THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
- BeechmereLake
- Brown Trout
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THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
When the Abu Cardinal 33 was first introduced to the angling world it was received by many anglers throughout the world as one of the finest ultra-lite reels ever made, the original first version Cardinal 33 was made in 1974 and today is still on the list of many collectors worldwide as the availability of them is/was very limited. Here I will try and do my best to give you a very good insight into this mini marvel of a fishing reel.
It all started with the Abu Cardinal 33 which had special features which helped to identify it
One of those features was the tear drop cone bail arm found more often than not on the Cardinal 44 models
Being very limited the serial number was also a very important part of its history, made for some 7 or 8 months only its crucial to have mid 1974 to the last date of manufacture which was January 1975, the reel below is one of the last original reels to be made.
On these first versions this reel also had a thinner main gear, on the second release of these reels it was a lot thicker.
There was one other difference on the reel and it was on the connecting link from main gear to axle, there was a small circlip and washer which gripped the axle, on this last model you can see its not so, some time in its life a possible replacement part has been put on it as no circlip is visible.
This is the part that holds the link to the axle, its like some sort of clip on washer. I now have a copy of the reel in its true form and can display the correct feature the reel should have
The reel was such a success it was brought back into production in the 1990's and all the above bits were changed, the reel was a Japanese copy, this reel however is a second version model which was made up until 1977, visually the bail wire had now lost the tear drop cone, the main gear was bigger/thicker and the connecting link was changed.
The bail wire now had a line roller fitted to it as seen below
Now it can get confusing but simply put the reel was made for the USA market and sold under the name Zebco Cardinal, after 1976-77 the reel became known as the Cardinal 3, it had an all new look from the paintwork and had lost a digit to its model number. Abu came out with a new paint scheme which was at best very poor, better known as the "Champagne finish" the paint itself was very thin and it wouldn't take long before you would rub marks in the paint finish which went down to the bare cast alloy, some samples are below and show how weak it was.
This first version reel also had a badge change, a very desirable reel indeed regardless of condition
Came with chrome handle and black painted version
Again serial number very important made 1977-78 only for champagne paint finish, same on all models like the Cardinal 4, 4X, 6, 6X & 7
Every now and then something different would show up and none so more different than this reel, note the royalty badge is now on the side plate rather than the handle side of the reel, these reels have a big value if you have one, champagne finish with the royalty badge on the side plate is a huge reel for the Japanese collectors, being lucky to have the box was a big bonus for me. Note the black handle too and the change from the metal name plate to an elongated sticker with picture framing around the outside. The same reel can be found with the royalty badge on the opposite side, that is better known as a test reel or prototype, if you have one then you are very lucky indeed, Indeed I have found such a reel and been given a picture of the reel, hopefully I will be able to buy it one day.
This is the super rare intermediate reel with the Royalty badge NOT on the side plate.
1978 saw another change in the reel, this time the paint finish was to become a paint that was more durable, basically it was a ceramic paint which was hard to rub through, drop the reel or just be reckless with it and the paint finish just chipped off still revealing bare cast alloy, there was also a black fleck in the paint finish normal achieved by using water based paint in an oil based finish, the two don't mix so stay separated, in the trade it was known as portafleck. The box remained the same as early version champagne reel, handle is now black instead of chrome, white writings on the face of the spool also arrived, Also notice on this later reel the sticker on the side plate is not outlined or picture framed, another small change is cosmetics.
The Cardinal 3 went on in production until 1980-81 and in that short period of time became so popular around the globe Japanese copies were made in 1990, many are still made today but for me are not even close to these originals, If I have missed anything here I will add it later for you.
It all started with the Abu Cardinal 33 which had special features which helped to identify it
One of those features was the tear drop cone bail arm found more often than not on the Cardinal 44 models
Being very limited the serial number was also a very important part of its history, made for some 7 or 8 months only its crucial to have mid 1974 to the last date of manufacture which was January 1975, the reel below is one of the last original reels to be made.
On these first versions this reel also had a thinner main gear, on the second release of these reels it was a lot thicker.
There was one other difference on the reel and it was on the connecting link from main gear to axle, there was a small circlip and washer which gripped the axle, on this last model you can see its not so, some time in its life a possible replacement part has been put on it as no circlip is visible.
This is the part that holds the link to the axle, its like some sort of clip on washer. I now have a copy of the reel in its true form and can display the correct feature the reel should have
The reel was such a success it was brought back into production in the 1990's and all the above bits were changed, the reel was a Japanese copy, this reel however is a second version model which was made up until 1977, visually the bail wire had now lost the tear drop cone, the main gear was bigger/thicker and the connecting link was changed.
The bail wire now had a line roller fitted to it as seen below
Now it can get confusing but simply put the reel was made for the USA market and sold under the name Zebco Cardinal, after 1976-77 the reel became known as the Cardinal 3, it had an all new look from the paintwork and had lost a digit to its model number. Abu came out with a new paint scheme which was at best very poor, better known as the "Champagne finish" the paint itself was very thin and it wouldn't take long before you would rub marks in the paint finish which went down to the bare cast alloy, some samples are below and show how weak it was.
This first version reel also had a badge change, a very desirable reel indeed regardless of condition
Came with chrome handle and black painted version
Again serial number very important made 1977-78 only for champagne paint finish, same on all models like the Cardinal 4, 4X, 6, 6X & 7
Every now and then something different would show up and none so more different than this reel, note the royalty badge is now on the side plate rather than the handle side of the reel, these reels have a big value if you have one, champagne finish with the royalty badge on the side plate is a huge reel for the Japanese collectors, being lucky to have the box was a big bonus for me. Note the black handle too and the change from the metal name plate to an elongated sticker with picture framing around the outside. The same reel can be found with the royalty badge on the opposite side, that is better known as a test reel or prototype, if you have one then you are very lucky indeed, Indeed I have found such a reel and been given a picture of the reel, hopefully I will be able to buy it one day.
This is the super rare intermediate reel with the Royalty badge NOT on the side plate.
1978 saw another change in the reel, this time the paint finish was to become a paint that was more durable, basically it was a ceramic paint which was hard to rub through, drop the reel or just be reckless with it and the paint finish just chipped off still revealing bare cast alloy, there was also a black fleck in the paint finish normal achieved by using water based paint in an oil based finish, the two don't mix so stay separated, in the trade it was known as portafleck. The box remained the same as early version champagne reel, handle is now black instead of chrome, white writings on the face of the spool also arrived, Also notice on this later reel the sticker on the side plate is not outlined or picture framed, another small change is cosmetics.
The Cardinal 3 went on in production until 1980-81 and in that short period of time became so popular around the globe Japanese copies were made in 1990, many are still made today but for me are not even close to these originals, If I have missed anything here I will add it later for you.
Last edited by BeechmereLake on Mon May 08, 2017 9:27 am, edited 5 times in total.
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- OldTackle
- Arctic Char
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
What an interesting bit of history there BL. Thank you very much for sharing! I must have a second version model then as my bail wire is lacking of the tear drop. Not so sure about the internal features but I will check.
< °) >>><( Christopher )><<< (° >
- BeechmereLake
- Brown Trout
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Thanks Old Tackle, your reel will also have a serial number dating from February 1975 or later, 750100 is the last reels that were made with the cone bail wire any earlier reels will be dated 740600 up to 750100.
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- OldTackle
- Arctic Char
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
751200 is stamped on mine, so version 2?
< °) >>><( Christopher )><<< (° >
Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Nice article Beechmere, mine is 760100, no cone bale. Such a neat reel, I treasure it.
- BeechmereLake
- Brown Trout
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Yes indeed it is OldTackle
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- Crucian
- Eel
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Another very good post, thanks
- BeechmereLake
- Brown Trout
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Thanks Crucian, I know all the information I put here for the members to see will stay here.
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- PeteD
- Rudd
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Many thanks for such an informative post.
The 33 is such a lovely reel and is top of my wanted list at the moment. The trouble is they fetch such high prices so finding a good one at a reasonable price is proving difficult.
The 33 is such a lovely reel and is top of my wanted list at the moment. The trouble is they fetch such high prices so finding a good one at a reasonable price is proving difficult.
- BeechmereLake
- Brown Trout
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Re: THE ABU CARDINAL 33 - CARDINAL 3
Your right on the money side of things, you never see any go cheap.
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