Finally had a lot of time behind the 1600C IAR, what a fantastic little reel!

[redmeansdistortion]

I've fished this reel a lot lately, more than the rest in my collection. So why have I fallen in love you may ask? Why fall in love with an old, outdated model when I can surely have a better experience with something new and state of the art? Please follow along below.

 

A little background, I'm an 'old' guy. Well not old, more like middle-aged. Back in the day, I grew up fishing Ambassadeurs and still used them predominantly up until maybe 5 years ago. They were never the bleeding edge, but they always worked, and worked well within their confinements. The Ambassadeur has always relied on simplicity first and foremost, and with that simplicity comes a whole world of tuning and upgrade options. Even to this day, it's the most bare bones reel you can still buy new. Simplicity in construction also means simplicity in operation. To those not in the know, it's probably the easiest reel there is to set up. Where people fail is asking too much of it from the beginning instead of learning it, much like any other.

Heavy? Yes. Slow? Indeed. Primitive braking? Yup. Even though this particular example is more than double the weight of something like an Aldebaran BFS, the weight does play to your benefit. How? Easy, it balances out a combo much better. A balanced combo, even if on the heavy side, will be less fatiguing to fish than a lighter more tip-heavy combo. Like many, I appreciate the weight savings inherent in the newest reels, but at the same time, those featherweight reels can make for a tip-heavy combo. The only way to balance out a tip-heavy combo is to add weight at the end of the rod butt which may involve a little surgery on behalf of the owner. As far as speed is concerned, these are very slow reels bringing in 16" per turn in the 4.7:1 gears and 18" per turn in the 5.3:1. They can be sped up with a set of 6.1:1 gears which brings them in line with modern 6:1 reels, about 23" per turn.

 

On the braking end of things, this guy relies on the antiquated, but tried and true centrifugal braking system, but also the "other" friction brake, the spool tension knob. In recent years, it has become frowned upon to use the spool tension for braking purposes. If one can put aside all of the dubious claims competing manufacturers say about using the tension knob to control the spool, you will find it's a quite basic, yet highly effective braking system. The best part? It's infinitely variable and provides a higher degree of control than a stepped magnetic brake like found in more modern reels. Micro adjustments can be made to get the spool to behave exactly how you want. Furthermore, there is an index ring surrounding the knob so that it's simple to tell how much tension (brake) you are applying. It's simple and works exactly as it was intended. It's a very much overlooked braking system by today's standards, and was found across almost all makes and models at one point. These days it's only Abu and Akios using them in their reels.

So how does this guy cast. you may be wondering? It's awesome! Getting deeper into it, I can run my spool tension wide open and rely on the centrifugal brake when fishing lakes or other wide open spaces and maximize my distance. When it comes to pitching in an overgrown creek, I like to apply just a tiny bit of spool tension so I can keep the spool controlled making those in-close casts. Mag brakes are made for Ambassadeurs by companies like AMO and Avail, but none of them are externally adjustable and too fiddly on the water as the reel needs to be partially disassembled to adjust. The spool tension brake is as simple as it gets.

 

In closing, these are incredibly well engineered reels. They don't have the fine tolerances of the more contemporary Japanese made round reels like the Calcutta Conquest and Millionaire, but those looser tolerances mean it takes a lot more crud to bind them up. The Ambassadeur is still the golden standard reel to a degree, and its DNA is in every baitcaster on the shelf today. The centrifugal brake, free spool clutch, thumb bar, and multi-disc drag were all patents held by ABU until the 1970s. When those expired, they chose not to renew them, opening the door for other manufacturers to use the same basic design, which is still used in every competing reel.

 

If anybody has been on the fence about these, you should at least try. Yes, they can be expensive, but if you look in places outside of eBay, there are still deals to be had. My 1600C IAR set me back $100, considerably less than an eBay reel. A friend of mine who collects reels, finds 2500Cs frequently at garage sales and estate sales at near giveaway prices. Patience can pay off. Chances are, being a BFS fisherman, you will need to spend money on parts like a ported idler, spool, bearings, worm gear, and line guide, but those add to the value of the reel. Worst case is you break even should you decide to sell it, and at best you will make a profit. With that said, eBay reels are a bit much from the get-go making any savings near non-existent. Put in the legwork and you just might be nicely rewarded.

[bulldog1935]

I've gone the other way on my 1500C, no centrifugal, the spindle cap won't even add friction at full close, and internal Avail mag brake (only 2 magnets needed w/ Avail spool). 

And since we need a photo. 

[crypt]

I love my 1600 more than any other reel I have.will not part with it. my wife is going to bury it with me when I leave this earth......I'm not kidding !!!!!!!

[redmeansdistortion]

4 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

I've gone the other way on my 1500C, no centrifugal, the spindle cap won't even add friction at full close, and internal Avail mag brake (only 2 magnets needed w/ Avail spool). 

And since we need a photo. 

Interesting, are you using the deeper Avail spool cap?

 

Here's mine, using an Avail AMB1520R, Hedgehog Air bearings, 6.1:1 gears, Avail pinion bearing, Avail ported idler gear, Avail double bearing level wind, Avail line guide, carbon drag, and a Simon Shimomura handle in the 'Rock' color.  I was looking for one of those Haneda Craft handles like you have but they appear to be sold out everywhere in the 70mm I was looking for.

[bulldog1935]

I just picked the number of shims to hit zero end play - that's the Avail cap. 

I have the same 1520 spool, Roro bearings, Avail single-BB worm gear, Avail alloy LW flier, BB idler, and BB pinion.  I'm casting 1.5 g as far as I need in tight creeks, and 3 g farther than I need in wide spaces. 

 

I'm using the Haneda Craft fiber drag, and love it. 

 

@redmeansdistortion

ok, and I have the Avail alloy frame that drops the spool 7 mm closer to the rod. 

 

but I wish I had your IAR.   You pilfered that reel compared to market value. 

[redmeansdistortion]

1 minute ago, bulldog1935 said:

I have the same spool, Roro bearings, Avail single-BB worm gear, Avail alloy LW flier, BB idler, and BB pinion.  I'm casting 1.5 g as far as I need in tight creeks, and 3 g farther than I need in wide spaces. 

I haven't tried less than 2g so far, but I can't think of any baits I regularly fish that are that light.  2g works great, I can rip it good and get some good distance, plus pitching in the creeks is a dream as well.  Now I know why these reels are so well loved and consistently sell for increasingly high prices as time goes on.

[bulldog1935]

I have a tiny 1.5-g Lure Rep diving plug that gives me time to slow retrieve and acts like a wake bait in close pools and tailouts. 

[ska4fun]

My dream reel. Precisely, the 1501cc.

[redmeansdistortion]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

but I wish I had your IAR.   You pilfered that reel compared to market value. 

That was a once in a lifetime score on my end.  The seller was a lady in the middle of nowhere Indiana.  I inquired about it, and she said she didn't ship.  Bummer.  A few weeks later, I'm browsing listings and still see it up, so I ask her again if she would ship.  She says maybe, but she will check with her husband first.  Later in the day I got a message saying she would ship and it was a done deal.  I've always wanted a 1500C/2500C, and thought the 1600C/2600C were too far beyond my reach seeing as most of them go for $400+ depending on condition and if the box and various literature are included.  These reels were made only 3 years, 1998 to 2000 right before Pure Fishing assumed full control over Abu Garcia.  Mine is a 1999 model, one of 470 made that year.

 

[redmeansdistortion]

The brake plate on this guy is pretty different from the 1500/2500 reels.  It shares more with the Morrum of the era than it does the former.  Interestingly, the pinion bearing/bushing isn't held into the side plate by a retaining clip, but sits directly on top of the pinion gear.  The pinion yoke is also very close to what's found in the Morrum.  Unlike the 1500/2500, this one has a kick lever like the Morrum so the spool is engaged the instant you turn the handle.  The 1500/2500 will have one or two posts at the base of the driveshaft to re-engage the spool, so you're either doing a half turn or a full turn of the handle.  Avail makes a 4 post driveshaft that requires only a quarter turn to get the spool moving.

 

 

 

[Dns1600]

What is the difference in 1500 and 1600 frames?

[bulldog1935]

@Dns1600

1500C has the traditional Ambassadeur 2-hand thumb clutch on the drive plate.  

1600C has a one-hand thumb clutch like newer reel designs - the thumb button is part of the frame with no way to separate.  

    

(another difference with later S1600C - it has monobloc frame rather than plates and pillars)

 

the x500 x600 designation is the same on mid-frame Ambassadeurs - 4500C to 6500C has 2-hand thumb clutch, 4600C to 6600C has one-hand push-button.  

  

 

__________________________

adding a ps to this old thread, I eventually converted my 1500C Classic to CIAR (R/S plate and complete Avail drive, alloy frame, etc., which took 3 oz from the weight), and I also built a 2500CIT mini surf reel from scratch (no donor reel, just OEM + aftermarket parts).