u/redmeansdistortion

This reel was sent to me from u/markp910 to upgrade and bench tune. Fully greased and oiled, first run after assembly with no brake to determine the ideal braking profile. On the Avail mag brake, I settled on a pair of 3mm and a single 2.5mm magnet. With a magged 2500C, I look for 1 to 2 complete passes of the line guide to know for sure that casting will be relaively trouble free. Free enough to reach out, yet controlled enough with zero to minimal fluff. I try to toe the line between chaos and manageability.

I took these photos for a customer; he and I are discussing a 2500C build and I wanted to show him how low an offset frame sits on the reel seat compared to something modern. The AMO frame on my 2500C IAR is offset by 7mm, which makes it a lot easier to palm on a straight reel seat. The offset of the OEM frame is best with the recessed seats common on the pistol grip rods of the era it came from. That said, it is still relatively easy to palm on a modern straight reel seat. A low frame does make it better.

I'm still loving this one, having found a new life with an Avail CNQ29R which makes it better with heavier braid. I'm running 1.5 YGK on this one and it pulls double duty for top water bass and big trout in skinny creeks on a Palms Egeria 53L+ 3-18g. With two magnets removed, it's a very competent caster with poppers, small frogs, and 70mm+ minnows.

This 6500CT throws 2 ounces in excess of 150 yards. These are the same bearings Daiwa, Shimano, Isuzu, and Doyo use across their entire product lines. Abu Garcia also used them for the final decade of production of the Ambassadeur. Most bearings like Boca, Roro, AMO, and many others you see are a downgrade. Even places like Spool Speed and HPR are reselling AliExpress stuff. Quality bearings come from long established manufacturers such as NMB, SKF, EZO, NSK, and GRW. Those same brands also supply the majority of bearings used in automotive, aerospace, and precision tooling.

Stainless and brass and built to last.

Being that I'm a big fan of both Ambassadeurs and direct drive reels, I decided to mix it up a little and convert my red 4500C to direct drive. This is something I've been planning for a bit, but with the supply of parts dwindling, it can be hard finding the drive system required. Luckily, a friend of mine chanced upon an Ambassaduer 5500DA at a garage sale cheap and gave it to me as a donor.

What's nice is the 4.7 drive gear meshes perfectly with the 4.7 pinion used on the very first Ultracast models, released in 1989, so that got me right where I needed to be. The old 70s style 5500C brake plate, Ultracast 4.7 pinion, and the driveshaft, click wheel, drag, and drive gear from the 5500DA. Now we're talking. While the reel is only capable of 2-3lb of drag, this thing is all about thumb. When a fish is running, the handle is spinning and the drag knob can be tightened or loosened to control how easily a fish can run. The original 5000D and 5500D were the very first Ambassadeurs marketed exclusively to bass fishermen, and that is my intended target with this reel. Paired with the Avail components, it's something truly unique and will give me something different. Is it better than the others? No. Fun? Hell yeah, and that's why I built it. For a finishing touch, I'm on the lookout for a black Brightliver LK 28mm drag knob to round it out.

Pretty rare model here, scored it cheap and ordered a spool and handle for it from a small shop in Japan. These old dogs get stuff embedded in the finish, so the frame and side plates went into an ultrasonic cleaner in a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar with the heat turned up, followed by a scrub in mineral spirits. Now they look a lot better. The rest was scrubbed and polished with some TSI 321 applied in the bushings and a thin coat of moly disulfide grease on the gears to give them a super slick surface and prevent galling. With the 3.7:1 gear ratio, I decided to get a shorter handle so I can pick up line faster on the stream. This thing is going to be a hoot. With the narrow pitch of the level wind, I can't really run anything thinner than 1.0, so I'm going to start with that and see if I have any issues. If so, I'll work my way to to 1.5. The spool weighs 13g and the handle 4g. Factory handle was 9g and the factory spool at 16g. It'll be great on a Graywolf 5'4" 4-8lb with some 3-7g minnows.

Modern Ultracast meets old school. Here's a clue, this is going to be based on a model only offered in Japan in the early 90s. I'm just waiting for the donor to arrive, then I'll shoot some video.

Freshly serviced with a pair of middle weight black brake blocks. No thumb required until you want the bait to drop. This was on a Graywolf 704 5-21g with a 3g head and 2.8" Fat Swing Impact. Total weight of 6.4g. Line is YGK 1.2 to a 6lb Maxima leader.

These are coming soon from Simon Shimomura with many colors available. They will even be offered in left hand retrieve, which will be far cheaper than procuring a factory built 2501C. Knowing how Simon works, his should fit even better than factory Abu side plates as his work is very precise. Even the parts he offers now, he will sell factory seconds at a steep discount with a very minor flaw. No word yet on what the cost will be, but we should see them sometime within the next few months.

Full video of the service here.

https://youtu.be/xQJjEE6WUrg?is=31F9wFuxVlS3tNyI

Yeah it's super refined old technology, but what a blast to use. Such a raw feeling using your thumb for the drag. I do appreciate the creature comforts of the modern stuff, but this is very different and so much fun to use. I fish this on a Graywolf 4'11" 2-6lb; it packs up small and the whole combo weighs just 6.6 ounces, lighter than every other reel I own. Fighting an 18" brown trout was quite the experience; thumbing the spool just enough to let the fish run without breaking off. Full on manual mode.