I have another photo set to show, not a 1500C, but a reel that's become
my favorite Ambassadeur result, another '77 4500C.
Start and end photos. I bought the starter reel on Yahoo.jp for a better price and condition than I could get on ebay.
Here's the rod I'm matching it with, Smith 66SPX 2-power blade - the Smith single handle makes the OL 6'3"
The graphite blade is virtually weightless, won't skip-cast light weights, but a great distance caster.
I started with a later 4500C frame to swap the plated brass frame plates for lighter alloy.
Avail AMB4530-R-EF spool - I had the alloy spur gear to replace the nylon with (ersatz) feed-clicker teeth; Avail mag brake.
Valleyhill dual-BB worm gear, Kagawa dual-BB idler gear; Mike's light alloy rider and zirconia pawl.
For the first time I tried full-silicon-nitride spool bearings from Ali Express, 623, 3x10x4 mm fits this reel, and the reason this has become my favorite Ambassadeur result.
In this configuration, outer race pinned in frame, they're quiet, run dry, extreme load range, and simply the fastest spool bearings I've ever tried.
At the same time, I bought a pair of full-silicon-nitride MR104 - 1040 - 4x10x4 mm for Ambassadeur Ultracast.
They're noisy in that application, because the inner race is pinned on the fixed spindle, and the outer race spins with the spool.
But on my shore micro-jigging combo (8'9"), I don't care about the noise, because they spin four times longer than Roro 1040 in that 3- to 7-g application.
For the drive, I couldn't find a new brass main gear, and had to use the original steel main gear, and picked between the best two I had.
I did find a new pinion gear and A/R dog.
My favorite Haneda Craft drag washers.
Set off with Bright River round drag knob and Haneda Craft alloy handle -
- the HC clear deep red knobs are a near-perfect color match on the Smith graphite blanks.
Setting up for mag brake adjustment, loaded with 8-lb YoZuri Hybrid, I was casting a 3-g jighead consistently to 90' -
- even when it was wind backlashing, working out the mag adjustment.
If you do the math, this compares to new LP reels.
1-3/8 turns CW on individual magnets to register mag on the 3-mm spool flange.
This will get PE#1 - right now I have it loaded with the ends of 3 spools, just to have some tinkering line.
Couldn't cast this morning because the yard was wet (about time), but I expect it will cast the threadline braid even farther.