180 and 180/155 Frankenreel Project

[work2fish]

The first 180 is done. The vinegar did wonders for the chrome parts. There are 2 small issues remaining.

1) The end of the eccentric spring protrudes a bit, and it scratches the back of the eccentric jack slightly. This doesn't seem to affect the function of the reel, so I will just ignore it for now. When I make another order from Mystic Parts I will order another jack and spring. I noticed that the 20-155 eccentric spring is not available any longer at Mystic, and they recommend the 20-113H2 eccentric spring as a direct replacement. Maybe that is what is in there now, and it protrudes a bit because the 113 has a slightly larger eccentric. I suppose I could also try to cut it or grind it shorter, but I will leave it for now. Has anyone else run into this issue with the eccentric spring? You can see it protruding a bit in the "before" pictures. If I do try to grind it down, what type of sandpaper should I use? I currently do not have any sandpaper or a Dremel tool, but the Dremel is on my wish list.

2) There is a slight roughness/geariness at one point in the reeling cycle. It is not too bad, so I don't think it affects the reel's function. I did order a 3.2:1 gear set from Mystic, so if none of the other 180s I have need the new gears I may put those in this reel at a later time.

I will do the broken 180 next, but I think it might actually be easier because it doesn't look nearly as corroded as this first one. Here are the "after" pics.

[work2fish]

Oops! I noticed from the photos that I forgot to put the handle retaining screw in. Will go do that now.

[MACflyer]

Cleaned up real nice. Spool looks really good. Did you stick with vinegar?

[work2fish]

Cleaned up real nice. Spool looks really good. Did you stick with vinegar?

Yes, I went through a few cycles of soaking it in vinegar for 30-45 minutes and then brushing it with a toothbrush, or soaking a paper towel in vinegar and rubbing it with the paper towel.

This was a fun learning experience, but it made me think about how much easier it is to buy reels that are in good condition and then keep them that way with regular service.

[thorhammer]

I took the left side plates off the other 180 and the 155 and was surprised that all 3 are somewhat different. The click ring on the other 180 and the 155 look like they are NOT removable. I also still can't figure out how to remove the click button and click tongue, so I will probably need to just transfer the left side plate from the 155 to this 180. Luckily, I found that the other 180 was NOT missing the brass part that the spool bearing screws into. It was just missing the spool bearing (40-60) and bearing spring (41-60). So, I can either try to remove as much corrosion as possible from the 180 click tongue and just use it as is, or I can use the left side plate from the 155 in this first 180 and then use the left bearing from the 155 in the other 180. I should be OK on the screws. The left side plate from the 155 looks a bit thicker, and that is probably why it uses the 38-8 screws instead of the 39-4 screws the 180 uses. I can use the left screws from the 155 for this first 180 and the right screws from the 155 for the second 180, because it is missing some of the right side screws.

I'll be surprised if anyone actually followed all that   

Yeah, we all followed all that. We've been sitting here at the bottom of the Baymaster / Surfmaster / Squidder / Beachmaster rabbit hole waiting on you...Eccentric- try dressing the proud stob with a file. I have a load of stock 24-66 handles with colored football knobs that are a bit better in hand than the 24-255 let alone the little bitty one on that 180, but don't lose that one! That's an early one. If you want larger handles and I ever get back to my shop, I'll send you some gratis by way of Maxed Out, who sent to me.

These reels are fun to play with, and to be fair will deal with 95% of fish swimming. Squidders for certain landed tons of large drum and stripers in their day.

John

John
s

[work2fish]

Eccentric- try dressing the proud stob with a file.

I didn't even think of a file. I think I will go out and get one tomorrow and file down the eccentric spring where it is protruding.

These reels are fun to play with, and to be fair will deal with 95% of fish swimming. Squidders for certain landed tons of large drum and stripers in their day.

I've had fun playing with it, and am now looking forward to fishing with it. I love the clickers on the old Penn conventionals. It will be fun to hear it screaming when a carp hooks itself on my bolt rig and takes a run. I think this reel will be able to handle the carp and catfish I typically catch.

[thorhammer]

I'll say this- those reels have small gears and are slow, but with modern drag kits (and you may have a steel main from the Beachmaster) way stronger than your Abu 5500/6500 reels, and look at the fish they have landed...just saying. I'd want the 24-66 handle but wouldn't hesitate to stack one of your builds against a 40 lb cat or carp.

My .02, having done this and fished them alongside the Abu's.

[work2fish]

If you want larger handles and I ever get back to my shop, I'll send you some gratis by way of Maxed Out, who sent to me.

Thanks, John! If you do have a larger handle that you don't need I would be very grateful, and happy to pay for the shipping.

(and you may have a steel main from the Beachmaster)

Thanks for that comment, John. I'd been focusing so heavily on the left sideplate issues that I forgot about all the goodies I can poach from the right sideplate of the donor 155 reel. I'll take a look and move over anything that looks better than what was in the original 180.

[Swami805]

I put 24-49 handles on a few of mine that I use at a local pier. Gives a little more power

[Surfrat]

Here's a cheap upgrade to make or turn your 180 that uses 155 parts. The 5-155 main gear is steel but not stainless; grease it well to protect from water intrusion.

By swapping the pinion, you will have a frankenreel for sure. 

More than 30 years ago, I swapped the 13-155 pinion with a 13-200 pinion after my friend suggested it to make my reel stronger. A SS 98-155 gear sleeve is the next logical upgrade for some but you will be heading down the rabbit hole.

While the 13-155 is standard for the 25, 26, 155, 180, and other reels, the 13-200 pinion is used for upgrading (often paired with steel 5-155 gears and stainless 15-155 drags) to handle higher drag pressures (12lb+), such as in your Penn 180 upgrade.

Porthos made a post about what he found after swapping the 155 pinion with the 200 pinion into his Penn 27.

[work2fish]

Here's a cheap upgrade to make or turn your 180 that uses 155 parts. The 5-155 main gear is steel but not stainless; grease it well to protect from water intrusion.

I swapped the internals from the 155 into the 180 today, and I noticed that it did have a steel main gear. I greased it up well. The reel is now much smoother than it was with the original main gear and pinion.

While the 13-155 is standard for the 25, 26, 155, 180, and other reels, the 13-200 pinion is used for upgrading (often paired with steel 5-155 gears and stainless 15-155 drags) to handle higher drag pressures (12lb+), such as in your Penn 180 upgrade.

Porthos made a post about what he found after swapping the 155 pinion with the 200 pinion into his Penn 27.

OK. I did notice that the pinion on the 180 looked a little different than the one on my Surfmaster 150. Thanks for mentioning Porthos's thread. I found that thread and the 2-year update thread. I didn't know that the Tiburon 146 frame could be used for a Monofil 27 (and presumably a 180) or that the 13-200 pinion would be drop-in replacement.

I plan to try this reel out relatively stock, but I may go down the rabbit hole on one of the other 180s I have, so all these things are great to learn.

[thorhammer]

The tib frame will fit but do you need it? It's still a small reel. -49 reel seat and a pair of Cortez bars goes a long way and doesn't add weight.

Says the guy with no hot-rodded reels.

[work2fish]

I don't think I need any hot-rodding for my 180s, since they will be used primarily as catfish and carp reels. I'm a relative beginner, so this is just a fun learning project to see if I can get 2 nice 180s out of the two broken 180s and one cheap 155 I bought, plus an extra plastic spool I got from Randy.

However, I don't think I will be able to resist further hot-rodding my 150 or maybe getting a 146 and hot-rodding that.

The 150 so far has carbon fiber drag washers, Newell frame, Newell stand, and Newell spool. The steel gear sleeve is not in stock at Cortez Conversions or I probably would have done that as well. Then I could add the Bryan Young drag stack and see if I could find steel gears, etc.

[thorhammer]

Love the 150 and 145. All of them, really.