I've had this reel for about 30 years now, and I know where the spool tensioner is on it, but I don't think it has a braking mechanism on it. Am I wrong?

There is a braking mechanism for the C3 round reel - it's called your thumb.

 

Magnetic/Centrifugal brakes pretty much came around with the low-profile reels....my 40 year old Ambassaduer 500R has magnetic brakes...but I remember my dad's old Ambassaduer 5000 (older than your C3) didn't have any braking system.

Thanks Ken, I appreciate it.

I’m not sure how old is your reel, but my first 6500c3 I used 30+ years ago have two pin centrifugal brake on spool.

There's a centrifugal brake on the drive side of the spool that helps with big weights. 

The race for the centrifugal brake shoes is on the inside of the brake plate, where the drive is attached to the other side. 

Other photo shows the other side of the reel, and the spur/idler gears that drive the LW from the spool. 

 

I’m jealous! 

Several of mine do have a centrifugal brakes on one side of the spool, but for round ABU's the tension knob is all you ever need to fiddle with. 

Why is the tension knob called a tension knob when it puts the spool shaft into compression, or at least it creates friction on it.  Should be called a friction knob?   

 

Do you know the exact year of your reel?  I have schematics of most of the old reels and the schematic called "5500 C3" shows a centrifugal system like Bulldog shows.  Maybe different years. . . ?

 

The earliest schematic, 1975, does not show centrifugal brakes.

 

The schematics for 5500 2 speed have two centrifugal brake pins.  I think the earliest one is 1991 because it's labeled "91-0"

@MickD,

I hunt down that discontinued 6-pin brake part - Dad's Ole Tackle and ebay.  

You can run zero to 6 pins for finesse to 3+ oz baits. 

The 2-pin, 4-pin and 6-pin are interchangeable - the two former require a spring clip, and the latter snaps into any Ambassadeur spool. 

On the left, 6-pin on an Avail spool, stock spool with 4-pin on the right.

 

Note, C3 and newer use Ultracast spool design, where the spindle is separate from the spool and the spindle does not need to rotate. In older -C models, the spool bearings are fixed in the brake plate and palm plate. 

In C3 and newer Ultracast design, the spool bearings are fixed in the spool.

My OLD 5500C (not 3)has 2 pin centrifugal brakes.  There's 3 different sizes of weights to put on the pins.  Mine is over 40 years old.   I believe the C3 is a newer model. 

 

 

Wasn't the orignal "C" the high speed version of the 5500?   I think it's 5 to 1 or something like that.    I need to dig mine out.  I was using it for deep cranks last Winter.   

The 5500C was made available to the public in 1973.  There are some 1972 reel foot models out there but they are known as "Phantoms" and are quite rare.  The 5500C was the high speed version (4.7:1) gear ratio compared to the black 5000C.  The "C" means it has ball bearings as the 5000 or even the later 5500 had brass bushings.  On pre-1980 models, there would two spool tension knobs.  One on the left place and one on the right.  Both could center the spool.  On the spool itself were two small metal bars that each housed a small brake weight.  They made different sizes.  In 1978, Abu released the CA series which featured the new "palming plate" on the left and the tension knob on that side was now gone.  Then there were the LightCast models, the AL, the regular "C" models all with the palming plate.  In about 1989, Abu Garcia released the "C3" series which had three ball bearings.  They looked about the same until 2001.  Then in the mid-2000s the look of the C3 reels took on the more modern look of today's current lineup.  The two prong brakes were replaced with "Ultra Cast" design and eventually 4 and then 6 brake configurations.  You can clip the brakes in or out for as little or as much centrifugal braking that you desire but make sure you use opposites to clip in or out.  Your thumb is your friend on these reels.  I got my start under 10 using Ambassadeur reels so I educated my thumb from a young age.