Hotrodding 114 -- First build Questions

[Nismoron]

I'll start off by saying that have been maintaining my own reels for many years, so the inside of a reel is not foreign to me.  I was thinking that I might upgrade my old burgundy sided 114-H.  I got to looking around at all of the available mods and now I'm hooked.  I want to do a full off build!  Originally, I was just going to do a center frame, the drag, and a handle.  Now, I've got to go all the way!  I think I am just going to buy another reel to build so that I can still have my old one to use in the meantime.  But I have a few questions:

1  If starting from scratch, what reel should I look for?  Any that I should avoid?  I'm not fond of the burgundy or red sides, but I understand that the black sided ones are different.  Custom sideplates are not in the near future, but maybe one day.  :-)

2  What drag set-up should I start with?  I see that there are HT-100, Carbotex, 5+1, 7+1, and now the Hex set-up...

3  Double Dog A/R.  Why?  I can see where it would lessen the handle backspin by half as much.  Is that only advantage?

4  Is there anything else that I should be asking?

I will finish this off by adding that the reel will be used for offshore sharks.  We have been know to hook into a big Goliath Grouper here and there as well.  Every so often, it might get used for night fishing off the pier/beach as well.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Bill B]

Nis...there are far more knowledgeable here on this sight, but I'll start your quest....anything with red/maroon side plates are high speed gears compared to the black side plates, I recommend the high speed gears...you might want to add stainless steel gear sleeves and definitely the double dogs for rock solid lock up....any carbon fiber drags will do you fine just add Cal's grease... you can add a longer handle....and a full or half frame Tiburon will add considerable strength.....the list goes on....welcome to the darkside....we have cookies....especially chocolate chip....I'm sure others will chime in, but here's my 2 cents worth.   you might check out Sal's Tank for a good place to start....

[Nismoron]

Thanks for the reply.  I was starting to think I smelled funny or said something wrong.  haha
Yeah, I was looking over the "Tank" last night.  That is pretty much what I had in mind.

[Alto Mare]

Thanks for the reply.  I was starting to think I smelled funny or said something wrong.  haha
Yeah, I was looking over the "Tank" last night.  That is pretty much what I had in mind.

We have a policy here, no fisherman left behind, smell or no smell .
Good luck with your upgrades, any questions.....just ask.
Sal

[Nismoron]

Maybe THAT was the problem!  No smell.  I've already taken my annual trip to the salt this year and we were weathered in all week.  3-5ft on the good days and 8-11 on the bad days.  A bit too much water for the 17ft Dougherty or the 16ft Gheenoe that we took.  So we got no fish...  Thus, no smell...

Now for a question.  I think that I am going to buy another reel for this project instead of using the one that I have.  What is the best model to start with?  Old Burgundy, newer Red, or one of the newer ones with the graphite frames?  I'll probably end up upgrading to an Accurate or Tiburon frame anyway.  So the graphite is not a bonus to me.  What has the best parts that will not be replaced in a full build?

[Alto Mare]

 
Take a look at the last page here:
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3077.0
Those are the plates that I really like.
Try to avoid the Injection Mold, if you can, the lighter red color usually reveals the secret.
Sal

[RowdyW]

Now for a question.  I think that I am going to buy another reel for this project instead of using the one that I have.  What is the best model to start with?  Old Burgundy, newer Red, or one of the newer ones with the graphite frames?  I'll probably end up upgrading to an Accurate or Tiburon frame anyway.  So the graphite is not a bonus to me.  What has the best parts that will not be replaced in a full build?

You can use any of the 114H & HL reels. You just might stay away from the H2 China reels. Some of the older H models had steel main gears but if you are going to replace the gears with s/s gears it won't matter.        Rudy

[Shark Hunter]

The Black Plate 6/0's use smaller drags and main gear. For Sharks, I would definitely go with the 114H. It used the same drags as the 9/0. The 9/0 used the same gear as the 114H, just a different pinion.
The 114 drag kit on the left, 114H kit on the right.

The first place I would start would be a Tiburon Frame. I picked this reel up for $100 bucks and just replaced the drags with the HT-100 kit from Mystic Reel Parts.

If you want to go crazy! This 114H has double ss dogs, Stainless sleeve and yoke, Black pearl helical cut 3.25 :1 ss main gear and pinion, P60-WEX extra wide Tiburon Frame and spool kit,  ss handle arm and custom machined knob. I don't think you can Hot rod a 114H beyond this level. The only other upgrade I can think of is the Hexagon gears from Black Pearl, but they are not available yet. That will be another Animal!
My Main man Sal drove me to this! and I'm Glad he did!!!!



"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[Nismoron]

Yep, that's pretty much what I wanted to do, but without the wide kit.  I've put this whole project on hold until the hex gears are available.   

[Shark Hunter]

The P60-WEX is actually a little wider then a 9/0. I'm with you on the Narrow with the Hex Gears.
The Hex drags can handle so much more pressure. I don't want that kind of torque on a wide kit.