On to the ABU/Zebco Cardinal 6 & 7

Started by Midway Tommy, February 10, 2017, 10:35:45 PM

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Shark Hunter

#45
I agree Tommy,
Problem is you never know when they are going to go.
These are kind of expensive and only show up now and then, but I think it is a great upgrade to the old #7. ;)
Life is Good!

Gfish

X2. I still can't get over the plastic bail arms & spool on the 4. Looks mabey like on the 6 & 7 too?.
Gfish
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Midway Tommy

#47
It took 25 or 30 years before the plastic 4 spools became an issue. Luckily technology has allowed for reasonable priced aluminum replacement spools. Heck, now they're within a couple bucks of new plastic replacement spools. For some reason?, the 3 plastic spools never became a real issue, which is nice.

I've never seen a big problem with the plastic bail arms or plates. A couple of cuts or slight wear from braid, maybe, but nothing significant. I've seen more wear on a lot of metal bail arms on so called "quality reels" than I have ever seen on the Cardinal plastic bail arms.  
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)

mo65

   Hey Tommy, I was wondering what type grease you used on this servicing,
it looks kinda clear.
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Midway Tommy

Quote from: mo65 on January 30, 2018, 06:08:58 PM
   Hey Tommy, I was wondering what type grease you used on this servicing,
it looks kinda clear.


Super Lube Synthetic 21030, but they changed the name from Synthetic to Multi Purpose in the last year or so. No silicone to attract dirt. I love this stuff! It seldom needs to be thinned with a drop of oil. It can sit idle in a reel for a year or two and within 10 cranks forward & backward it's right back the same viscosity it was when originally installed. Plus, if I want to use it as a Dielectric I don't have to buy special grease. It has been rated, by engineers, right behind Yamaha Marine in corrosive scenarios. My reels never see salt water so the marine aspect of the grease really isn't that big of a deal to me. If I fished salt I would probably opt for Yamaha Blue, though. 
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)

happyhooker

The problem I see with plastic bail arms is that they break, either from dropping the reel or bumping it hard against something.  Metal can break too, but more likely to shrug off a bump, or bend.

Frank

happyhooker

Quote from: Midway Tommy on January 29, 2018, 09:05:38 PM
I've really never understood why the 3 & 4 had and oscillation arm with a permanently attached block and the 6 & 7 had the nylon/plastic replaceable link until their last versions. I wonder if it was to create a weak link in the event a huge fish was hooked that could tear up the reel, or if they anticipated wear at that spot on the larger reels that wasn't a factor on the smaller 3 & 4. We'll probably never know for sure, but the brittleness of those old nylon/plastic links is unfortunate and kind of a pain in the rear. 

I guess we can all speculate.  I can't see an intentional weak link in case a big fish hits.  After all, the link is only for the oscillating shaft, not in the wind of the gear train.  There shouldn't be as much strain on the oscillation shaft; all it does is push the spool in and out.  But, if you bump the spool backwards, it seems to me it will/could push the shaft backwards and put an impact strain in the link.

Frank

mo65

#52
  I finally scored a decent deal on a Cardinal. The 7x pictured below looks pretty good on the outside, for eBay photos. Many of these reels have suffered serious paint loss, it's hard to find one for less than $100 with any paint left on it. Even worse is a shabby repaint...I'd rather have trashed paint than a poor restoration. Right off the bat, I noticed I had another "electrical taped arbor" on this reel.



  Sheesh...look at this sticky mess...sometimes I wonder...:-\



  The initial look under the hood doesn't seem too bad at first. Everything looks correct, no missing or busted parts.



  A closer look reveals the truth...there's a beach inside here! All this sand but no corrosion tells me I have a river bank bandit right here.



  After breaking down the engine I see this reel has nice bronze bushings on the drive shaft and spool shaft.(indicated by green arrows) I took one shield off the bearing so it could be flushed out properly.



  How about these bail parts? No wonder it hardly moved. Cleaned and reassembled the bail snapped shut perfectly.



  Look at the drag knob...every last speck of the white ink washed off the letters! :'(



  This is a nice pile of parts...quality materials make a quality reel. The plastic connecting link on the oscillation arm is not in this reel. The "x" models have a metal connector. Notice the white letters have returned on the drag knob. My finest work with a bottle of fingernail polish...not too bad if I do say so myself! :D



  These reels have an o-ring on the pinion that dampens the anti-reverse sound. I prefer a loud AR click, so I removed the o-ring.



  She feels like a new reel reassembled. The drag is strong and smooth, no growl in the gears, and the rotor seems well balanced. I used Super Lube clear grease and CorrosionX HD oil.



  Thanks for the tutorial Tommy, it was a huge help when I forgot to photograph the disassembly. Sometimes I get ahead of myself! 8)



~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


foakes

Terrific job, Mike!

Those "x" models are rare and sought after -- not that the more typical ones are run of the mill.

All of the ABU/Zebco Cardinals are extremely valuable and solid reels.

Thanks!

Best, Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Midway Tommy

Nice score, Mike! If you want to keep the white nail polish from wearing off the drag knob get a little ultra clear water based urethane and give that little band a thin coat. Nail polish has a tendency to succumb to water after awhile but the urethane will protect it and the water based stuff dries in an hour or so.

The very last versions of the regular Cardinal 6 & 7 also came with that metal block oscillation arm. If original, they have a green medallion and handle knob like your 7X. Clearly, the reel I used in the original tutorial had had the handle replaced. Things like that happen a lot on the green models because all of the parts from the first version through the last (fourth) version are interchangeable.   
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)

PacRat

Nice job on those white letters! That's a nice lookin' reel you got there!
-Mike

Hardy Boy

Well not being a spin guy and reading this thread I remembered that I had a Abu spin sitting in a box some where under my bench that looks like these. I pulled it out and it is a Cardinal 6. The reel has hardly ever been fished (look at the cork on the spool), it also says saltwater proof, so I cracked it open and it looks like new. Would a reel like this be worth something and is it rare ?


Cheers:

Todd
Todd

PacRat

Not particularly rare but out of production and a very nice reel. I know you say you're not a 'spin guy' but you never know. You may need a bait reel one day. At any rate; if you ever do need a spinner, that's a nice one to have.

I didn't think I was a 'spin guy' but then I tried casting one of my bait casters in the dark and it was no fun. There are situations where it's just easier (more fun) to break out the spinner.

Just my two cents worth
-Mike

Gfish

Quote from: Hardy Boy on November 28, 2019, 04:48:00 PM
Well not being a spin guy and reading this thread I remembered that I had a Abu spin sitting in a box some where under my bench that looks like these. I pulled it out and it is a Cardinal 6. The reel has hardly ever been fished (look at the cork on the spool), it also says saltwater proof, so I cracked it open and it looks like new. Would a reel like this be worth something and is it rare ?


Cheers:

Todd

Naw, you'ed be better off trading it to me for a conventional. You don't wanna get infected by the "spin bug"!

Seriously though, that "saltwater proof" label is bothering me. I'd like to find a 6 or 7 and see how it holds up to weekly use in an Island sub-tropical environment with normal post trip rinsing. Here, the air seems to carry salt particals and patina is prevalent on non-aluminium metals that never get close to the ocean. I've actually come to appreciate the overuse of plastics nowadays.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Hardy Boy

I would consider a trade. Do most of these spinners not have the "saltwater proof" sticker ? I thought it was kind of odd. The reel was purchased here in BC on the West Coast so maybe they added that for this market ?


Cheers:

Todd
Todd