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Upgrade old ABU 6000 flat side

4K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  dawgfsh 
#1 ·
I've got this old red ABU 6000 flat side reel, no clicker it has a level wind. It is in great shape only a few scratches on top of the reel. I'm wanting to mag it and upgrade the spool and level wind bushings with bearings and also upgrade the drag washers.
I found this website for a mag kit ...http://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/product/646
I like the hedgehog mag kit as far as magnets but it adjusts with some kind of wrench instead of a adjustment knob. I like a knob better, not sure how long it would take to make adjustments with a special wrench. It would be nice if a knob could be adapted to their mag.
And also PMR (Pimp My Reel) sells mag kits, their kit has a knob.

Has anyone bought parts from either place? Your thoughts on the mag kit (s) and a recommendation to find the bearings. Winter project ;)
Thanks!!

:fishing:
 
#3 ·
Red

Thought I'd give an update.
I installed Boca 3X10X4 ABEC 7 ceramic bearings on the spool that replaced the bronze bushings. As in the pictures I also installed a PMR mono mag. I asked Jamie @ PMR for a strong mono mag that had a small as possible profile since this reel is for fishing and not tournament casting so he made the mag with a 8mm N50 magnet and designed the small control knob to better match the centrifugal control knob.
I might install a dual bearing level wind and ceramic pawl after I fish it some. The upgrades so far have really made a big difference in smoothness and control.

HuskyMD to respond to your post. Yes I have had ABUs for over 35 years and the 6000 is a good reel. The reason for the upgrades, the bearings are unreal as to how it will wake up this old classic as far as smoothness and increased distance with the same casting effort. The mono mag gives that little difference in adjustability when casting into the wind. AND its just cool to "pimp" a reel" :D

:D
 

Attachments

#5 ·
View attachment 17133
Thought I'd give an update.
I installed Boca 3X10X4 ABEC 7 ceramic bearings on the spool that replaced the bronze bushings. As in the pictures I also installed a PMR mono mag. I asked Jamie @ PMR for a strong mono mag that had a small as possible profile since this reel is for fishing and not tournament casting so he made the mag with a 8mm N50 magnet and designed the small control knob to better match the centrifugal control knob.
I might install a dual bearing level wind and ceramic pawl after I fish it some. The upgrades so far have really made a big difference in smoothness and control.

HuskyMD to respond to your post. Yes I have had ABUs for over 35 years and the 6000 is a good reel. The reason for the upgrades, the bearings are unreal as to how it will wake up this old classic as far as smoothness and increased distance with the same casting effort. The mono mag gives that little difference in adjustability when casting into the wind. AND its just cool to "pimp" a reel" :D

:D
That is indeed a cool upgrade to the classic 6000... If you change the bushings on the Level wind to bearings, do you also need a different level wind or to modify the frame?
 
#4 ·
Cool post & upgrades! I've never bought anything from those vendors so can't help there. But agree with you about smoothness & being cool to pimp out a reel. I'm a big fan of the ABU's & have about 25 of them in different sizes. Several I have are factory mag versions. :D
 
#10 ·
Isn't that an old 6000 with slow gears. Think I would have spent my money on new gears.
If you mean low gear ratio, then why change them? Gear ratio has no affect on casting distance. Personally, I like that some of my reels have lower gear ratios, while others are higher speed. There are advantages to both depending on the type of fishing being done.

IMO, only reason to change gears is if they're damaged. :)
 
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