the new calcutta te 200gt, 300 and 400

i just finished going through a new set of calcutta te reels.  they're beautiful.  i have no idea what they cost, but i'm sure they're worth every penny.  

the 200 gt is a real pocket rocket.  looking for a reel to load up with straight 20 or 30# spectra?  this is the one.  it has a narrow spool and a leveler that moves when the handle moves, not when the spool moves.  the relative position of the leveler doesn't matter because the spool is so narrow.  the impressive thing about this reel is that the main gear is the same diameter as the ones found in the 300 and 400.  it takes two drag washers.  i'm afraid the stock drags are garbage.  the reels i worked on were brand new and the drags were already a little sticky.  the material looks like  gummed up leather.  it's not the classic dartanium at all.  

the replacement penn ht-100 drag washer that goes underneath the gear is the #56-4200.  it is a keyed drag washer, so you have to snip the keys off.  the drag washer that goes inside the gear is a #6-116.  this is the drag washer from the old 9/0 penn senator.  that should give you and idea of the size of the gears.  apply a liberal coat of shimano drag grease to the penn washers and you're all set.  in the photo you see the guts of a 200g.  lower left is the main gear.  to the right of the main gear are the two replacement penn drags.  above the main gear is the metal drag washer.  to the right of the metal drag washer are the two stock shimano washers.  the skinny shimano washer to the far right is the least impressive.  



to upgrade the drag system...

1) first remove the handle, the star and the washers underneath the star.  keep everything carefully in order.  

2) there are three side plate screws (key #2422 and 2424) that come out next.  

3) now back off the side plate open nut (key #2425) and CAREFULLY lift the right side plate VERTICALLY and set it aside.  keep the remainder of the reel "right side up" or the springs will fall out.  the term "boing" applies here.  

4) remove in order the key washer (key #2430), the drag washer C (key #2431), the drive gear (key #2432) and drag washer A (key #2433).  

5) reinstall the gear cluster above, replacing drag washer A with a penn ht-100 #56-4200 and drag washer C with a penn ht-100 E 6-116.  

6) find the roller clutch inner tube (key # 2421) and seat it on the metal key washer (key #2430).  

7)  now reverse steps #3 through #1 and you're done.  


next are the calcutta te 300 and 400.  the side plates are exactly the same.  only the spool widths are different.  here, the leveler moves only when the spool moves.  be careful to always keel the line and the leveler in sync.  it's a four drag system with one of those "leather" drags under the gear and three dartanium drags inside the gear.  because of the difficulty in cutting a penn drag washer to fit, i opted to leave the "leather" drag washer in place and only replace the three dartanium drag washers.  in the photo you can see the guts of the calcutta te 300.  the bottom row is the stock dartanium drag washers, the middle row is the replacement penn ht-100 drag washers, and the top row is the metal washers.  a combination of one #6-116 and two #56-4200 penn drag washers fit this reel better than the stock dartanium!



to upgrade the drag system...

1) first remove the handle, the star and the washers underneath the star.  keep everything carefully in order.  

2) there are three side plate screws that come out next, two of the key #2684's and one key #2686.  next remove the clutch cam screw (key #2228).  DO NOT REMOVE the smaller cam backing plate screw (key #2687).  

3) now back off the side plate open nut (key #2425) and CAREFULLY lift the right side plate VERTICALLY and set it aside.  keep the remainder of the reel "right side up" or the springs will fall out.  the term "boing" applies here.  

4) remove all of the dartanium and metal drag washers, one at a time, but DO NOT remove the drive gear (key #2693).  

5) reinstall the drag cluster above.  replace drag washer C (key #2692) with a penn ht-100 #6-116.  replace the two drag washer A's (key #2689) with two penn ht-100 #56-4200's.

6) find the roller clutch inner tube (key # 2421) and seat it on the metal key washer (key #2430).  

7)  now reverse steps #3 through #1 and you're done.  

here's a photo of the guts of the te 400...



and here's a photo of all three completed reels.  



keep in mind that i'm a "truck" kind of guy.  given a choice between a porsche and a truck, i'd take a truck, or a progear.  these new calcutta's are a real work of art.  and unlike those damned trinidad's and torium's, there is enough room in the side plated of these new calcutta's for a thicker set of penn drags.  i give them two thumbs up!  now, does anyone know how much they cost?

Here's what Cabela's is showing;

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0012036115660a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=hasJS=true&_D%3AhasJS=+&QueryText=calcutta+te+reels&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jhtml.22&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=calcutta+te+reels&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jhtml