Gladding South Bend 870

Started by festus, April 15, 2019, 11:24:51 PM

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festus

I can't pass up a new-in-box reel for $5.50 plus shipping even if it isn't really collectible.  It's possible these reels may have been more expensive during the 1970s when they were fairly common in the southeastern states.  

This is the 870 size, at the time maybe a cheap alternative to a D-A-M Quick 440, Garcia Mitchell 306, or Shakespeare 2081A.  It' much lighter, however, weighing in at 14.3 oz without line.  Paint is similar to the N series of the D-A-M Quicks, the flat black.  

The reel felt pretty good as it was, a little stiff, but fishable.



The seller was correct, this reel had never been used, I'm most likely the first to remove the side plate.  The caramel colored grease was still soft, but the gears and axle were pretty dry.  




The rotor needed to be removed before I could pull the axle.  



This one had regular right hand threads.



Since this reel was never fished, I didn't worry about servicing the bail trip assembly other than adding a drop of oil.



Nope, this reel has no ball bearings.



The two screws holding the crosswind block are on the opposite side, so the block and and axle have to be removed from the back of the reel.  



Very clean inside the housing, a couple seconds wipe with a Q-Tip and a paper towel cleaned it up.  The anti-reverse assembly was left as is other than a drop of oil also since it was never used.



The main gear is made of some type of pot metal but its shaft is stainless steel.





Two small Phillips head screws secure the crosswind block to the axle.



These old reels worked pretty well on a minimum of parts.



Some of the smaller metal parts and gears were given a soaking of lacquer thinner, clean up was pretty easy.  



The schematic covers the entire 800 series of four reels.  I imagine the 820 was the lightest version.  There is also a larger 880.



Using Ardent Reel Butter reel grease and oil.











These reels definitely served a purpose when they were popular.  Probably cost about 6 or 7 bucks, could buy them for 1/4 the price of the more expensive reels of the day.  After looking over the papers, I noticed there were only two repair centers for South Bends in the state of Tennessee---Memphis and Crossville.  Crossville is only about 30 miles from here to the west in an adjacent county.  They also had a distribution center there.










mo65

   Thanks for the look inside that reel Chester, I've been wondering what was going on in there. I figured it was about what I see...considering the prices. Definitely not a workhorse build, but solid enough to fish for years for the average user. Nice detail in your photos also. I believe if I run across one NIB for $5.50 I'll be having one myself! 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


happyhooker

Good looking reel; nothing fancy, just a good workhorse that'll do the job it was built for.  Clean overhaul has it ready to go; nice work.

Frank

Cubby1973

Nice job! I did the exact same thing only mine was a 840. Not real smooth, but usable in a pinch.

Midway Tommy

That looks like a nice one Chester. You better save it for the heirs!  ;D
Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

cbamer

Chester, as a new member and someone who is new to maintaining reels, I really appreciate how you not only show how you took it apart, but why. Each step you say/show why you took each part off in the sequence, and how you knew to do it in that order. Great teaching that makes this incredibly helpful for many brands of reels. thank you!
Carla