I picked-up a Taxi recently and the previous owner didn't have the keys for the game. Fortunately the head bolts were not installed so I was able to fold-down the head to get it home. I drilled-out the coin door lock hoping to find the head key hanging inside but no such luck...

On System 11 games like Bad Cats and Taxi there are no external-facing security screws holding the lock in place. The lock is mounted to a bracket inside the head, and the lock cam connects to a rod that extends to the center of the head. I'm hesitant to drill the head lock because I'm afraid the cam will just fall and I'll lose any ability to move the rod that controls the sliding lock.

Has anybody found a trick for getting into these without the key?

Thanks for your reply. How would I move the rod though? Assuming the latch is holding the glass in I wouldn't be able to get to the rod to move it... Are you able to manually move the latch at that point?

Just for the record, I started with the flathead screwdriver per your suggestion, I liked that idea better than drilling. It just chewed-up the end of the lock though, so I started drilling slowly with a 1/4" bit. I found that if I altered the angle of the bit toward, then away from the tumblers I had a large enough cavity to extract the tumblers and springs. Careful not to drill too deep so you don't separate the lock from the cam.

Now that all tumblers and springs are removed I can turn the lock with a screwdriver. I will probably replace it anyway because it looks like ass but it was worth the time it took because I never lost control of the cam/rod and there were no metal shavings inside the head when I was finished.

Hope this helps someone.

DrilledLock (resized).JPG

Yup! I've had my ear to the ground for years and the stars finally lined-up! It has a few issues to sort-out but it's in beautiful cosmetic shape.