Jimbo..I wish I knew Alot about old abus 'cause I'm always finding cheap, nice, old reels. I bet alot of them are probably worth alot more than I think they are.

Bassr1, The reel is at $10 now. Why don't you tell me how much you are willing to pay and I'll bid that much. Also it looks like I will be the high bidder on the other one I posted with the yellowish picture...$35. This little hunt I've been on for you has made me want one myself...but I'll give you first dibs on whatever I get(sentimental fishing stuff is very important). I might even try and nab that 4500c at the last minute for my collection....it's condition is awesome.

Hi reel guru's man is there some bad *** stuff on here, just about had a accident in my pants looking er gawking at this stuff, got a question I have a 6500 with stickers on it that say striper drag on top handle side of side plate and striper on the side of side plate by the abu shield and also has high speed on the bearing cover,any one have any idea of the age of this reel and possible value? thanks

There are several Limited edition Abu striper reels. SOme are very old, some are just a year or two old, and others about ten. Is it a palming reel....does is have a break adjustment on the side opposite the handle...or is it the rounded sideplate(palmer)? Is it blue? The high speed sticker indicates that it's probably from the late seventies give or take 5 years. What's the condition? I'm really not that educated on older reels but I can get a good idea by looking for similar items(and their price)

This has been a great thread. I'm a fan of old Garcia's, and I have several 5000's and 5500's. Where is the best place to get new bearings and other parts to tune them up.
Thanks
Greg

Hey Alloutdoors, Southwestern parts has everything you could imagine including online schematics for all the abus. Their wesite is www.fishingreelrepair.com They carry stock parts or replacement parts. as far as bearings go... go to www.tgsrocketfuel.com they have the best high-end bearings. If you want conversions to make your C3's C4's or C5's(adding more bearings to the spool and levelwind) then go to www.heartlandtackleservice.com and click on "other products" Take a look at www.hatterasoutfitters.com also but I do not reccomend doing business with him and I don't have time to explain it.....just don't return anything to him!!! Hope this helps... See ya L8R!!!

Hey Nautilus you going for a record longest post on the forum? If I knew you were this educated on Abu's I would have tried to drown you Month's ago!!

Hi Chad!!! Fixed all your reels didn't I??

Nautilus,
Thanks for the links. What exactly is upgrading from C3 to C4 or C5? (gear ratio?) I have a 4600C, 5000C, and two 5500C's. But there is no number after the C.
I also have a No.5000 s/n 210391. Any idea what year it is? I know on many reels the first two nos. of the s/n is the year, but that doesn't work on this one. This is my pride and joy. Belonged to a great uncle who took great care of it. My dad told me after every fishing trip he would take all his reels down and clean them. I have the orig. leather case w/ oil and spare parts for it. It still has old green and white line on it. I used it once last year, caught a fish on it, then put it back in the case.
Thanks for all the info.
Greg

Hey Alloutdoors, generally an abu will have one bearing(if not just bushings) for the levelwind mechanism to spin on. Also, and abu will have one or two bearings for the spool to spin on. These upgrades replace any bushings in these areas with ball baerings. C3= 3 bearings, C4= 4 bearings, C5= 5 bearings. You can also get the extreme smooOOOoothie drag upgrades as well. This replaces all the drag washers with thin, smoooth ones.

As for your reels, I haven't tried soupin' up any older reels yet so I don't know if these conversions will work or not. The oldest reel I have done it to is the 6500CS Rocket. it is the older style and it has no 3, 4, or 5 in the name so I bet you can do it.

Go to www.ambassadeuria.dk and ask those guys in the forum about your no. 5000. They know everything...especially the moderator...he sells endless $5-600 5000's and 6000's on ebay all the time.

By the way...I'd check the value of that baby before I used it anymore...you never know..I can't tell the difference in the reels that sell for $500+ and the ones that are only worth $50 or so. It's all about the serial number on those reels.

Naut, I guess $20 or $30 bucks would be the highest I'd bid cuz you never know what shape the gears are in. The reel looks like it just needs to be cleaned, but could probably use a new worm gear and TLC. If it is long distance for you to call me, email me your number, as I have unlimited LD.

Ok will do. What do you think about the other one in the yellowish picture? I can proably get it for under $40 and it looks pretty clean. Would you pay that? I don't need it if I bid on the 4500c so let me know if I should still try to pick it up(if we don't get the one for $20)

Did you not get my email...I sent my number.

That dirty reel in the picture looks like it was fished out of a lake. That might be something to consider on the price if the gears are corroded, and bushings and bearings for sure. Don't think I would pay too much for it. There are a lot of other reels out there that look better. If submerged for any period of time you'd more than likely have to gut it and replace most of the moving parts. JMHO!

Your probably right Jimbo...It could go either way. you're always taking some risk in buying a used reel but it seems to go the other way more than bad.

It's a stupid zip file from from my sprint phone....any advice??? myfishingpictures.com won't even take it.