Here's 2 new reels that I just built.I took 2 different approaches to their builds.I wanted one to be somewhat stock,and the other one as outrageous as I could make it.The "Stock" looking one has ABEC5 ceramic bearings,Carbontex drag washers,bearing supported worm gear,and cog wheel,plus a "custom"handle with White knobs.The other reel is actually a "Direct Drive" 4500D(a model that was only produced as a prototype)This reel also has the bearing supported worm gear &cog wheel,and Carbontex drag washers,titanium nitride line guide,but I went farther adding a drive shaft bearing,and a carbon fiber handle with 2 bearings in each knob.The handles are from Okuma,and had to be modified to fit the Ambassadeur drive shaft.All together it has a total of 10 bearings including every bearing upgrade available from  AbuGarcia.Both reels are as smooth as silk,and perform great as well.As someone who prefers these reels over the newer style reels,I get a kick out of using something I've personally built.

Very nice oldschool!!!

Those look great! I took the liberty of color correcting your photo for you (see attachment).

The round abu reels are so upgradeable! It's amazing how much you can improve the performance and they are really fun to work with. I have a 5601 with the anti backlash gizmo. I removed the antibacklash, upgraded the bearings, upgraded the line guide, new handle, drag upgrade and bearing supported cog wheel. That thing LAUNCHES baits! I am using it for deep diving cranks. But I wish it was a little lighter so I could use it for smaller crankbaits.

they look pretty good from the outside at least lol. i would never have the patience to do all those upgrades to a reel. they must perform great!

i would never have the patience to do all those upgrades to a reel.

I love tinkering with stuff. Take it apart, mess with it, put it back together. It helps me understand how stuff works.

I tried to take apart a reel that took on hurricane Ike. It had mud and saltwater all in it from the flood waters. I took it apart cleaned it up nice and lubed everything. Then i could not get that SOB of a reel back together in working order.

These reels are so easy to work on compared to some of the newer reels out on the market now.The basic functions of these reels hasn't changed much in the last 60 years,and I think that speaks to the advanced design of these reels when they originally came out.I don't know of any other 60 year old reel that you can swap out parts with a new reel,and make it work better.The only thing that has changed is the quality of the newer parts available today.

I love your ABU's please post pics of the mods you did and inside of reels if you don't mind, LOVE YOUR REELS

Thanks for all the favorable comments about the reels.I'll take some pics of the insides of the reels,and post them next week.I'll also list the part #s,and the modifications that I had to do to make the parts work properly.

Awesome work! I like that orange.

Question, I have three Pinnacle Vision VS10's that I really like. Is there a way to up grade them & one of them has a small chip chrome chip out of the drag drum that doesn't hurt anything it just makes a noise when you cast it. Any suggestions?

New Ceramic ABEC7 bearings,and Carbontex Drag Washers would be my first upgrades.I would also re-lube and oil the reel with one of the newer synthetic oils like Hot Sauce.I actually bought one on Ebay for $25,and it seems to work pretty well out of the box.If the chip in the drag drum doesn't affect the reel,I wouldn't worry about it.

Those are cool! Anyway you could zoom in a bit on the future pics?

I'll take pics up closer next time.

Here's all the up-graded parts I used to put this reel together.With the exception of the ABEC5 ceramic bearings not pictured,here's the breakdown.Carbontex drag washer(pt#3902)dual bearing worm gear(24759,24758,&20680)bearing supported cog wheel(1117079 &1117080)drive shaft bearing & washers(20647 & 20650 2),Titanium Nitride line guide, Zirconia pawl,and a carbon fiber handle from Okuma.The only modification that I had to do was remove the extra plastic lip on top of the cog wheel,and open the hole on top a little wider,and open the hole on the handle to make it fit the drive shaft because the Okuma reels have a smaller shaft.I just used an old handle as a guide to make the hole bigger.I also had to adjust the length of the hole so I could use the locking plate & screw to hold the nut in place.Other than those modifications,everything else was just a drop-in replacement of parts.For those of you who have the 5000 Series reels,the worm gear #'s are 24756 &24752,and for the 6000 Series reels the part #'s are 25195 & 25196.

That is a great shot! I have a 5501 that Reel Mech upgraded the bearings for and he turned from a Kmart special into a reel that casts about on par with my curados, if not better.  

It's amazing what a few up-graded parts can do for a reel.If you noticed the drive gear,this reel is a direct-drive,and not a standard 4500C.I wanted to build the most outrageous one of a kind reel,and I hope I came close.I plan on taking it out Sat to see how well it works.