Penn Mag Power: 970,980,990

floating doc · February 09, 2012, 04:08:39 AM

Here we go from the new guy!

I just bought a 970 on ebay. It cleaned up nicely, and it was a nice surprise to find a really sturdy set of stainless gears. I expected that they would be brass like in the jigmasters or the smaller senators.

I have some questions:

For the 970 and 980, what drag configuration would you advise for a conversion to Carbontex? It has three of the thick penn CF washers.

For these same two reels: is there a stainless sleeve replacement (98-320)? I see that this is the part number for the 113 H, with a replacement of 98-320AT (although not currently available on https://www.mysticparts.com/. Same number, so it should work, right?

The 980 also shows the same gear sleeve (although I don't still own this reel, I want to make this thread as useful as possible in a search), which makes sense since it's a wide spool version of the 970. Easy upgrade for these reels.

I sold my 980 (dumb move), but I still have a 990. The 990 shows the bridge sleeve part number as 98-349. Is there a stainless sleeve replacement? And while we're at it, the drag (another three stack) shows different part numbers; all ending in 990. I don't think that's a good sign for cross referencing to another model.

Any suggestions for a drag upgrade for the 990 to get a 5 stack with the carbontex?

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

alantani · February 09, 2012, 04:45:50 AM

in some cases, you cannot convert the stack to "1+5." ok, follow me on this one.....

the main gear has slots cut on opposite sides on the inside so that a "slotted" metal washer can slide all the way down to the bottom of the gear. now imagine if the "slots" were cut only half way down. if you dropped the slotted metal washer into the main gear, the slotted washer would bottom out and stop midway. that metal washer would then behave as if it were the "bottom" of the main gear. would could happen is that your "1+5" drag stack would behave like a "1+3" drag stack. and all of your hard work would be for nothing.

so, what to do. first, check you gear to see how far down the slots were cut. then see if you have enough room for all the thinner metal and fiber washers and make sure they can "travel" properly. alternatively, just toss in some of the thicker ht-100's and see how much drag you get. i usually stick with the thick washers and i get plenty of drag.

and by they way, they are GREAT reels! all you need after that is an old penn international handle to top it off! alan

floating doc · February 09, 2012, 01:59:13 PM

Thanks for the response Alan. I'm spending a lot of time on this site; great tutorials!

I'll check the gear, and post results. The reel has a set of HT 100's already, and felt pretty smooth.

Any opinion on the stainless sleeves for this series? The 970/980 should work with the 98-320 AT, right? When will these be available? The 970 came with braid, which I plan to continue using. I think that with the stainless gears and the addition of a stainless bridge sleeve, the reel would be capable of moderate drag levels (up to maybe 12-18 lbs) without risk of failure.

alantani · February 09, 2012, 06:52:58 PM

for less than 15 pounds of drag, you should be fine. you will be looking at 5-12 pounds with these reels, so stick with brass gear sleeves. if they fail somewhere down the line, replace them with stainless, but only if the fail first.

floating doc · February 13, 2012, 05:44:52 PM

The slots in the 970 gear do not extend all the way to the bottom. They do go beyond half way to the bottom of the gear, so if I had a collection of washers to try I might be able to shoehorn a thin stack of 5 into it.

Since I'm just beginning to service my own reels, I haven't accumulated much of a collection of drag washers, so I'll put some Cal's drag grease on the HT 100's and reassemble the reel (which BTW, came with grease of some sort on the drag washers).

Norcal Pescador · February 13, 2012, 05:58:18 PM

If you have a Dremel-type tool, you should be able to use a grinding or milling bit to lengthen the slots to go all the way down. Take it slow and easy and don't take off more metal than you need to.

Keta · February 13, 2012, 06:36:02 PM

Try a thick washer on the bottom of the stack and thin ones the rest of the way. If that does not work try using the thick ones for the bottom two.

Riy2018 · September 17, 2020, 09:41:29 PM

Can you suggest where to get new drag washers for Penn Mag Power 990?

Squidder Bidder · May 11, 2022, 07:38:31 PM

I have just acquired two Power Mag 970s - one is cherry and I think I'm going to collect it, the other had some significant wear and corrosion but was about as good as you're going to do for a 30 year old reel that's been used (lots of salt deposits on the reel, looks like it was dunked in the surf and then put away wet for a few decades). This second one I'm planning to fish and hot rod a just a bit depending upon how well the restoration goes.

It looks like the main gear is stainless and in good shape so I'm fine there. In some old threads here it looked like at one time Bryan made a five stack upgrade for this reel but I can't seem to find them online. Are they still something kicking around?

Also, what are my available handle options? I think Alan wrote several years ago that an International handle works (and matches aesthetically). What aftermarket options are back-compatible with the 970 sleeve?