4208 Restoration Project

So recently, I picked up an old Simplex 4208AX panel from 1974 that needed quite a lot more work than I thought it would. For those of you who didn’t catch my previous post about this panel, the paint and internals were in rather rough shape. When I first got it, most of it appeared to be dirt that would scrub off. Turns out, most of the metal parts inside had discoloration and corrosion, and the paint was an absolute faded, rusted and discolored mess. I was debating on leaving it original since it is an antique, but given how bad it actually was (especially on the inside - the whole bottom left of the can was totally rusted) I finally caved in an decide to restore it. So, here’s where I stand now. I completely polished the internal parts like the H and AX boards and stripped the panel down and repainted the entire cabinet. The color isn’t an exact match to factory, but I think the darker red gives it a twist. All that’s left is putting a coat of clear coat on it, piecing it back together and replacing some incandescent lamps that burned out on the front panel, and this thing will look brand new. I’ll attach the pictures of the cabinet in this post, and, later on, once I get it completely re-assembled, I’ll post pictures of that, too.

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After spending over a week restoring various parts of this panel between work shifts, this is what my 4208 looks like. I have everything reassembled and functioning at this point, and while it didn’t necessarily turn out exactly the way I had hoped for, I’m still happy I was able to restore this 50 year old panel back to its original glory. I even managed to track down an original 53 page service manual in mint condition, which is a nice plus. At this point, all I really have to do is replace two of the indicator lamps on the front panel, and possibly add an external trouble bell and code motor.

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That looks amazing! I wouldn’t have even noticed the color if you hadn’t pointed it out. Will we ever get to see it in action?

Whoa, thats a cool old system.

Yes! You absolutely will! I have to find the time to post a video of it in action between work and school. I have a couple of ideas for videos with it too, such as figuring out how to use one of my 1960’s/70’s Simplex coded pull boxes with it…