Hey, all!
Scored this beauty of a spincaster.
A Late 60's Zebco 44 undermount trigger spincast reel.
Mfg. Tulsa, Ok , by Brunswick Corp.
I don't own many spincasters, other than a couple old Record 700 trigger casters and my rare Taggart no.10.
I happened across this hefty and very well made old girl, that looks barely used.
All metal construction.
Switchable anti reverse with single pin pick up and alloy spool.
Beautiful chrome spool cover and rear access cover.
Sweet chrome punched sheriff star drag knob.
Small pop off oil cap/ port at crank arm base, on body.
She looks to have been offered with either a paddle or torpedo handle knob from the factory, via the exploded parts diagram.
This one has the paddle style.
Upon removing the twist lock rear access dome, I was presented with an amazing sight of reel engineering!
Wow!!
I was not expecting that!!
I am going to give her a full stripdown and refresh, mainly just to see this girl undressed and see form and function, as it really does not need anything, but I have to delve deeper, just for myself and to document for others future inquires about this wonderfully constructed undermount spin cast.
Stay tuned for that process...
Thanks for any replies on shedding some light on this splendid old reel!
Built !! Now I want one ;D
Quote from: jgp12000 on April 15, 2026, 07:41:02 AMBuilt !! Now I want one ;D
Pretty sweet spincater and well constructed.
Yeah, Zebco made some good stuff!
Quote from: Crow on April 15, 2026, 12:49:40 PMYeah, Zebco made some good stuff!
Indeed! I'm familiar with Cardinals, but have really never delved into spincaster or closed face.
Great little reels.
I like underspins for casting crappie jigs hard to find one that lasts though this one obviously has
Quote from: jgp12000 on April 15, 2026, 03:05:21 PMI like underspins for casting crappie jigs hard to find one that lasts though this one obviously has
Exactly what I'm going to use this one for.
Looks a lot like a 33 with some nice improvements, like 2 smaller gears before the main gear.
Quote from: Gfish on April 16, 2026, 02:11:06 AMLooks a lot like a 33 with some nice improvements, like 2 smaller gears before the main gear.
Not really familiar with early Zebco spincasters, but getting to know them, now... Doh! Hey, it's just money, right?
If get a chance, take an old 33 apart, you'll see some good improvements in your 44.
Quote from: Gfish on April 16, 2026, 07:27:31 PMIf get a chance, take an old 33 apart, you'll see some good improvements in your 44.
Good to know!
I got everything stripped down and looking at the input and output gears, they can be swapped to change gear ratio.
As is, the large gear is set on the crank arm, but
since both gears are slotted exactly the same, for shaft fitment, one could swap the input gear to the smaller one to change ratio.
I didn't check ratio beforehand, but will try both ways, but the swap may make the return too slow. IDK, yet.
We'll see. It can easily be swapped back, so nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Cute design. Somebody was thinking.
Finished up on the stripdown and reassembly on the 44.
I assembled with the gears swapped and it came out to small input gear/ large output gear gives a 1.75:1 ratio.
Way too slow to be effective.
Switched back to the stock large input gear/ small output gear for a 3.75:1 ratio.
Everything went together easily and reel action is very smooth and pickup working every time.
I lubed everything with faucet valve grease and light machine oil, including the rubber bumper ring on the trigger activated spool.
Very unique drag on these Zebco reels, consisting of a brass arm that is paired to a small curved metal strip, that acts as a brake against the spool, when the drag star is turned.
This reel appears to have been only used a few times, so it had just a couple minor tiny paint chip spots.
I touched those up with black nail polish to get rid of those.
Great working reel that will be getting a taste of crappie action soon.
Peace!!