The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Could anyone help please with identifying the spools for the green Cardinal 77? The 66 allegedly also has the same fitting spools.

I purchased an Abu spare spool Ref - WP= 878. It was purchased as fitting both 66 and 77 reels. It is 60mm in diameter. (It was in a red spool box with Cardinal 66 and the Part Number 8639 which is correct for a 66 reel written on the underside).

The current correct spools for my 77s are 65 mm diameter.

Does anyone know what reel the WP 878 at 60mm fits please?

Im guessing you got it on from the bay of evil, think I saw this go, always thought the listing was nonsense but anyway.
The Cardinal 66 has a smaller rotor than the Cardinal 77 so there for the spool is smaller on the 66.
Part numbers from the schematics will show you as they are also a different part number.
8639 is the correct part for the 66 and 8675 fits the 77.
There are also a couple of other differences as you can in the pictures I have posted, the rotor cup is bigger there for the white plastic trip is bigger and above all else the spools are completely different, the metal spools you see in the picture belong on the later (1975) 66 & 77 reels having the black flat release button on the spool, these also belong on the Cardinal 66X & 77X
Hope this helps you

The 77 is on the left of picture in both pictures





If you put a 66 spool on a 77 reel you will get the most alarming gap around the spool Olly, take a look



This is what you would hope to see



Measurements of 77 spool base



This is the measurement of the 66 spool base



Showing the outside diameter of the rotor cups, the biggest being the Cardinal 77 this one is for the 66



77 rotor

I'd like to submit this as a contestant for July's competition as the most accomplished and complete reply to a question. Great work BeechmereLake

Thats exactly what I thought too Dave.
Excellent reply Beechmerelake

Well thank you gentlemen, I try my best to help others understand and with easy access to my photobox its easy to do a good post with pictures for others to understand clearly.

Dave Burr wrote:I'd like to submit this as a contestant for July's competition as the most accomplished and complete reply to a question. Great work BeechmereLake

A clear winner in my mind, very well done Sir.

Brilliant piece of work! A*

I bought 2 Cardinal 77s and was very impressed with them, especially the clutch! I was told, now found to be incorrect, that 66 and 77 spools were interchangeable. Sellers appear to have been given the same information!

The spool I purchased and returned is, thanks to the above confirmation, for a 66 as the OD of the spool's base are the same as above. The reference on this spool was WP 858.

Each reel has a correct spool but both are different! One has the flat button as above and the other a "nipple" type button. Confused - I was - as neither has the part number referred to above!
The flat button version has nothing on the base apart from "SWEDEN".
The nipple type "SWEDEN" and IV 893223 on the base!

Can it be confirmed that no 66 spools will fit a 77 model with references 750207 and 750607 on their feet? Then I can try again for 2 spare spools!

If you have a question about ABU reels Beechmere lake is the man to ask. A fount of knowledge!!!

He certainly is having replied to my first question admirably!

I think what has happened is many people think the Cardinal 66 & 77 are the same reel just that one may have a higher speed gearing like on the Cardinal 44's, this is not so, as I have said the housing and gearing are identical on both reels, the only difference is on a Cardinal 77 the rotor, plastic bail trip and spool are much larger than that of a 66, the handle can also be different.
On the reels you have Olly which are dated to 1975 you should have the flat black release button as in the pictures, the handle should be quite a big flat plastic handle instead of the rugby ball shaped handle.
Not sure why but the 66 had similar to the 44 handle, then, in 75 they changed the handle for the 66 to the same one that was on the 1973 Cardinal 77 (rugby ball shape) they then put this big flat plastic knob on the 1975 cardinal 77 like you find on the Cardinal 7 black and tan colored reels from 1978.
So back to Olly's question and the answer is No a 66 spool is a lot smaller than the 77 spool, it will fit the reel as I have showed you in the picture but you will have enough gap around the spool to allow rope to get under the spool let alone mono-filament