Everol 2 1/2 Special - 50 years young and still pretty as ever

[redsetta]

Hi all,
I unexpectedly picked up an Everol 2 1/2 Special recently and figured I'd give it a 'once-over'.
As it's a red-plate version, I understand that makes it an early 70's vintage, just like me.  
It's in beautiful condition for its age - I believe it's been in a collection for many years.
It's basically a scaled-down version of the 12/0 Special I did some years back here: https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=5042.0, so I won't go into too much detail about it all - the pictures can do the talking.







So here it is 'parted out' and ready for a good couple of hours' cleaning.
I always go a bit overboard with this part of the process, but find a pedantic eye for detail pays dividends later in the rebuild...



With Everols, I always rebuild the reel foot completely first and put aside. You'll see why later.



The clicker assembly on Everols is sublime, I reckon.









This is where the ball bearing sits in the assembly, but it's tricky to place it back in the side-plate perched atop the spring like this...



So just place the ball in the groove like so and place the assembly on top of it...









Fit the cir-clip and this part is done.



Now you can see why I pre-assemble the reel seat - the side plates 'shoulder' up above the edge of the foot and are really easy to scratch/damage while tightening down the foot/rod clamp etc.













This is the right side-plate bearing race and one of my favourite design elements of Everols.
The next few shots show the various steps in the bearing, cam and lever assembly.
Initially, I greased the bearing as I've done in other larger Everols.
Once complete, however, I found the grease created a little resistance within the bearing - perhaps because it's a smaller, lighter reel overall and, thus, has less momentum in the rotating parts.
Anyway, I stripped it again, cleaned out the grease and re-lubed with ReelX, which worked perfectly...



The lever and cam assembly attach to the right side-plate bearing thread (on the other side of the plate) and, starting from a six o'clock position, rotate counter-clockwise to the freespool position...









Fit the cir-clip and you're done with this part...

<img>https://alantani.com/gallery/27/3590_29_03_19_5_55_08.jpeg </img >





The side-plate bearings are all packed with grease...





While spool bearings are cleaned and treated with TSI301.











Note the wire spring clip which preloads the drag plate against the inside of the spool.





The outer drag plate had been 'flexed' out of true over the years so I considered fitting it the other way up to flatten it out again - you can see the drag wear pattern in the below pic, as it's upside-down.
However, once assembled, the very slight convexity of the plate made it jump off the driveshaft when in freespool.
So I went back to the original orientation and it all worked perfectly again...















Et voila, you're done...





Like many Tani-ites, I have a real thing for Everols.
They're absolute tanks, but somehow graceful at the same time - and always an absolute pleasure to work on.
I'm not planning on keeping this one, so if anyone's interested in owning a piece of pure Italian artistry, send me a PM.
Righto, hope it was of some interest.
All the best, Justin

PS 2min 20sec of freespool - not bad!

[Darin Crofton]

Justin, this was excellent work man, I really enjoyed every part of it, bravo!

[redsetta]

Thanks Darin - much appreciated!

[Darin Crofton]

Thanks Darin - much appreciated!

You're welcome! So how big is the reel, 6/0 size? Strong drag? I've recently been very fascinated with these reels and I'm 1970 Vintage myself

[mhc]

Very well laid out tutorial Justin, great photos and some good tips for anyone tackling one of those classics. Thanks.

Mike

[redsetta]

Thanks Mike.
Very much a 'once-over-lightly', but they're such nice reels to work on, I kinda felt compelled to share the experience.

[Shark Hunter]

Awesomeness!!!!!

[redsetta]

Pretty much posted this one for you Daron 

[Robert Janssen]

Bravo. Well done!

[Alto Mare]

Beautiful reel and beautiful job!
Thanks Justin!

Sal

[54bullseye]

Great job Justin !!  There were a couple of those on eBay a while ago I bought one for $89. I did the same thing as you stripped it all down and clean and lube. They are nice reels !!  Again great tutorial !!   John Taylor

[Donnyboat]

Really good work Justin, thank you, cheers Don.

[redsetta]

Thanks lads.
John, sounds like you scored on that eBay purchase. I loved that 7 1/2 you picked up in Venezuela a while back!
Darin, in answer to your questions, I think a 6/0 is around five inches tall and six wide?
This is four inches tall and three-and-a-half wide, to the outside of the side-plates.
Bigger than a 4/0, and smaller than a 6/0...
The drag is 'pre-calibrated', so there's no need for adjustment.
As a result, it's consistent, predictable and solid.
It runs 12lb at full spool and 24lbs at half spool at '8' on the dial, but the lever goes another inch to sunset, which probably doubles those drag numbers.
With the drag set at '8' on an empty spool, I can barely force a turn...
I've heard stories of blue marlin taken on 2 1/2s, but can't attest to their veracity 

[Darin Crofton]

Thanks for the info, Justin, I will own one someday, geez this place is making me reel rich and cash poor...

[thorhammer]

Sweet reel and nice job, Justin, and more than that glad to see you mended up. I would bet that had you not cleaned that up and taken his fun away that one may go to Kentucky