mitchell reel parts

[alantani]

The shop im working at gave me about a ton (literally) of Mitchell reels and NOS reel parts to start making reels to sell......so if anyone needs a rare part from just about ANY Mitchell reel, I probably have it. 

[speshy]

Hello Alan, I am new to this site & do appreciate being allowed to join & communicate with others through it.
I collect the large Saltwater reels made by Mitchell from the 486 to the 499. I am looking for any parts to suit
these reels especially those that suit the `Lefty` editions. I am looking for handles with the blue `High Speed`
sticker on them (p/n - 82722) & also main gears (p/n - 83521) but will settle for anything else like springs, side
plate screws, bail arms, reverse levers, cam brackets ect. Please let me know if any of these are available?
Many thanks, Michael 

[Irish Jigger]

Welcome aboard speshy.
Send CoastieFlo a PM as it is he who has the Mitchell spares.

[johnachak]

Hi Alan, I have been given 2 Mitchell Garcia reels after I told a couple of friends you may be able to get parts for them. They are both white reels. One is a Mitchell 600, the other one is bigger, has no model #and has a round wheel type handle grip. It says Made in France (As do they both). Do you know how I can tell a model # for the one in the pictures? It needs at least the eccentric lever and screw and there is a crack in the left side plate.  I am pulling that one apart tomorrow. I should have more info then. Thanks.
John

[Shark Hunter]

That looks like a Mitchell Penn Frenchy 114H Copy.

[Alto Mare]

John, parts might be hard to find, unless someone here has some, that reel with the round handle knob looks like a 624.  You will be able to find it, but might be better purchasing the complete reel, the good thing about it, they're very reasonable.
Try here:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=mitchell+garcia+reels&_osacat=0&_from=R40%7CR40&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xmitchell+garcia+reels+conventional&_nkw=mitchell+garcia+reels+conventional&_sacat=0
If you find one without spider line cracks on the plate, you'll be the first.

[foakes]

Sal said this better than I could -- the parts for the Mitchell Multiplier reels will be very tough to find. 

In the day, no shop could afford to stock as many side plates as needed to replace the poor quality plates that (in nearly 100% of the reels) -- would yellow and crack just after normal usage.

A good used one is the way to go.  And even then, one will need to put up with peeled labels, yellowing, brittle plates, and cracks in the plates.

There are many reels out there over the years that have succeeded or more generally failed -- as they tried to copy the success of Penn.  Inferior materials, not enough depth of committment to the long-term product improvement.

For a mass produced reel, what other companies have duplicated the performance and longevity of a Penn Reel?

Henry Ford produced over 15,000,000 Model Ts, in 19 years.  The most popular, durable, and affordable car ever produced.  It changed the landscape of the world, while offering a basically unchanged engine.  It allowed a family to travel and explore.  It provided jobs, freedom, and was a model of simplicity and mass production techniques.  Only the VW bug sold more, but that was a different car.

This brings me to my final soapbox points --

How many of us are truly grateful, or even realize the giant contributions made by Penn to the world of Fishing Reels?

Here is a basically simple, capable, and durable product -- that out of the box will perform well for a lifetime.

The other competitive reels like Ocean City, Heddon, Mitchell, and others -- all demonstrate major flaws running from disintegrating handle knobs, rough action, poor quality materials, and cracking or yellowing of the side plates.  Even the Shimanos, Avets, etc. are great reels -- but are in many cases expensive and overly complicated and finicky.

The varied Penn models that run from the 500s, Senators from 1/0 to 16/0, LW series, Squidders, Long Beachs, Surfmasters, Internationals, 700s, 704s, 706s, 710-712-714-716, 720s, and all the others -- are examples of a company that embraced a committment to quality, affordability, and solid engineering practices.

As a group of reel enthusiasts, we can and do improve/modify these reels every day, but the basic product is like an old friend -- Always there and reliable.

Sorry for the long rant...

Best,

Fred

[Aiala]

How many of us are truly grateful, or even realize the giant contributions made by Penn to the world of Fishing Reels?

I do! I do! 

As a group of reel enthusiasts, we can and do improve/modify these reels every day, but the basic product is like an old friend -- Always there and reliable.

Absolutely true, and very well-stated. 

~A~

[handi2]

In the past I have owned and sold almost all of those reels. You won't be able to find one without the cracked side plates especially the right side plate. They are decent reels and they do work well...

[Shark Hunter]

How many of us are truly grateful, or even realize the giant contributions made by Penn to the world of Fishing Reels?

I do! I do! 

As a group of reel enthusiasts, we can and do improve/modify these reels every day, but the basic product is like an old friend -- Always there and reliable.

Absolutely true, and very well-stated. 

~A~

What she said! Well Done Fred!

[Alto Mare]

I have fished with a couple of those in the past, I must say, their chromed parts always came out like new.

How many of us are truly grateful, or even realize the giant contributions made by Penn to the world of Fishing Reels?

I do! I do! 

me too! me too! ....
nice write up Fred!

[Irish Jigger]

If you find one without spider line cracks on the plate, you'll be the first.

How very true Sal. Still see a lot of them in use over here,they were very durable.

[johnachak]

Thanks all, I thought Alan said he got a bunch of old Mitchell parts. I was taking a shot in the dark. They aren't mine. I only was trying to help out a couple of friends. I'll just tell them to forget fishing them. One had all the parts but I think the spool is bent or something. Everything spins free until I lock it into gear and there is some kind of rub. I cleaned and greased it. Oh well.

[foakes]

Hi John --

These are available on ebay, as stated, and generally some are pretty reasonable.

Should be able to get just one -- switch out the parts needed -- clean out the reels completely -- put in HT-100 greased drags -- a new under gear washer -- and they will be good to go.

If the drags don't fit exactly right, they can be filed down in a clamping drill chuck -- 3 or 6 at a time!

If the cracks are small, I have never seen them affect the reels performance, strangely enough.

Best,

Fred

[johnachak]

BTW, all I fish are Penn. In fact, I only own one Chinese made one. It is my 560L. I wanted a liveliner and as I said, I only fish Penn. It was a choice of Shimano or Penn, no choice at all. I even have a Penn 210 I took down completely and rebuilt. It's like new and awaiting my Jon Vadney original for it. I do try to help my friends out when I can.