Mitchell 330 Expert Needed.

[Ted Lanham]

Mates,
I have picked up a nice 330 that has been forced to open, thus the trip lever and bail wire mount have some teeth missing. I have some parts for this reel, but the trip levers I have don't match the one that was in the reel. The bearing on the one in the reel is larger than the ones I have. Am I right that at some point Mitchell change the design on the trip levers and at the same time may have changed the plastic cam on the baffle plate? Did this change happen at the same time the color of the plastic cam changed?


Regards,
Ted Lanham

[cshannon772]

Hi Ted,
I'm no expert on the Mitchell 330 but I have a number of them in my collection and have done some study on them. The black trip ramp on the baffle plate had a small stud on the bail trip (it was fixed, not a bearing/roller). The Black trip ramp had a much longer sweep and is 5/8" wide at the base. The white trip ramp on the baffle plate had a larger actual bearing on the trip lever. The White trip ramp has a much shorter and steeper sweep and was 9/16' at the base. This transition took place , both at the same time in the early 1960s (1962???) but like all Mitchells, there was a mix and match transition period that I don't know how long that lasted. I have both the small and large trip levers in my parts. I also have the bail wire mounts if you need one of those too but would need the Serial # or photo of your reel to ensure the proper bail wire mount . PM me your address and I can send you what you need.

Kind Regards,
Chris

[cshannon772]

Hi Ted,
Your 330 Bail Trip went out in the mail today - should have it next week.
Kind Regards,
Chris

[piscesman]

Great doing Chris. Most of us have move than we can ever use. Pass it forward for the rest............
Kim

[don309]

Always nice to lend a hand, good karma!

[Ted Lanham]

Mates,
Well, it took several attempts, but I got this old 330 back in fighting shape thanks to Chris's early trip lever. My biggest problem was that every time I'd tighten the bail mount screw down the whole mechanism would either freeze up, or back the bail mount screw loose. Finally, I decided that there might be a part missing that didn't come with this reel. I went through several misc. bags of 330 parts and discovered something that might work like a bushing for the bail mount screw, and it fit perfect. End of the story, there was supposed to be a bail mount bearing that the BM screw went into. Schematics don't show this part very well, so I just missed it completely till I looked a little closer.
Anyway, an old man knows a little more about the 330 bails today.


Regards,
Ted Lanham

[Sandman]

Nice work Ted! Saved another.

Some of those schematics are really difficult to see what, where and how some of the parts are and how they go together. I've had to buy spare reels and take them apart just to figure them out.

Sandman

[Ted Lanham]

Sandman,
I was seriously looking for another 330 to do that very thing.

Ted Lanham