Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Hi. I just purchased an older Penn Senator 9/0 reel on ebay. Can anyone advise of the year it was made possibly.

On the pole base mount area, it has a number of 30-115. On the real oil bearing housing it has a number of 23-116.

Wiser men than I will be along shortly.  What I can tell you:
1 - That is a VERY clean 115 9/0!!!!!
2 - That number you are referring to is a part number for the seat.  Upon closer inspection or teardown you will notice many stamped numbers on different components.  A "no numbers" reel would be very, very old indeed.
3 - Penn dating is at best, an inexact science.  Michael Cachioppo has written several definitive books on the subject.  But there are many here on the forum that can get you close just with your photos...because:
4 - You have what is referred to as an "external drag" reel, meaning that it was produced at a time when you could service the drag stack without pulling the entire sideplate.  Penn did this on many Senators during a pretty specific time range (and some of us are fond of that style of reel for no good reason whatsoever).
5 - Did I mention yours looks great?
6 - I will jump in quickly and point out (in combination with your other post asking about drags/drag replacement) that I would recommend the following:
A - Head to the Mystic website and look at the schematics; which also go into some detail about the different design variations...
B - Just because it is referred to as being able to service the drag externally - don't.  It is not that much more work for a beauty like that to do a teardown/full service.  And this forum has the folks to talk you through it.
7 - Did I mention that is a really clean 115 9/0?  I would guess 1970's btw, but again there are wiser heads than I that will be along shortly. - john

Quote from: Brewcrafter on August 05, 2024, 08:30:23 PMWiser men than I will be along shortly.  What I can tell you:
1 - That is a VERY clean 115 9/0!!!!!
2 - That number you are referring to is a part number for the seat.  Upon closer inspection or teardown you will notice many stamped numbers on different components.  A "no numbers" reel would be very, very old indeed.
3 - Penn dating is at best, an inexact science.  Michael Cachioppo has written several definitive books on the subject.  But there are many here on the forum that can get you close just with your photos...because:
4 - You have what is referred to as an "external drag" reel, meaning that it was produced at a time when you could service the drag stack without pulling the entire sideplate.  Penn did this on many Senators during a pretty specific time range (and some of us are fond of that style of reel for no good reason whatsoever).
5 - Did I mention yours looks great?
6 - I will jump in quickly and point out (in combination with your other post asking about drags/drag replacement) that I would recommend the following:
A - Head to the Mystic website and look at the schematics; which also go into some detail about the different design variations...
B - Just because it is referred to as being able to service the drag externally - don't.  It is not that much more work for a beauty like that to do a teardown/full service.  And this forum has the folks to talk you through it.
7 - Did I mention that is a really clean 115 9/0?  I would guess 1970's btw, but again there are wiser heads than I that will be along shortly. - john

Hey Thanks for all that awesome info, I had cleaned the reel up pretty good especially because of the shape it was in, so it inspired me to get it pretty minty. It's amazing what a Mr Clean Scrub Pad can do.    I appreciate the input. I'm definitely not gonna do any upgrades as of yet with respect to the drag washers, they seem pretty decent.

The woman I had purchased it from on eBay said it was her dad's. I'm not sure if it was used much at all, I'm sure she wouldn't know either. This reel was a steal for $98 total with shipping and tax. 

Here are some more photos after I used the Mr Clean Pad. This thing is like a nice piece of furniture.
I'm just in awe when I pick it up and crank it. 🥰

I'm looking for a decent rod for this reel. I'll be doing my research. I'm favoring a rod with the roller guides.
Lightly used methinks I'm going.
 

The rod brace seems to be on the harness lug rings. 

It belongs on what used to be called a 24-thread rod.  That equates to about a 75 pound rod today or IGFA 50-pound or 80-pound class.  Pretty much everything in that class will have roller guides.

Those are pretty abrasive cleaning techniques and would eventually wear through the plating.  Now that it's clean, switch to just wiping it down and lubrication.

I think the impression that the rod brace is on the harness rings is simply an illusion because of the way the reel is sitting. I love the 9/0 (though I only have three) and that is a lovely example. Indeed, please don't overdo the abrasive polishing lest you wear away the shiny chrome.

The Penn reel experts may well be able to date it quite closely based on the exposed drag and the shape of white handle knob, but that is beyond my skill. My limited knowledge says earlier ones had longer (not so dumpy) handle knobs and had bush bearings, not the ball-bearings that yours has. Also more recent ones had black handle knobs and later still, black aluminium alloy spools. The earliest had counter-balanced handles too I believe. But that is my limit. I love the various red, honey and green handles of that era.

Line strength between 50 and 80lb would be about right for this reel, so a rod of that calibre would suit. I've matched my 9/0s for display to British 'shark' rods of the 1960-70 era - solid glassfibre (one green, one white), double-lined tunnel rings and actually relatively under-powered compared to today's 50-80 rods. I've also sourced some original green terylene braided line from the 1960's along with traditional British shark floats and traces. Old-fashioned, but they look nice.