I just opened my dad's old boxes and found almost 200 old ambassadeurs including plenty of 1500/2500 Records and few 911 tribute reels. Ill mod one as per your vid
I am intrigued with the amount of aftermarket parts available for these old reels. However, I am of the mind and experience that a true “super tune” is not a part change out only. It must involve polishing machined surfaces to a mirrored finished. The ends of the spool axle need a mirrored finish. The square brass pieces in the casting adjust knob need a mirror finish. The spool axle where it contacts the pinion gear needs a mirror finish. The inside of the pinion gear needs a mirror finish. All surfaces involved in the drag mechanism need a mirror finish. Polishing the inside of the brake drum to a mirrored finish will in crease braking control and casting distance. Polishing these surfaces will greatly reduce friction in the reel. This is true super tuning in my most humble opinion. Great video with good information on after market parts.
Thank you David!! I haven't found one important box I have that contains a bunch of important pieces of tackle. In that box is 3 more 1500Cs, 1 ABU 2500C, a couple Mitchell 300s, 3 ABU 5000s, and a bunch of other reels and ephemera. I've moved five times since 2013 and I've been slowly finding things..... when I find that box, I'll make sure to do that! Thanks as always for the support!!!!
@@BassFishingArchives There's something special, and maybe a little bit magical about having boxes or buckets of old reels. I think it might be the idea that there's hope and nostalgia attached to them. The nostalgia is obvious but the hope is that we can at some point return these old reels that once served us back to their former glory, where they will once again bring fish into the net. That's just plain cool. I've got around 30 or so Mitchell 300's in varying states of brokenness and disrepair. Hope to get a few of them working again and maybe even give them new paint jobs. I just used my old Mitchell I had when I was a kid a few days ago. That old buzzing, clicking sound was pretty incredible...took me right back.
David, you should repair them all and get them back in fighting shape! I agree with you on the boxes of nostalgia. My worry is I've lost that box in one of the moves. Those things weren't in the obvious boxes so I'm hoping.... Praying... That they didn't get lost.
That’s was a terrific video Terry I had chest pains when you said what all the parts cost WOW! Still want one and a 2500c though Those Abus are just built tough and built right. Right now I have two 4600c circa 1970’s A 4600 high speed ultra cast 6500 abu morrum and a good old fashion 6500c that’s my go to for catfish, all Swedish made.
Sometimes I question myself whether that was a good decision on my part to get those upgrades. As it turns out, the main drive gear was shot so it needed new gears to begin with. The other stuff was all fluff, but I'm now glad I got it. Thank for the support Erick!!
Very nice! If you put that on a 1/16-1/4 rod, it will no doubt cast on the lower end. I have a 1600C IAR with all Avail parts and it'll put a Rapala CD1 out there. Quick question, are you still using the factory line guide? The Avail part is significantly lighter.
Bill, I was the first American to order their parts online and use paypal. It was very easy and the gentleman I talked with was very helpful and spoke/wrote good English. I would have no problem ordering from them again. As for the BFS conversion, I just wanted to get this reel back in working order. As it stood, I spent over $300 doing that. It is still an option but I also have three more 1500s and three more 2500s to do. That's a lot of $$$$. Thanks for the comment and I hope I helped you make a decision. Terry
Beautiful old tech! Quick question does anyone know if the part’s for the 1500c and 1600c iar are interchangeable? Obviously the anti reverse in my 1600c is a sprag clutch one way bearing type not a ratchet type, it’s the level wind and spool I’m interested in replacing with light weight gear from avail part’s, edit, I had no idea that do ratio upgrades for these! I’ll have to get that gear set if it fit’s! The reduced torque from the drag should increase it’s smoothness too!
needmore, to my knowledge they are not. On the Avail website they have parts listed for each reel model. If you have trouble, reach out to them, they speak (write) good English. Terry
I watched you put the reel together and noticed a couple things. I didn’t see you put the small Teflon washer on the post before you installed the aluminum “main bushing”. It should of come with the main bushing. Also be careful with that reel now that the avail gear set is installed. The pinion gear is very small and weak and it’s recommended that you use less than one kilogram drag pressure with it, or else you can easily damage it. I have already distroyed one avail pinion gear myself. I think that gear set is best used for bfs fishing where you won’t be useing much drag pressure. Also one of the biggest upgrade parts for this reel is an avail micro cast spool. So will beable to cast very light lures. I think overall the upgrades for this reel are geared mainly towards bfs fishing. I have a couple of these reels myself and have fully bfs tuned them. They are actually quite amazing once fully tuned.
@Swimbaitinginthedeepsouth. I'm not sure what you mean by "Main Bushing"? Do you mean the main drive gear post or as it's called in the ABU 1500C parts list, the main Drive Shaft? If you mean the main drive shaft, there was no small teflon washer to put on the post. There is a small brass washer from the original parts that I used. Regarding your comment about the small pinion gear, you are absolutely right. After fishing this reel now for a few months, I have noticed the decreased diameter of the pinion gear has two problems. One, as you stated is the reel does not go back into gear as solid as it did with the original gears. It will sometimes bind and I have to re-engage the freespool and then put it back into gear. I'm not too happy with this. I also notice that it seems like the gears aren't positively meshed and under normal pressure, the teeth sometimes slip. Also, as you stated, due to the small diameter of the pinion, it creates a lot of stress on that gear. I agree with you that reels tuned like this are now relegated to fishing super light lines (2-6lb test) with minimal drag. What I'll use it for is 6-lb test with finesse worm fishing. I used to love these reels for throwing small crankbaits like the Bagley's Honey Bs but I won't be throwing those on it anymore. Thanks for the comment and let me know if you mean Main Drive Shaft.
@@BassFishingArchives I replied to you, but I think the comment is being held for review from you because I added an website link in the comment. It’s a link to the avail website but anyways it was a super long comment and I answered your question and added some info also. See if you can review that comment and approve it cause I don’t feel like writing all that over again haha
@swimbaitinginthedeepsouth, I don't see your comment in purgatory at all. The only other comment I see is this last one. I have a couple other subscribers that have problems replying to my videos and for the life of me I can't figure out why their posts don't stick. I wish it was here because I'd love to read it.
@@BassFishingArchives Yes I am referring to the main drive gear post. Avail calls this part the “main gear bushing”. If you go to the avail website. It is avail. JP without that space. Your internet explorer should automatically translate the page. Look for the main gear bushing, it’s under the parts for the small Ambassadeur. Once you find the main gear bushing scroll down the page and it shows you how to install it. You will see that a Teflon washer comes with the main gear bushing. You put the brass shim on the post, then the Teflon washer next and then last you put on the main gear bushing. The purpose of the Teflon washer is to take up space, you will see them talk about this in the instructions. You not having that Teflon washer could be causing some of your problems, since the main gear and pinion gear isn’t lined up the same without that Teflon washer. Also without the Teflon washer your main gear bushing maybe bottoming out in the brake plate (frame of the reel) and the 4 pins at the bottom of the main gear bushing maybe dragging causing more resistance, the 4 pins are not supposed to touch the brake plate obviously. This Teflon washer comes in the package with the main gear bushing but it is hidden in between the papers in the package so if you didn’t know it was in there you probably threw it away. Also, the weakest part of the pinion gear is the slot that the shaft of the spool fits in. This area has very little material and is very weak and prone to being distorted if too much pressure is applied to it. The pinon gear is a very delicate part and that is why avail suggest using less that 1 kilogram of drag pressure. The most common thing that will happen is the slot of the pinion gear will spread out or open up. When this happens the pinion gear will have a hard time gripping the spool shaft, and it will slip when you turn the handle and make it seem as if the reel is having trouble engaging when you are trying to start your retrieve. I would look at that pinion gear and see if has opened up, if so you will need a new pinion gear. When you order avail parts make sure to read everything about each part because (for instance) there are different versions of the gear sets for the Ambassadeur 1500c/2500c. There is the old type and a recently released type 2 version. The gear ratios are slightly different and you wanna make sure you get the correct pinion gear. Anyways it might seem like these parts didn’t work that great. But when all the parts are install correctly and the reel is functioning correctly and your new modified reel is being used for its intended purpose, (BFS) which is basically ultra light fishing with a bait caster if you ddnt know what that meant, the reel can be quite amazing. My tuned Ambassadeur 1500c/2500c reels are the smoothest reels with the lightest rotation of the handle out of all the reels I own, and I own all the highest end shimanos, including all the Antares, conquest, and metaniums. Like I said before, I believe most of the parts are to be used to tune the small Ambassadeur into a bfs reel and are best used with the avail micro cast spool. This spool is ultra light (around 5 grams). I would not recommend using the avail gear set with the original spool.
Okay, thanks for retyping that reply. That makes sense. I actually ordered all my parts from the Avail we site out of Japan. I can't remember the gentleman's name who helped me order the parts. I do know that I have the new gear set. Yes, I must have missed the Teflon washer in the package. I will contact Avail and have them send me one. I normally used this reel with 6 and 8 lb line. A drag force of 1kg equates to 2.2 lbs of force, which isn't far off what you want your drag set for 6lb. So that doesn't sound too bad. As for the pinion gear. I was disappointed that the gear didn't have a support ring around the slot like most pinion gears have. This was a big problem back in the 60s and 70s with the aftermarket speed gear kits for the ABU 5000 and 5000C to increase their gear ratio from 3.8:1 to 5:1. Avail could put the support ring on the pinion and it would be much stronger. But, it will add weight and that's not what they're about. Lol. This was my first dealing with Avail and I wanted to see what their parts could do to bring my old reel back to life. I have 6 of them I have to upgrade and at $500/reel it gets spendy. Lol. I'll finish this upgrade sometime soon with the spool and the line guide. Great talking with you. What part of the south are you in? I'm in TN.
Tim, sorry for the late reply. My notifications got turned off. The parts I purchased were: Right Side Plate Bushing Replacement PB-BB-13426 $18.92 2 Ball Bearing Worm Shaft 1500C WS-15C-2BB $52.98 Level Wind Cog Wheel Black 5152 $28.85 High Speed Gear Kit Right Hand Drive 75S-HGST $59.60 Main Gear Shaft 25C-MGB $34.06 Drag Click Wheel 25C-CLK-WHL $14.19 Spool Shaft Bearings Hedgehog HS-BB1150AIR-1150AIR $31.97 Drag Washer DWASHER-CC F2 1980 $17.03 I hope this helps you! Terry
I just opened my dad's old boxes and found almost 200 old ambassadeurs including plenty of 1500/2500 Records and few 911 tribute reels. Ill mod one as per your vid
Damn, you uncovered a goldmine!!!!
I am intrigued with the amount of aftermarket parts available for these old reels. However, I am of the mind and experience that a true “super tune” is not a part change out only. It must involve polishing machined surfaces to a mirrored finished.
The ends of the spool axle need a mirrored finish. The square brass pieces in the casting adjust knob need a mirror finish. The spool axle where it contacts the pinion gear needs a mirror finish. The inside of the pinion gear needs a mirror finish. All surfaces involved in the drag mechanism need a mirror finish. Polishing the inside of the brake drum to a mirrored finish will in crease braking control and casting distance.
Polishing these surfaces will greatly reduce friction in the reel.
This is true super tuning in my most humble opinion.
Great video with good information on after market parts.
Great video. Glad to see you showed every aspect of the disassembly and reassembly. Would like to see you do the same thing to a Mitchell 300.
Thank you David!! I haven't found one important box I have that contains a bunch of important pieces of tackle. In that box is 3 more 1500Cs, 1 ABU 2500C, a couple Mitchell 300s, 3 ABU 5000s, and a bunch of other reels and ephemera. I've moved five times since 2013 and I've been slowly finding things..... when I find that box, I'll make sure to do that! Thanks as always for the support!!!!
@@BassFishingArchives There's something special, and maybe a little bit magical about having boxes or buckets of old reels. I think it might be the idea that there's hope and nostalgia attached to them. The nostalgia is obvious but the hope is that we can at some point return these old reels that once served us back to their former glory, where they will once again bring fish into the net. That's just plain cool.
I've got around 30 or so Mitchell 300's in varying states of brokenness and disrepair. Hope to get a few of them working again and maybe even give them new paint jobs. I just used my old Mitchell I had when I was a kid a few days ago. That old buzzing, clicking sound was pretty incredible...took me right back.
David, you should repair them all and get them back in fighting shape!
I agree with you on the boxes of nostalgia. My worry is I've lost that box in one of the moves. Those things weren't in the obvious boxes so I'm hoping.... Praying... That they didn't get lost.
I have 2 2500c and been wanting to upgrade them glad I found your video I did know parts were available.
mik wood, glad to help. Let me know if I can be of any help. Avail was really a good outfit to deal with.
Loved it...I've got a 1500C but, I'm keeping it OG....it's too much fun!!! 😊
That’s was a terrific video Terry
I had chest pains when you said what all the parts cost WOW!
Still want one and a 2500c though
Those Abus are just built tough and built right.
Right now I have two 4600c circa 1970’s
A 4600 high speed ultra cast
6500 abu morrum
and a good old fashion 6500c that’s my go to for catfish, all Swedish made.
Sometimes I question myself whether that was a good decision on my part to get those upgrades. As it turns out, the main drive gear was shot so it needed new gears to begin with. The other stuff was all fluff, but I'm now glad I got it.
Thank for the support Erick!!
Nice set up
Thank you sir!
Very cool. Hope it brings back good memories.
Thanks, Terry. Demonstrate a few casts next time.
Andy, will do. Problem is I record all this stuff at night so it's hard to record a cast.
Very nice! If you put that on a 1/16-1/4 rod, it will no doubt cast on the lower end. I have a 1600C IAR with all Avail parts and it'll put a Rapala CD1 out there. Quick question, are you still using the factory line guide? The Avail part is significantly lighter.
Yes ReelRestorer, I kept the same line guide.
How hard was it to order from Avail online? I am surprised you didn’t go ahead and convert your 1500 to a BFS reel.
Bill, I was the first American to order their parts online and use paypal. It was very easy and the gentleman I talked with was very helpful and spoke/wrote good English. I would have no problem ordering from them again. As for the BFS conversion, I just wanted to get this reel back in working order. As it stood, I spent over $300 doing that. It is still an option but I also have three more 1500s and three more 2500s to do. That's a lot of $$$$. Thanks for the comment and I hope I helped you make a decision. Terry
@@TerryBattisti1 Thank you Terry. I think you should order at least one of those BFS spools to see if there is any difference. Thanks for your videos.
Beautiful old tech! Quick question does anyone know if the part’s for the 1500c and 1600c iar are interchangeable? Obviously the anti reverse in my 1600c is a sprag clutch one way bearing type not a ratchet type, it’s the level wind and spool I’m interested in replacing with light weight gear from avail part’s, edit, I had no idea that do ratio upgrades for these! I’ll have to get that gear set if it fit’s! The reduced torque from the drag should increase it’s smoothness too!
needmore, to my knowledge they are not. On the Avail website they have parts listed for each reel model. If you have trouble, reach out to them, they speak (write) good English. Terry
@@BassFishingArchives cheer’s! I’d left an email, I must have been looking in the wrong area as I could only find 1500 parts
can the 5000C1 be super tuned ?
Pretty much all old ABU reels can be.
I watched you put the reel together and noticed a couple things. I didn’t see you put the small Teflon washer on the post before you installed the aluminum “main bushing”. It should of come with the main bushing. Also be careful with that reel now that the avail gear set is installed. The pinion gear is very small and weak and it’s recommended that you use less than one kilogram drag pressure with it, or else you can easily damage it. I have already distroyed one avail pinion gear myself. I think that gear set is best used for bfs fishing where you won’t be useing much drag pressure. Also one of the biggest upgrade parts for this reel is an avail micro cast spool. So will beable to cast very light lures. I think overall the upgrades for this reel are geared mainly towards bfs fishing. I have a couple of these reels myself and have fully bfs tuned them. They are actually quite amazing once fully tuned.
@Swimbaitinginthedeepsouth. I'm not sure what you mean by "Main Bushing"? Do you mean the main drive gear post or as it's called in the ABU 1500C parts list, the main Drive Shaft? If you mean the main drive shaft, there was no small teflon washer to put on the post. There is a small brass washer from the original parts that I used.
Regarding your comment about the small pinion gear, you are absolutely right. After fishing this reel now for a few months, I have noticed the decreased diameter of the pinion gear has two problems. One, as you stated is the reel does not go back into gear as solid as it did with the original gears. It will sometimes bind and I have to re-engage the freespool and then put it back into gear. I'm not too happy with this. I also notice that it seems like the gears aren't positively meshed and under normal pressure, the teeth sometimes slip. Also, as you stated, due to the small diameter of the pinion, it creates a lot of stress on that gear.
I agree with you that reels tuned like this are now relegated to fishing super light lines (2-6lb test) with minimal drag. What I'll use it for is 6-lb test with finesse worm fishing. I used to love these reels for throwing small crankbaits like the Bagley's Honey Bs but I won't be throwing those on it anymore.
Thanks for the comment and let me know if you mean Main Drive Shaft.
@@BassFishingArchives I replied to you, but I think the comment is being held for review from you because I added an website link in the comment. It’s a link to the avail website but anyways it was a super long comment and I answered your question and added some info also. See if you can review that comment and approve it cause I don’t feel like writing all that over again haha
@swimbaitinginthedeepsouth, I don't see your comment in purgatory at all. The only other comment I see is this last one. I have a couple other subscribers that have problems replying to my videos and for the life of me I can't figure out why their posts don't stick. I wish it was here because I'd love to read it.
@@BassFishingArchives Yes I am referring to the main drive gear post. Avail calls this part the “main gear bushing”. If you go to the avail website. It is avail. JP without that space. Your internet explorer should automatically translate the page. Look for the main gear bushing, it’s under the parts for the small Ambassadeur. Once you find the main gear bushing scroll down the page and it shows you how to install it. You will see that a Teflon washer comes with the main gear bushing. You put the brass shim on the post, then the Teflon washer next and then last you put on the main gear bushing. The purpose of the Teflon washer is to take up space, you will see them talk about this in the instructions. You not having that Teflon washer could be causing some of your problems, since the main gear and pinion gear isn’t lined up the same without that Teflon washer. Also without the Teflon washer your main gear bushing maybe bottoming out in the brake plate (frame of the reel) and the 4 pins at the bottom of the main gear bushing maybe dragging causing more resistance, the 4 pins are not supposed to touch the brake plate obviously. This Teflon washer comes in the package with the main gear bushing but it is hidden in between the papers in the package so if you didn’t know it was in there you probably threw it away.
Also, the weakest part of the pinion gear is the slot that the shaft of the spool fits in. This area has very little material and is very weak and prone to being distorted if too much pressure is applied to it. The pinon gear is a very delicate part and that is why avail suggest using less that 1 kilogram of drag pressure. The most common thing that will happen is the slot of the pinion gear will spread out or open up. When this happens the pinion gear will have a hard time gripping the spool shaft, and it will slip when you turn the handle and make it seem as if the reel is having trouble engaging when you are trying to start your retrieve. I would look at that pinion gear and see if has opened up, if so you will need a new pinion gear. When you order avail parts make sure to read everything about each part because (for instance) there are different versions of the gear sets for the Ambassadeur 1500c/2500c. There is the old type and a recently released type 2 version. The gear ratios are slightly different and you wanna make sure you get the correct pinion gear.
Anyways it might seem like these parts didn’t work that great. But when all the parts are install correctly and the reel is functioning correctly and your new modified reel is being used for its intended purpose, (BFS) which is basically ultra light fishing with a bait caster if you ddnt know what that meant, the reel can be quite amazing. My tuned Ambassadeur 1500c/2500c reels are the smoothest reels with the lightest rotation of the handle out of all the reels I own, and I own all the highest end shimanos, including all the Antares, conquest, and metaniums.
Like I said before, I believe most of the parts are to be used to tune the small Ambassadeur into a bfs reel and are best used with the avail micro cast spool. This spool is ultra light (around 5 grams). I would not recommend using the avail gear set with the original spool.
Okay, thanks for retyping that reply. That makes sense. I actually ordered all my parts from the Avail we site out of Japan. I can't remember the gentleman's name who helped me order the parts. I do know that I have the new gear set.
Yes, I must have missed the Teflon washer in the package. I will contact Avail and have them send me one.
I normally used this reel with 6 and 8 lb line. A drag force of 1kg equates to 2.2 lbs of force, which isn't far off what you want your drag set for 6lb. So that doesn't sound too bad.
As for the pinion gear. I was disappointed that the gear didn't have a support ring around the slot like most pinion gears have. This was a big problem back in the 60s and 70s with the aftermarket speed gear kits for the ABU 5000 and 5000C to increase their gear ratio from 3.8:1 to 5:1. Avail could put the support ring on the pinion and it would be much stronger. But, it will add weight and that's not what they're about. Lol.
This was my first dealing with Avail and I wanted to see what their parts could do to bring my old reel back to life. I have 6 of them I have to upgrade and at $500/reel it gets spendy. Lol. I'll finish this upgrade sometime soon with the spool and the line guide.
Great talking with you. What part of the south are you in? I'm in TN.
I have the same reel how much did this cost you i would love to do this too! Can you list the items you purchased?ty
Tim, sorry for the late reply. My notifications got turned off. The parts I purchased were:
Right Side Plate Bushing Replacement PB-BB-13426 $18.92
2 Ball Bearing Worm Shaft 1500C WS-15C-2BB $52.98
Level Wind Cog Wheel Black 5152 $28.85
High Speed Gear Kit Right Hand Drive 75S-HGST $59.60
Main Gear Shaft 25C-MGB $34.06
Drag Click Wheel 25C-CLK-WHL $14.19
Spool Shaft Bearings Hedgehog HS-BB1150AIR-1150AIR $31.97
Drag Washer DWASHER-CC F2 1980 $17.03
I hope this helps you! Terry