This is my $5 FB Marketplace buy from over the weekend. Ugly, but after a good cleaning, runs like a Swiss watch.
I saw a reference online to this reel only being built for 2 years because True Temper wasn't buying enough and Zangi canceled the agreement. What I don't know is what those years were. This reel had more dried salt residue on the spool and line than I have ever seen in my life, dust was flying everywhere when I removed the line.
That sure is a big ol' ugly one, but nice find as they're pretty scarce. TT 333 was the biggest one, same size the Titan and TW & Pescador 510s. I'm not sure of the exact contract dates but it was in the mid 1960s. There were a few, but very few, all black models sold, also.
Tommy, it's funny, the paint on the body held up relatively well but the bucket and spool look awful. I scuffed off the loose chrome from the crank handle and oiled it with Hoppe's No. 9 gun oil as a stopgap. It is NOT pretty by any stretch but it may make a good beater reel to just keep in the car.
Not trying to hurt anyone's feelings but I've always felt like the Italian made reels from that era had the worst lasting chrome quality of just about all the makers. Evidently their adhesion process needed a lot of help since most of reels that saw a decent amount of use have extensive chrome deterioration and peeling. :(
The question becomes, what do I do with it as this late juncture? I used a maroon Scotchbrite pad to remove the loose stuff, and oiled it. I toyed with painting it but I just knot it won't look right.
Nice old reel. Fish it! I have one and ise it
I like ugly but functional reels. I'll be back in FL on Saturday, this one may get the nod for some fishing in the Peace River/Charlotte Harbor.
Put line on it today, not thrilled with the linelay but we'll see how it does later this week.
There's a really clean 333 on the bay right now, but even that one has HORRIBLE looking chrome on the handle. It's a weakness, for sure.
Zangi and Alcedo chrome after 30-50 yrs don't hold up. An alcedo fanatic rechromes the bails.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on October 10, 2025, 07:53:42 PMNot trying to hurt anyone's feelings but I've always felt like the Italian made reels from that era had the worst lasting chrome quality of just about all the makers. Evidently their adhesion process needed a lot of help since most of reels that saw a decent amount of use have extensive chrome deterioration and peeling. :(
If you saw the shine on my Italian head you would see chrome. Dominick
The new 333 just arrived, and it looks a lot nicer than the first one...but I paid more than $5 for this one. Took the spool off to get the old line off, I'll start clean up today.
Took the old line off, and it was bizarre. Maybe 100 yds of 6 lb mono, then tied off to the rest of the spool with maybe 20 lb mono, but where they were tied together, there was a layer of dried up masking tape that crumbled when I took it apart. Found some corrosion too in the spool, gonna need to sand that and get some sort of finish on it.