Talking Shop

This will allow you to send it in to be reworked, saving you the cost of a lock cylinder. You will need a good well lighted area, a hammer, long skinny punch, chisel or old screwdriver that you don't care about. I also like to have two rolled up towels to put on each side of the lock cylinder allowing space to push the cylinder out. as the nut starts moving.

With the meter on the work bench, setting on the 2 towels (one on each side of the lock cylinder), open the coin door and remove coin cup or box if in the way. Shine a good light in from the right side and locate the 9/16" nut on the back side of the lock cylinder. You will need to come in from the left hand side with your long skinny punch or chisel and tap the nut, backing it off, counter clockwise, occasionally pushing down on the back of the lock cylinder as the nut is backed off until the nut is no longer holding anything.TAKE YOUR TIME! If you get in a hurry, you will slip and hit the treads on the cylinder.... This makes getting the nut off of the cylinder all that more difficult.

Does the lock cylinder have "RESTRICTED" on it? Are you mechanically inclined? Do you have a drill press? You can drill it with a hand drill if you are careful. Drill dead center with a 3/8" drill bit, 3/4" deep. Dig all the brass pins out that you can.... Did you drill DEAD CENTER? If so, move up to a 13/32" bit and dig the brass out. Is it still all aluminum and brass shavings? Did you get ALL of the brass out? If you did, or can't get all of the brass out, try turning the lock cylinder in the barrel or door (depending on style) sometimes this will push the remaining pins out.... Still no go, move up to 7/16" and repeat..... Still no go, move up to 15/32 and repeat..... Still no go, drill it with a 1/2" bit and make sure to order a new barrel (or door) with your lock cylinder. :>) If you are not sure about doing this, send me GOOD pictures of the meter and the lock cylinders and I’ll try to get you going in the right direction.

(1) I can pick, rework, re-key, replace (new and used), clean, lubricate, modify or do about anything you would ever want done to most Duncan RESTRICTED lock cylinders. Not many locksmiths can pick this lock… I have special picks and a lot of practice!

(2) One key does not fit all Duncan parking meters. Every town had at least 2 different keys for the meters they serviced and collected money from. This allowed them to send a service guy out to work on the meter without giving him a chance to fill his pockets with coins. Each town also had its own key codes. Just like your house key might open every door in your house, it doesn’t open the guy down the street's doors.

(3) If the meter is not open, you will not know the exact style of lock cylinder that you need. Depending on the model, door style, and catch style, you may need any number of lock cylinders that city’s used over the years.

(4) For security reasons, Duncan did not stamp a number on the lock cylinder, only the key. Key codes are VERY difficult to obtain! You can try to get that information from the city that originally had the meters... But normally they will not give (or don't know) that information. That's why we pick, decode and make keys for your meter. In some cases we will be required to reset the lock cylinder if that code is still in service. Note: on some ACE 7 pin barrel vault locks used by POM and other manufactures, they stamped a code on the outside of the lock. This code woud start with "EX" or "MM" followed by a number or numbers. I can often make a key from that code.

(5) I only know of one Duncan meter that had a model number on it and that was a very early Duncan-Miller model 60 that had a plate under the dome that read "The DUNCAN-MILLER 60". Park-O-Meter had a plate on some of the model "N" meter that indicated that it was a model "N". I can’t think of another parking meter that had a model number on it. A picture is worth a thousand words! Send me GOOD pictures of your meter and I will do my best to I.D. it for you.

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.

Drive-in Mfg. Company

How to remove the service lock on a Duncan model 60 without damaging it

Duncan model 60 coin door drilling instructions.

How to tell the difference between a model 60 and a model 76

Probably the easiest way is to look at the back of the meter. If it has a slogan plate or a place for a slogan plate (DRIVE CAREFULLY-SAVE A LIFE or something like that) it's a model 60. The model 76 did not have this plate. It also has a seam in its housing. See pictures below.

Model 60

Model 76

Duncan Model 50 Door styles

The Duncan Model 50 was available with 2 different door styles. It is important to note, the locks are not interchangeable.

The 3 most common model 60 coin door locks.

Below is a picture of the most common coin door locks with the corresponding catch. A few cities (very few) purcased locks from companies other than Duncan and they are not listed here. This picture should be helpful in I.D..ing your coin door lock as 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation.

The Park-O-Meter (POM) Model "N" was available with 2 different door styles.

Note: they used 2 different locks.

POM Conversion to Female key.

I have a fair number of the wind squares (100-094) and retainers (100-054) in stock at this time. The female key is a normal stock item.

How to hook your drive-in speaker to your stereo amp or receiver.

Do you need to re-wire your speakers? Here are two simple diagrams, both will work (depending on your pot.) Take a look at your volumne control/aka/pot and see what works best for you.

Installing the RCA, pot, spring and knob.

YouTube Links

Drive-In Speakers meet Bluetooth amplifier.

Wireless, rechargeable and BLUETOOTH Drive-In Theatre Speaker... This is what you need for your next car show!

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