from the original subset was "used", (term applied loosely) and duct taped (!) for insulation. Along with the ringer stuffed in loosely wrapped in foam rubber to keep it from bouncing around in shipping.

The wiring to the modular plug was liberated from a wall plate, again poorly attached.

To it's credit, externally it was complete though.

[KeithB]

I called Phoneco in Wisconsin about the phone this morning, and their expert on these older payphones will be calling me back Wednesday or Thursday.  In the meanwhile, I ordered a new coin relay from payphone.com (G-Tel Enterprises) in Texas.  The plastic paddle is still inside my coin tube, so I'm hoping the relay is all that's necessary.  This picture on the Porticus site shows the same capacitor installed behind the coin mechanism, so it doesn't seem to be a makeshift addition.


I got everything removed from the top shell this evening, following the guides at Porticus and the Island Register NE233 page.  The dial is a 6M (modified?) dated 1964, but the cable connecting it is cloth covered and dated the 3rd quarter of 1957 (IV 57). 

[KeithB]

Keith, hopefully you're taking some "before" photos.

My phone looked about as good/bad as either of the two at the Porticus and Island Register web pages.  It's in a lot better shape than you'd expect for a public phone from 1964, but it really needs some attention.  Here are some of the seller's pictures:

[HarrySmith]

WOW, you were not kidding about the wiring mess! I still get shocked at what people will do to a phone. If you have enough knowledge and skill to do a conversion why not do it right? I do not know if you have dealt with Phoneco before but a word of caution, I have heard from more than a couple of people that thier pricing and quality is not always what it seems

[Shovelhead]

Keith,

Your phone and my phone are about in the same condition, except that I don't have that stylin' handset cover!   Even down to the armored handset cable which was a later year "touch".

I saw yours on Fleabay also. It looks like the same internal parts are missing on mine.

My phone did not have the mounting board with it, so another quest along with finding locks and the coin mechanism parts that are missing. Another winter quest....

[KeithB]

G-Tel/payphone.com has a complete replacement coin hopper with relay, but it's for the newer models and wouldn't look good inside these early 60s phones.   I sent e-mail to Mike Davis this morning, and I have an inquiry pending with Paul at P.T. Supply in Pennsylvania. (I was referred to Paul by Steve Hilsz.)  Hopefully the guy from Phoneco will call me back today.  The lady I spoke with was quite friendly, and admitted she didn't know much about these payphones, but their other guy there would.  I'll give them credit for being honest with me, at least.

Have any of you purchased the repro payphone cards from "janedennis" on eBay before?  Her items say they are inkjet printed, and I know that will fade quickly if exposed to sunlight for any extended periods of time.  I'd much rather have a color laser printed item, if possible.

[KeithB]

I called Anne and Paul at Phoneco back this morning, and they're sending a new lock for the top, plus a few other items.  On my drive home from work today, Paul from P.T. Supply called back to say he's found a vintage subset he'll sell.  Finally I picked up some CitriStrip gel and the first treatment goes on the upper shell this afternoon.  At least I don't have to fight with aged Bakelite on this phone.

[KeithB]

CitriStrip really worked well especially on the upper layers of paint.  Whoever previously repainted the phone didn't bother to remove or treat any rust so their paint didn't adhere well.  The original 1962 Southern Bell and refurb 1975 BellSouth black paint held on a LOT better, resisting additional applications of stripper.  Here are pictures of the front and sides after stripping, rinsing, then scrubbing with a paste of Bar Keeper's Friend to tame the rust.  I'll complete their cleaning with the wire brush tomorrow.  The last picture is the coin vault after wire brushing away everything.  It's made of much heavier steel and the wire brush worked well to clean off the light rust and all the paint.  I worked on the coin vault while the CitriStrip was working on the body of the phone.

[KeithB]

Here are the obligatory pictures.  A few dings and minor pits remain, but I think that's okay considering her age.  Friday evening I'll wipe it down with 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean everything, then apply at least two coats of primer.