The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Here's my 99p Intrepid Elite

It came with this little chap

The Elite is in pretty good fettle although there is a problem with the bail arm. When open the bail arm doesn't clear the spool sufficiently as in the following pic:
I wondered if the bail arm has been bent?
The other problem is the bail tripping mechanism, I took it apart to see if the spring was broken but it is ok. The bail tripping mechanism is a "plunger" type and fouls the bail tripping spigot with an annoying click, click, click when the handle is turned. I can eliminate this by tightening down on the large screw that holds the bail arm bracket to the rotor but then the bail wont operate as it jams it solid. It's as though there's a washer or something missing in the bail arm bracket.
The reel operates very well otherwise, very smooth and I have to say I like it very much indeed. I would therefore like to get the bail arm working as it should and wondered if anyone has a schematic so I can see if theres a component missing. Any help or advice greatly appreciated chaps!
Heres a few more pics:

Nice one! Looks in excellent condition.

Jeremy I think you must be related to LuckyLuca. I paid £6 for my Intrepid Elite albeit a couple of years ago, Brand New in the original box, with guarantee card and packing, including the spare spool wrapped in greaseproof paper and I thought that was deal of the year.

I have noted you often see photos of Fred Taylor fishing with an Intrepid Elite.

I have an Elite it is a nice running little reel, yours is an absolute bargain for that price and it sounds like your problems are quite minor.

A bargain! It looks like the bail arm needs bending back a little at the line roller end. These reels do tend to click slightly and it might be that the bent bail arm is making it worse.

Great buy there at 99p and the Monarch you got with it looks great condition too. As has been said, some Intrepids do click a little with the anti-reverse switched off. If you can't live with it then plenty of grease in the right place might quiet it down a little; as a fix though I have in the past milled down the bit(s) catching a tad but being very careful not to impair function at all, worked for me a few times.

Jeremy, that Monarch looks in really nice condition for what was a budget reel... is there a groove worn where the line runs across the bail arm? If not you have a great tiddler-bashing reel

Oh, and there are also blue and gold painted versions for you to collect

Also, have you opened the main housing of your Elite? Most have plastic gearing but one of mine has metal innards, I won't part with that one for anything

Wagtail wrote: ↑Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:39 pm Jeremy, that Monarch looks in really nice condition for what was a budget reel... is there a groove worn where the line runs across the bail arm? If not you have a great tiddler-bashing reel

Oh, and there are also blue and gold painted versions for you to collect

Also, have you opened the main housing of your Elite? Most have plastic gearing but one of mine has metal innards, I won't part with that one for anything

No groove Waggers! In fact it looks as though its had hardly any use at all. Its a very simple no frills reel but it has a certain charm and I actually quite like it, I do intend to use it
The Elite has plastic (Nylon?) and brass gearing, it has had a total strip down, a good clean and re-lubed. I looked at the gears under a magnifier and they are like new

Hi Jeremy
Your post does bring back some memories. The Elite was a great reel - I still occasionally use mine for old times sake. I much preferred it to the Mitchel 300 that was fashionable at the time.
The first reel that I bought (with my paper round money) was a gold Monarch. It did the job but what an upgrade when I moved to the Elite!

Just dug out my reel and took a couple of pics that may help you line the bail arm up..