Long Beach question

[Bill B]

Good job Steve... Hey guys we Turned Another one to the Darkside  there's no turning back now for Steve... Bwwwaaahahahahaha ...    Please keep us updated on your progress....We love to drool on other peoples equipment and upgrades....Bill 

[Stevedel]

I'm posting this to see how the image attachment works.

There is a certain elegance to the Long Beach. Simple, purposeful, "Form follows function".

[mo65]

   That's a very nice looking LB.

[Stevedel]

Thanks, Mo.

A little chrome and plastic polish and she should glisten.

What years do the 34B catalog cover? I'll do more searchin', dooba, dooba, dooba, dooba.

[mo65]

What years do the 34B catalog cover?

   Around '70-'72 I'd say since I have a 35B catalog dated '73.

[Gfish]

I'm posting this to see how the image attachment works.

There is a certain elegance to the Long Beach. Simple, purposeful, "Form follows function".

Well said, hoss.
Gfish

[Stevedel]

Well, the USPS tracking says that the Long Beach should be here today.

I've been studying this website and have started to question when and how to modify these classic reels. Not just the Long Beach, but the entire Penn lineup.

A lot of the reels I see on E-bay are very rough. Much green corrosion and other rust. They can also be perfectly functional. I'm modifying mine to be fished. I don't want it to be perfect because it is going to get banged around, dunked in saltwater, subjected to sand and sun.

The last several reels that I E-bayed are in such good condition that I want to keep them stock. I would rather find one that shows moderate use and modify it for increased performance. Just a thought.

I also scored a lovely Silver Beach 99. It has some rough edges, but that quite often is more of a problem with lighting in the image rather than flaws in the finish of the reel. We'll see.

Love to hear your thoughts.

[Stevedel]

Well, there's good news and bad news. Nothing new there. The Long Beach is in exquisite condition. Not a mark on it. I stripped off the line and found an almost perfect spool. It is much too nice to experiment on.

On the other-hand, the stand mounting screws on the handle side are not correct. The gear lever does not engage and it's obvious that something is amiss.

I think that I would be better served with a 67 or 68 with good, but not perfect, cosmetics.

I think that I'll also look for a challenged, black, 500 Jigmaster to merge with the, yet to be shipped, Silver Beach 99. I'll order a Tiburon 500/99 frame and see what that does. If not, I can use it on my 500S Jigmaster.

My Long Beach project is swerving over, under, around and through but there is an alternative. Unfortunately, there are, also, a few medical bills that will pop-up in the near future.

Regards, Steve.

Well, shucks. All I have to do now is order all three coil springs and assemble the reel properly. Looks like the seller took it apart and couldn't get it back together. I guess that accounts for the low "buy it now" price. Good luck, indeed. I need to place a parts order, anyway.

[Rancanfish]

If you really want to go in style, look at the Cortez 500 sideplates too.  Or the whole classic 500/99 kit.

[Stevedel]

This particular Long Beach 60 is much too nice to modify. I did, however find a reel (haha) cheap 66.

I guess I'll start over. It looks to be in good condition with a bit of "green" on the spool. If the 66 can't be upgraded, I can use it for bottom fishing red snappers and find a 67.

You guys are right. This is addictive. Filtering through old postings provides a wealth of information. I'm spending a lot of time on this site and also "Penn Parts", trying to identify parts shared between different models.

My mind gets overloaded and I have to back-off a bit while my brain can filter through all of this.

And yes, Rancanfish, those Cortez parts are striking. I do have some more Jigmaster parts on the way. Instead of having a 500/99, I'll have a 99/500. I have a Silver Beach 99 just crying for attention.

[thorhammer]

A note about the 68:   It is 4/0 wide capacity and holds about 600 yards of 30 which is a lot of line to retrieve with a slow reel.  If you go up to 50 or 60 test, it has six bars so should be okay but check for steel main gear and upgrade the drags. I would not go to 80 on that reel with drag locked for bouncing as I think you might torque it.   I have five, all with 50.  I doubt the gears are big enough to get 20 lbs of drag from anyway which doesn't make full use of 80lb. This my opinion and I've been wrong before. If there is anyone who has tested this out they will be on this site.


Another point: probably a three piece spool; back with some braid or Dacron to keep from blowing it. 600 yards of 30 is very constricting

[Stevedel]

One of the things about the Long Beach is it's name. I spent a lot of time in Long Beach CA, with my cousins, when I was young. Very fond memories. Holding one of these reels does not disappoint.

I didn't really realize how lovely the Long Beach 60 is until I actually had one in my hand. I had only seen them pictured in the old Penn Parts and Instruction catalogs and wanted one even then.

I shouldn't post this as their E-bay prices will go up.

[oc1]

Hacking up a pristine example of a classic reel creates a quandary and moral dilemma.  You want to save it in original condition for posterity, but the quality and functionality of the final product after modification is strongly influenced by the quality of the reel you start with.  It's the same with hot rodding cars.  Developing some sense of how many of the old reels are out there helped me get over it.
-steve

[Ron Jones]

The 68 can be built to be pretty bullet proof. The stand doesn't have an upgrade but steel gears are easy to find and an aluminum spool is available from a 113LW. Brian has a drag stack that will do 20#s easy and I believe Sal demonstrated that a clamped stand is up to that. It would be nice if Newell bars fit but honestly, 90 some odd percent of the time you'd be fine with all those bars. Upgraded SS bars are available and are probably not a horrible idea. Come to think of it, I believe the Newell Blue Fin Special stand would fit, but that is a spendy way to go and the wide 112H is probably as good a reel.

Anyway, just sayin, there is a lot you can do with any of the big LongBeaches. Especially if you are OK with a SS spool in a 66.

Ron

[Gfish]

Carefull. Boughta LB 60 offa E-Bay for parts. Turned out to bea 65 with a 60 labeled head-plate. So the posts, stand & spool were not usable. Became a "brother-in-law" LB65 with a few old 60 parts in it. Either it was a head plate repair for an original 65, or a 60 was modified to be wider. Didn't fault the seller, 'cause I'm sure he thought it was a 60 based on the head plate number.

Anyway here's a vintage
aftermarket stand that was on the 60 and from what I gather, kinda rare with the clamp(no part numbers). You like?
Gfish