Introducing the GT3-tldstar-speedmaster-calcutta

[terrafish]

So all i have wanted for a very long time was a Shimano triton speedmaster III, you know the one. But try as i might i have been unable to find one here in nz. I am a big fan of both the tsmIV and tldstar20/40 reels so am familiar with their nice simple rugged internals and often wondered whether there was any reel difference between the two. Sometime ago i purchased a GT III for cheap that had a stuffed handle but seemed otherwise tidy so was stashed away for later inspection. Then i got given a worn out 20/40 for parts, which i used the handle to replace one off another tsmIV that come without its original handle. Then went to stash it away when i respied the GT III. That got me to thinking that if i cant find a TSM III, could I make one?
So set about trying to find a donor to take the gears out of, which turned out to be difficult, untill eventually i managed to get a TSMIVfs cheap enough.

Now i had three reels to work with so set about disassembly and reassembly. Turned out to be a very straight forward task and did not require any modifications or alterations(as long as you dont count turning three reels into one!!) to complete

So after everything was completed this is what i ended up with

GT III- Frame, spool, driveshaft, dog and dog gear, yolk, freespool cam + lever + yolk plate(This was the only bit that stalled me. They need to be one unit as the lug on the cam and hole on the yolk plate are different sizes. The hole thru the end plate is the same tho

TLD Star- Left end plate and clicker assembly, Right end plate, bellevues and spacers, star drag, drive bearin

TSM IVfs- Main gear, pinion gear and drag plates

And because i had them in went ceramic hybrid bearings and carbontex drag washers. As well as a calcutta handle


So there it was in all her frankenstein like glory, my very own III that purrs like a stroked kitten.

And just in case anyone is worried about the other two reels, I reassembled the TSM IVfs but the TSM now stands for Triton Slowermaster with her 5.2 gearing!!

[Ron Jones]

Lots of digging to put that together, can't wait to see a fish hanging off of it.
The Man

[oc1]

Whew.  That's dedication.  Nice looking reel too.
-steve

[terrafish]

Got to take it out for a fish a week ago, the fishing was nothing to brag about but the few fish i did get showed to me that the calcutta handle didnt have the power, and would struggle on a larger fish. 
It now has a tld15 handle on it, so will see how it goes next time out

[Cor]

I love those 20/40s and particularly the speedmaster.   The latter is also very hard to come by in this part of the world, I have one that I still use regularly.

You used to be able to obtain a set of gears from Shimano and make a straight swop to a standard 20/40 if you wanted the higher retrieve rate (which I do)

I see most important, handle nut plate missing, I used to routinely replace each and every one on of the plastic caps with stainless ones, they last for ever and the plastic ones last 2 month of regular use.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Great job - and welcome