Vintage Abu Garcia Ambassadeur XLT3 Syncro Bait Casting Reel - Never Used!

Description

Vintage Ambassadeur Abu-Garcia XLT3 Syncro
in Like-New Condition
Some 40+ years ago, after returning home from a Canadian wilderness fishing adventure, I bought this fantastic Abu Garcia Ambassadeur XLT3 Syncro high-line-capacity, high-speed reel.  During the trip, this novice fisherman had lost the northern pike of his dreams.  I had been trolling with a reel that was not really meant to hold a lot of line.  And on that particular day, the monster fish I hooked managed to actually run me to the spool!  And...broke my line.  So, anticipating another such trip hopefully the next year, I endeavored to a) learn better how to set my drag!  And, b) get a reel with a higher line capacity for the 20lb test line I was using.  That led to this fine reel.
Problem was, I never was able to make that Canadian trip again.  And the reel never got out of my reel bag.
Some years later, I decided to spool up line on the reel and give it a try.  But there was something wrong. Without putting line on the reel, I "tested" the reel function, by clicking the spool release button, then cranking the handle as usual.  What I noticed was that the plastic line guide was not oscillating left and right on the spindle during take-up as it should, which would be needed to evenly distribute the line back on to the spool.  So, I put the reel away, and forgot about it.  Until recently...
I went ahead and filled the spool with 15# test (and it took a lot of it!), took it out in my back yard and did some practice casting.  Wow!  Smooth as could be, with very nice casting distance, and smooth retrieve.  Figured out the "syncro" drag, and checked everything else out.  Mechanical and Magnetic Braking systems both working great (don't know why I was expecting anything different - the reel is in brand new condition!).
Unfortunately, that little bug-a-boo I mentioned before popped up.  About every 3rd cast, upon cranking the handle, that line guide just didn't engage with the spiral gear that moves the line right and left across the spool to keep the line from piling up in one place.  It's obvious that the little pin that is supposed to protrude through the spindel upon retrieval is not "popping out of the hole" every time, which engages the back and forth movement of the guide.  I did notice that I could get around this problem, though, without trying to repair the reel.   Once I had cast the (practice) lure, and cranked the handle enough to engage the retrieve mechanism, if I just used my finger to slide the plastic guide to right or left margin, it would engage, and line pickup proceeded as usual, and distributed the line evenly on the spool.  Still, I know this is only a band-aid solution to the problem, and no doubt a permanent fix would be most desirable for this.  Being as I have never broken down a reel, I knew this was something I should leave alone, and let someone who knows what they're doing find a part or fix for.  I only bring this up in the name of complete transparency about what is being offered here.
But before giving up on this item - please know this.  Everything about this fantastic reel is as brand spanking new.  No scratches, no dings, no marred or worn areas AT ALL.  Physically, it is as perfect as when I first took it out of the box 40+ years ago.  And although I did put line on it to test it in my back yard, the reel has never been taken out on the water to even get the line wet.
So, whether adding this fine piece to a collection, or with plans to fix that one minor flaw and use for yourself, one would be hard pressed to find a more pristine example of this fine Abu Garcia Ambassadeur XLT3 Syncro reel.
Shipping for this item will be the calculated amount for your region in the continental U.S., plus Hawaii, via USPS Priority Mail.
Opening bid is just {{detail_product_description}}.99, so please, bid early and often!  And thanks for your interest!