Antique Parking Meter Restoration

[screaminduck]

Greetings,

I have a legally purchased antique Miller, model 50, parking meter I am starting to restore. My intro question is, would discussing lock picking tips and techniques for an antiquated parking meter (again, legally owned, antique, restoration piece) be permitted in this forum or would it be disallowed because it could enable some knucklehead to open modern parking meters?

Hopefully such an old model crosses the threshold where it can be discussed without educating the criminal element to modern day meters but I defer to the experts and moderators before proceeding.

https://i.imgur.com/4Nrqjgx.jpg

[Raymond]

That looks like a Chicago brand lock and is usually pretty easy to pick. It is not high security by any standard in today's lock world.

[CaptHook]

Easiest way to pick those locks are these.



You can get by with a snake or better yet, a ball or snowman pick and a regular tension wrench in a pinch. A "Y" wrench or a 2 finger wrench would be better than a regular, but almost anything can work.

[MacGnG1]

Fellow Parking Meter Collector here... ... does the meter accept coins? does the timer mechanism work? If yes to both, Does the violation flag reset after time runs out?

The pick set CaptHook mentioned will work for that lock.

I would suggest looking on ebay for a replacement lock, especially since you know the model of the meter. that is a cam lock but a regular cam lock and cam flat usually isn't going to work perfectly for most of the antique parking meters available in the collectors market.

Your other option is to pick the lock, disassemble the meter, and after the lock is apart you can either impression a new key, hope it has a code number on the plug so a locksmith can make a key for you, or remove the wafers in the plug so anything can be used to open the vault door- such as a screwdriver. I don't particularly like removing the wafers but I've done it before while waiting for a new lock to be shipped and delivered.

if you could share more pictures, i'd appreciate it.

[high_order1]

I realize this was a while back, but in case another person has the same question...

I'm not sure how much help to offer, and I see you understand that.

I understand that restoring something to completeness is important to some.

If it isn't, carefully take a drill to it.

If it is, you sound more like a collector than a person interested in locksmithing as a hobby. Take it to your local locksmith and ask them to cut you a couple of keys for it. Super simple!