Fourth and final 1954 Martin Precision 103A spin reel stripdown and restore

[Woodbilly]

Hey, all!

Back with an update on the stripdown and refresh on the second greenie 1954 Martin Precision 103A spin reel.

This old girl was rough and stuck, so I gave her a full restoration, plus!

The flier and body were battle scarred, which I planned on leaving, as is, from the  beginning, but inside the flier, it was unpainted, gold anodized, with green overspray and spool was oxidized and dull...  Ugly. Can't have that!

I painted both a Wimbledon white to dress her up a little and it goes great against the original green finish.
 Zebco Cardinal colors, if you will.

The busted yoke, on the non rotating shaft, could not be repaired, but still holds fast to the connecting link, as the threaded leg of the yoke was still intact and the smooth collar leg was the one broken, so all could could still be tightened together without function issues.
 
I also fabricated another transparent side cover plate.

Once again, used 1/16" plexiglass. Very unforgiving to work with, so patience is a virtue and a surgeon's skill is required for success.

This one came out great and fitment was perfect.

Bail arm trip bracket attached and functional.

The transparent covers really make these old girls shine better than ever and they are wonderful American made reels that you do not see around alot, due to Martin Precision reels being almost exclusively fly reels, not spinners.

Respect due!

 This is my fourth Martin, all with transparent side plates, now.

All going into rotation for some crappie catching action.

 Both of my no.27A Martin's, have got to relive some former glory, already, but neither of the restored 103A's have, so they're next up on the coming hunt.

Enjoy!

Peace!

[Woodbilly]

Final pictures

[work2fish]

It is great to see the full process of restoring those beautiful reels and then using them to catch some crappie!

[Jighead]

Awesome. The reel goes great with the yellow rod and orange braid too

[Woodbilly]

It is great to see the full process of restoring those beautiful reels and then using them to catch some crappie!

Thanks, man. Quite nice reels that just don't get much talk.

[Woodbilly]

Awesome. The reel goes great with the yellow rod and orange braid too

Thanks!! Loving these colorful girls.