Tib framed penn 349h

[raumati01]

I scored this on ebay , the guy said he was selling off his his grandads reels and didn't know much about them. That's a pretty standard line on ebay but given that he didn't know what this was and just advertised it simply as a Penn 349h he was probably telling the truth.
According to John2244 these are very rare frames and the spool is probably from a Newell Wahoo special kit, I emailled Tiburon to see if they wanted to use it as a pattern to make a run of them as I reckon a few of the posters here would love to have one of their own but they never responded which is a shame as they probably could have sold some of ebay like their 112 narrows too. Apparently Accurate made 349h frames as well, has anyone here ever seen one?
It's Justins [Redsettas] if he wants it , he'll make a better job of hotrodding it than I would .

[john2244]

I think that is a great score.  George told me about a frame on Ebay a few weeks ago but I was outbid.  I did stop by the Tiburon plant last week and asked about the frame.  I was told they have not made that frame in over 15 years and they get only a few request a year, not enough to warrant a production run.

John

[Ron Jones]

I'll bet Lee is salivating!
Ron

[Keta]

Nice!!    I have a Newell 349HW, too bad Tiberon wouldn't make a standard width 349 frame.

[Makule]

Two of these were acquired from a guy in CA last year (or year before).

[Keta]

Tib has to have the drawings, I wonder what their minimum order is to make a special run.

[alantani]

usually 100 and a 6-12 month lead time. 

[Keta]

usually 100 and a 6-12 month lead time. 

I'd take 2 and could probably find homes for 4 or so more.

[Alto Mare]

I'm sticking with the narrowed Super Tank with Black Pearl's Hex gear set. It's just 1/4" wider, but I believe it's a better reel 

[Keta]

I agree that the 114H is a much stronger reel but I love my narrower 349s.  I wish there was a frame to make a 501/349 width 114H, I'd learn to love it quickly.

[Makule]

Narrow spools with larger diameters are my preferred configuration too.  Much better balance and handling.

[funhog]

First ime logging on, and my first post on this oustanding web site!

After a 15yr layoff, I've Just recently re discovered the addiction of chasing tuna on 2-day trips out of San Diego. Looks like the gear I purchased back in the 80s-90s (Penn w/Tiburon conversions and the Newell P-F series reels) are still verry much accepted and some really significant up-grades can be made.

I have a Penn 349 Whhoo special from Newell that I reealy like. I also have a stock Penn349 in great shape that I would like to replace the heavy metal spool. I heard that Newell( or someone) may have made an aluminum spool in the narrow std. size for this reel. If so: Did it improve the performance(casting) or weaken the reel in any way ?  If anyone has any info on this spool or can validate its existance I would appreciate it. Where I could purchase one - even better!
Thanks to everyone on this site...what an awsome asset it is!

[Keta]

Where I could purchase one - even better!

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=9035.msg80731#msg80731