Hot Rod My Ambassadeur

[Zackopi]

I’d love some advice to complete a total hotrodding of a mid 90s Ambassaseur 5500c3.  

 

I’ve never used the old Round Abu’s before, but I picked one up for cheap and wanna make it the absolute smoothest, farthest casting round beast possible.  

 

If you guys had 100 bucks to burn on this project what upgrades would you make?  What upgrades have you made to these reels that have made The most difference?  What upgrades haven’t been worth it?  I’ve seen a few kits for sale online that don’t use Boca brand bearings, and I’m wondering if the quality is up to snuff on those.  Any personal experience would be helpful!  Just wondering what you would do.

 

And I’ve 100% made up my mind, so no use trying to talk me out of it. It’s a fun winter project, and I want to see how close I can get the performance to a modern reel.  I want to be able to whip it out and tell a buddy, “bet I can outcast you with this thing!” And even if not the best bass reel, it will get used for catfish/Pike/Muskie.  I’ve gotta try it once.

 

Oh yeah, the gearing is already 5.3/1 so I don’t want to change that.  I intend to use it for cranks/swimbaits.  

[DogBone_384]

I’d start with a thorough cleaning and bearing upgrade.  If it’s not something you’ll do yourself, contact Mike @ Delaware Valley Tackle.  He’s a site sponsor.  Mike’s tuned up a lot of my reels.  He does great work.  Send him your reel, he’ll steer you in the right direction.

[Big Rick]

Worm gear and pawl need replacing because they stay engaged during the cast and wear out double quick. This is the main Achilles heel on these old reels. They are inherently tough as nails and very dependable. A venerable winch. You got your work cut out for you because the braking system will be your biggest challenge. However, I have 8 or 10 of these in various sizes that my kids learn on and they can't be beat for dependability, as long as you keep plenty of pawls handy. Good luck with your project and keep us in the loop!

[The Bassman]

I'd upgrade the handle also, maybe a Hawgtech straight 90 mm. with Winn Grips.

[WRB]

Not a lot you can do except blue print the reel to original condition, have anodize refinished, clean everything, upgrade the drag washers, replace worn parts, polish the gears to run smoothly. This era reel is well made in Sweden, post 2000 reels are made China, so the reel has value for parts.

I would sell it and put the $100 into a Shimano Cardiff 300 that has everything you need, instant anti reverse, good drag, good bearings, oversize crank handle, free spool casting etc,etc.

Tom

PS, contact Don Iovino Products, Don rebuilds and tunes legacy Ambassadeur reels.

 

[B-Dozer]

all good suggestions here, except the Shimano Cardiff 300 ? I would also get a good line, maybe yo zuri hybrid and some Van Dam line conditioner.  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

There are too many versions of Ambassaduer to make specific recommendations without seeing it. Since this is an enthusiast project, go with bearings. Carbontex drag is a no brainer as is Super Tuning. The levelwind is critical and where it can get tricky. Let me know if you need help. 

[Zackopi]

Yeah, I tried to put up a picture but the site kept saying the it took up too much space.  Then I put a link to the picture on postimage.org but the site said this was against site security. If someone can explain how to post a pic I’ll be glad to do it.

[B-Dozer]

The Abu Garcia Record line is a very smooth, long casting model. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Easy to hod rod last forever. Never had issues with pawls as long as keep them lightly oiled.oil bearings lightly also and you wont have any problems casting.did i mention i have about 180 abus and never had  issues  with  casting even the ones 50+ yrs old..all shapes and sizes new or used all will work.

Bearings,update drag, polish spool shaft ends ,ceramic pawl,bearing in cog wheel, and bearing supported worm your ready for 130 150 yrds easy anyday.if it has IAR no need for that bearing but you can get bearing supported crankshaft bearing not IAR but makes cranking a  little smoother 

[WRB]

130-150 feet.

Tom

[Maxximus Redneckus]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

130-150 feet.

Tom

True ...after a few months 130 150 yrds ..cause if you aint slinging  1 oz  on 12 lb line 130 plus yards your not getting the most out of your abu 

[Zackopi]

3 hours ago, Maxximus Redneckus said:

True ...after a few months 130 150 yrds ..cause if you aint slinging  1 oz  on 12 lb line 130 plus yards your not getting the most out of your abu 

That would be spectacular.  I don’t think I’ve ever casted anything over 100 yards.  

 

Tell you what... I’ve got an idea for posterity.  So far I’ve cleaned and lubed the reel with no further modifications.  It’s already spinning a lot better and quieter.  This week I’ll take it to the football field and see how far I can cast with an ounce, half ounce, and a quarter ounce, and I’ll record the results here.  Then as I tune and upgrade I’ll keep testing to see what improvements I’m able to make.  Science ?

[Tim Kelly]

It's entirely possible to over do those reels to a point where they're pretty much uncastable. Went down that road 20 years ago with ceramic bearings and bearings in idler gears etc. Super fast reel, but incredibly difficult to cast. 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, Zackopi said:

That would be spectacular.  I don’t think I’ve ever casted anything over 100 yards.  

 

Tell you what... I’ve got an idea for posterity.  So far I’ve cleaned and lubed the reel with no further modifications.  It’s already spinning a lot better and quieter.  This week I’ll take it to the football field and see how far I can cast with an ounce, half ounce, and a quarter ounce, and I’ll record the results here.  Then as I tune and upgrade I’ll keep testing to see what improvements I’m able to make.  Science ?

Anyone who claims they can cast a Abu 5500C 150 yards is .... .. .... Unless casting into the Grand Canyon. 50 yards or 150 feet is max with a bass rod.

Tom

[B-Dozer]

Think the poster meant 130-150 ft. 

[OkobojiEagle]

20 hours ago, Tim Kelly said:

It's entirely possible to over do those reels to a point where they're pretty much uncastable. Went down that road 20 years ago with ceramic bearings and bearings in idler gears etc. Super fast reel, but incredibly difficult to cast. 

6 bearing 4601 spooled 2/3 full of 20 lb braid has been my favorite pitching reel...

 

oe

[tholmes]

I've hot-rodded several of my round Ambassadeurs over the years. Get ahold of Jerry Foran at http://hookless.com/

for parts at the best prices I've found, plus, Jerry is a great guy and has a vast store of knowledge about the reels.

 

The best improvements I've found:

Thorough cleaning of everything, polishing friction points and using high-quality oil and grease.

Carbontex drag washers. They won't do anything for your casting distance, but they're a major step up from the stock drag.

Dual ball bearing levelwind and cog wheel - available at the link above.

If your reel has the 2-pin brake system, consider installing the smaller (blue)  brake blocks.

 

Tom

[Big Rick]

On 9/15/2018 at 6:17 PM, Maxximus Redneckus said:

True ...after a few months 130 150 yrds ..cause if you aint slinging  1 oz  on 12 lb line 130 plus yards your not getting the most out of your abu 

Video or it didn't happen, lol!!!

[Zackopi]

I’m pleasantly surprised, so far.  With a freshly cleaned/lubed stock 5500 c3 spooled with 17lb mono mounted on a 7ft Kistler Magnesium cranking rod I was able to cast 54 yards with an ounce weight and 43 yards with 1/2 ounce.

 

 It was getting too dark and too many mosquitos so I didn’t cast with 1/4 ounce tonight.  Sometime this week I’ll post the results of the 1/4 ounce cast.  I’m guessing that one won’t go so well for the Abu.  The shocking thing was that I brought a new Citica to test as well, and over several casts I got about the same yardage casting on one ounce as I did the Abu.  

 

However, I should point out the Citica was mounted on a stiff Medium Heavy rod which was 3 inches shorter.  But still! I thought the Citica would blow that old reel away!  However, when I went down to 1/2 oz. the Citica did blow the Abu away, getting over 50 yards with ease to the Abu’s 43.  Tomorrow or Thursday I’ll cast both setups with 1/4 oz and report the results.  BTW, that New smooth Citica sure did scream something fierce when casting an ounce weight.  I don’t think I’m gonna Be casting one ounce Hail Marys on it any more after this!  

 

Also, I’m surprised that the Ambassadeur was so easy to cast.  I thought that with its primitive brakes (mine has the two shoe system) it would backlash like crazy.  But it was shockingly easy.  Obviously the ever-engaged levelwind is working effectively as a brake.

 

 

 

[Zackopi]

On 9/15/2018 at 11:20 PM, Tim Kelly said:

It's entirely possible to over do those reels to a point where they're pretty much uncastable. Went down that road 20 years ago with ceramic bearings and bearings in idler gears etc. Super fast reel, but incredibly difficult to cast. 

Yeah, After casting the thing stock I can see that the sluggish level wind works as an effective brake.  Do you remember if your reel 20 years ago had the six shoe brakes or the two shoe brakes?  If you only had the two shoe brakes maybe an upgrade to the six shoe would be the ticket???  Mine only has the two shoe centrifugal brake system.

 

Has anybody here had experience with both braking systems used in the Ambassadeurs over the years?

[Zackopi]

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised that I could take this reel out as is and use it for some bass fishing applications.   When I first got it last week with decades old dried grease, and I turned the handle, I thought for sure this would only be a catfish reel.  

 

 

[CrankFate]

On 9/15/2018 at 1:21 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

There are too many versions of Ambassaduer to make specific recommendations without seeing it. Since this is an enthusiast project, go with bearings. Carbontex drag is a no brainer as is Super Tuning. The levelwind is critical and where it can get tricky. Let me know if you need help. 

Round Abus feel much, much better with greased Carbontex. I have these drags in every Abu round reel that I have.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I have both 6 pin and 2 pin i seen no reason to have a six pin ..the 2 pin works fine for regular casting.the 6 pin has only been around with stock abus for about 12 yrs.and i still havent figured out why abu did away with the thumb screws for the crank sideplate.now you have to change them out or carry a dime to do adjustments ...even though its almost a set and forget reel.

[OkobojiEagle]

26 minutes ago, Maxximus Redneckus said:

 or carry a dime to do adjustments ...

Doesn't everyone carry a small Swiss Army pocket knife?...

 

oe