Four Brothers Reel ID

[hurdpete]

Good Morning Folks:

Need some help - a co-worker brought me a reel this morning, marked Four Brothers Rubber City model 2758. Looks like it was originally nickel over brass, free spool and anti reverse levers, Williams Drag, counterbalanced crank, no thumbstall, side plate diameter is 3 5/8", spool width is about 2 ". Foot is tapered at the ends, and is riveted onto the bottom pillars and then soldered. No markings are visible on the foot. It's a TOTAL beater, but I'd like to give this guy a little info about age and or value. I thought Four Brothers was a Pflueger trademark, but it isn't listed on the Plfueger site. My guess was mid-late 30's, with a value in about A4-4+/M4/4+ of $ 25-35. How far off am I ? Thanks, folks!

[RAM]

It came out in 1931 and was not nickel plated but nickel silver plated. The finish easily wore off or corroded off in SW. Was originally a neat reel, but I almost never see one in the range of 4 both appearance and mechanical. That sounds bad! Might get $20.00 as a parts reel. Hope this helps. Bad bob

[RAM]

PS-It was a Pflueger reel, but not found in many lists. A bit scarce. Four Brothers was the trademark for Enterprise's mid-range quality and price reels. Bob again

[hurdpete]

Bob:

Thanks for the info -I might have been a little harsh on the grading, but not by a whole lot- it's intact, and hasn't been run over, but there's a LOT of play in the crank handle (feels like a very loose crank gear pin), and about 1/16" fore and aft play in the crank shaft where the gear rides on the pin. Add to that the moderate corrosion on the spool, the total absence of the original plating, and a good heavy coat of protective dirt, and you've got a reel that may fight its way up to a 6 if I can fix the mechanicals. I'll get a picture of this gem when I get home.