I recenty inherited these two Abu's from my Grandfather.
One is a 2500C and the other is a 5500C. My guess is that both are from the mid to late 70's.
I know he used the 2500C on a 5 1/2' Berkley Lightning Rod to catch a bass that went a bit over 10 lbs. and it is hanging on the wall of his home.
These have been neglected for many years now and I'd like to bring them back into proper working order so that I can use them and then pass them onto my son one day.
Does anyone here know where I can send these off to have them gone over and cleaned up a bit?
Here's a few pics:
Thanks!
WFR



Not sure what kind of spool this is on the 5500C

I tried to cast the 2500 and it makes an awful whining noise and doesn't cast far even with a decent weight lure.
I have other Abu Garcia's that I fish with so I am familiar with their operation and this doesn't seem normal at all.

i really have nothing to add other than i will be watching this thread. i have a 5500C my grandfather gave me that i would like to have refurbished also.

I have a 5500C that I recently "refurbished" myself. The folks at ABU were helpful via email, so you might contact them and ask if they do that sort of thing.

I can tell you about that spool. It's actually a plastic spacer you could add to the spool so you wouldn't have to add/waste so much line when you changed out.

I would send them directly to Abu Garcia at:
1900 18th St.
Spirit Lake, IA. 51360

I believe they charge $15 for stripping and cleaning and then charge extra for parts (although they give a pretty decent discount off of retail on the parts). If they work like you say they do and just need a good cleaning, probably drag washers, and a couple other small part I would expect $20 - $25 a piece. At least that's what they did when I fixed a couple ten thousand of them!

Thanks reelman!!
That's exactly what I will do.

Here you go.
http://www.abugarcia.com/support/service
Scroll down to where it says "Reels out of Warranty".
Toll free number to call and there's a Repair/Replacementform to be filled out when shipping them in.
I'll let you know how mine go.
WFR

Couple of places that repair reels and supertune them.

http://www.thetacklesmith.com/

http://www.thereelremedy.com/

You might also try Googling Alan Tani if ABU customer service doesn't work out.

I don't know if he does the older ABU reels, but he has a great web page with a ton of info.

About 3 days after they arrived in IA I received a bill in the mail.
I knew they both were going to need some parts as neither had been maintained in many years and I'm pretty sure my grandfather never did anything more than adding lubricant since he bought them in the late 70's.

It was $19.95/reel for the service work = $39.90
Total in parts was $33.84
Both needed the following:
Brake Washer
Drag washer
Cog wheel
Spool pinion gear
Base washer bronze
Pilot guide
Brake block

They discounted the parts a bit and then added on return freight.

Total to restore both reels to working order was $72.55.
A bit more than I was expecting but given what I paid for them and the fact that they are family heirlooms I am satisfied.

Will report back once they are here next week or so.

The 2500C is one of the best light casting reels ever made. The 2500C was only made for a short time. I had mine refurbished many years ago with the same Swedish gears. I use mine for Smallmouth & other casting duties when using 4-8 lb. line. You have a great reel & with a bit of lube should last for many years.

The 2500C is still made for the Japenese market and is occasionaly brought over for the USA market. Instead of the original silver color they are now in green, red, gold, orange, blue, and 24K gold plated! They also have instant anti reverse on them now.