DIY CT Conversion

[r_shackleford]

I love tinkering with and rebuilding Ambassadeur's. I've also found them to be my preferred light/medium surf casting reel, especially in the CT configuration. I've converted some vintage Ambassadeur CL's to CT's in the past using parts from a UK based tackle shop, but parts plus shipping to my home in Florida can be a bit pricey. In most cases, after considering the price of a used 5500/6500, a CT conversion bar and studs, possibly a mag, and the replacement of any worn parts, and shipping, I'd probably be better off with a new Akios S-Line. However, the process of restoring and modifying the reel is something I really enjoy.

I'm seeking additional details on DIY CT conversions, all the way down to making my own CT kit (bar and studs). I think this will provide me with two benefits, first by saving on the cost of premade CT kits, and second by adding another layer of involvement to my process. I think I possess the tools and shop skills to get this done, but before I dive in, I wanted to reach out to the community with some questions and for guidance.

Has anyone on the forum successfully DIY'd a CT kit? Any recommendations? Can the existing top crossbar be cut and cleaned up to be used as studs? Are there any US based sources for CT kits? Any pointers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

[happyhooker]

Greetings, sir, from Minnesota,.  See you've been registered awhile to the site & glad to hear from you.  Can't help you much with your inquiry, but I'm thinking there are other folks on this site  who can.  Looks like an interesting niche.

Frank

[JasonGotaProblem]

Well this is exciting, we seem to have at least 3 things in common.
1. I'm also in FL
2. I've been toying with the idea of doing my first CT conversion.
3. I've also been slowed down by the price tag.

Yes, we can begin the summary of any of my attempts with "Florida man with no experience attempts _____"

And with that established, I find myself wondering what is the difference between a conversion kit, and some well chosen threaded barrels, perhaps cut to length, and a few well chosen washers?

(Hack the top bar, replace level wind assembly with an appropriate threaded barrel, screwed in from both ends)

[Breadfan]

Good to have you on the forum! I did my Abu 5000 without ordering anything. I hacked the top bar and made studs from those and glued them with epoxy. They look good but they do show brass since they are chromed brass, but no big deal. For the CT bar, I just removed the pawl and glued the worm gear to the housing and then glued the whole thing to the frame. Yea, it's permanent but its very stout.

[Swami805]

I bought a couple CT conversion kits from a guy here in the US a few years ago. Unfortunately I don't remember the name. The price was more than reasonable. Hopefully someone will chime in with a name
It was nothing fancy but we'll made SS bar and studs

[tincanary]

The only place I know of that carries CT bars is Blak Dog Tackle in England.  The prices aren't too bad but shipping may be a different story.  Jerry Foran used to sell them here stateside but he closed up shop from my understanding.  His website hookless.com is still up but I'm not sure if he's still doing business.

[Swami805]

Jerry foran, that's the one, bummer he closed

[thorhammer]

Kurt, that looks great! I imagine Tom could turn out CT bars in his sleep- I propose we ask him: Cortez Conversions.

To OP: Watching this closely; Kert and I have discussed this a lot, and BeachBob will aslo have some input when he sees this.

John

[Breadfan]

Shipping from Blakdog is not too bad, or it wasn't last time I ordered from them, they are very fair, and very nice people. They sell some quality upgrades and finding any parts over here for long casting in the U.S is difficult at best.

[Breadfan]

Kurt, that looks great! I imagine Tom could turn out CT bars in his sleep- I propose we ask him: Cortez Conversions.

To OP: Watching this closely; Kert and I have discussed this a lot, and BeachBob will aslo have some input when he sees this.

John

Thank you, John. That was my first stab at it and that reel has caught some really big fish out of the surf!

[r_shackleford]

Good to have you on the forum! I did my Abu 5000 without ordering anything. I hacked the top bar and made studs from those and glued them with epoxy. They look good but they do show brass since they are chromed brass, but no big deal. For the CT bar, I just removed the pawl and glued the worm gear to the housing and then glued the whole thing to the frame. Yea, it's permanent but its very stout.

This is a great idea for a permanent conversion that requires no extra parts!

The only place I know of that carries CT bars is Blak Dog Tackle in England.  The prices aren't too bad but shipping may be a different story.  Jerry Foran used to sell them here stateside but he closed up shop from my understanding.  His website hookless.com is still up but I'm not sure if he's still doing business.

Yep, I emailed Jerry. He replied saying he is out of business and unsure of where to source any CT conversions in the States.

I've ordered from Blak Dog in the past. They are an awesome shop with fair prices. It's about $30 to get a single CT conversion bar and studs shipped, which isn't terrible at all; however, I'm planning on converting at least a few reels and I'm really set on DIYing these kits now. The bar itself seems fairly straight forward- stainless bar stock cut to spec and tapped on either end to accept machine screws. The studs, on the other hand, appear to be a little more difficult. Its gonna be tough, if not impossible to locate studs with the 'collar' near the head of the stud that seats in the actual real frame. A 'collar' could probably be added to male and female studs though...

[JasonGotaProblem]

What stops something like this:
 https://a.co/d/cQa83fB
From being the replacement for the bar if cut to size? I imagine a stainless version would be ideal.

[r_shackleford]

Well this is exciting, we seem to have at least 3 things in common.
1. I'm also in FL
2. I've been toying with the idea of doing my first CT conversion.
3. I've also been slowed down by the price tag.

Yes, we can begin the summary of any of my attempts with "Florida man with no experience attempts _____"

And with that established, I find myself wondering what is the difference between a conversion kit, and some well chosen threaded barrels, perhaps cut to length, and a few well chosen washers?

(Hack the top bar, replace level wind assembly with an appropriate threaded barrel, screwed in from both ends)

Glad to see another FL based casting reel user. The surf anglers in my neck of the woods (Treasure Coast) almost exclusively use spinners.

I've done a few CT conversions, and I can definitely say its worth the price for the kit from the UK. I'm looking at converting several more reels though, and for the price of multiple kits, I think I'd be better off sourcing hardware like you described and possibly having a hand at some minor reel engineering.

[0119]

There is a youtube channel called "Team Hard Life". In his video list, he visits a tackle shop in Texas that specializes in surf and distance casting tackle. I can't remember it's name. An English man owns it and is a record holder. That video will tell you the shops name, he is a source of Euro parts and rods.

[thorhammer]

Mebbe Dad's Ole Tackle, but they don't have CT kit.

Jason, that for sure looks like it would work.

I sourced some aluminum tubing at M-C; I think I can tap it easily, prolly to M5 since I have bunch of hexdrive button head M5's, which would be low profile in the plates. Black Dog has SS cage plugs 10 for 8 bucks or so. For my personal use I think Imma order some of the plugs and make a few kits up with the spacer. I need a couple other things from BD anyway which would amortize shipping a bit.