New kind of 304

[DavidSnags]

I'm not good at attaching images but I recently bought a Mitchell 300 side plate marked Mitchell 304.Once I got it I tried to attach it to a standard 300 body and it fit perfect. I thought I bought a 300 part with a typo. Then it got interesting. The numbers and lettering were aligned as a 300. The anti reverse dog pin was in 301's location. Once I put it together I knew what it needed to work. The only way this configured side frame will work, (unless I'm wrong and being married I'm wrong a lot.....) Is to mount a 301 rotor head on a 300 body and replace the main gear and handle with 301 parts so the handle doesn't unwind. The previous owner cannibalized badly worn reels and listed this as rare and unusual. I contacted him and the other parts are gone. He did say during disassembly he found nothing but stock parts, except that side frame. After some discussion I think he regrets breaking it down and selling it. I've just about begged him to try to recover the body for a serial number but it must have been too far gone or already sold. The plate is in good condition though, except some dorsal paint loss. I guarantee it's not been altered or tampered with. It's being mounted on a 1960 Mitchell 300 that was an estate find and never used. The 301 parts are on order and all new old stock. Once assembled it will be a Mitchell 300 that cranks clockwise instead of counter clockwise and is numbered 304 in nice crisp connected numbers. I cannot find any record of this reel existing. What on earth did I find?

[piscesman]

Good story. I was wondering when you purchase those parts, install them, then crank the handle will the rotor turn in the direction you need it to to reel in line????
Kim

[DavidSnags]

Right now it works great but turns the head in the wrong direction when the anti reverse is on. Then the bail won't trip because it's cranking backward. I'm 99% sure putting the 301 head on the 300 body will make it work. But then I don't want to unscrew the handle so that and the main gear are likewise going to be need to be 301. Once it's together I'll try to upload some picks but I'm having trouble getting them on the forum.

[DavidSnags]

I was finally able to post a pic of the reel side frame at the Mitchell Reel Museum Facebook page. Feel free to move or do what you want. I’m just hoping someone can help me learn more about it.

[Schrack]

Sounds like wrong drive gear, thaat would make it backwards,
Trying to figure out the 304, the body of a 304 would be impossible to fit a 300.
If you look at a 304 the body is round and small.
On a 300 bail opens to right and 301 to left so if it opens to right That would rule out head and probably be main drive gear. The pinion and transfer gears are the same in both.
Also isolating gear and slide are the same.
Am interested in the out come of this.

[Tim Sansbury]

Mitchell 3-0-1 looks like 304

20240327_102120.jpg (672.73 KiB) Viewed 5522 times

What you have there is a sideplate for an early Mitchell 3-0-1. This reel (series number 811890) was made just as the model numbers started to appear on the sideplates. In fact, the seller of this reel listed it as a 304. It was easy to figure out because it was on a complete reel. Somewhere, I have another one that the 1 looks even more like a 4.

[Tim Sansbury]

Here's a picture of the 3-0-1 by itself and a picture of a left handed Mitchell with the Mitchell 3-0-1. The left handed Mitchell is a 4th version. The engraving on all lefthanded Mitchell reels in the 3rd and 4th versions are upside-down. The first 3-0-1s of the 5th version were also upside-down. Eventually, in the 5th version, Mitchell started engraving the so it was readable when you hold the reel normally. Sometimes the 1 is close to the - and the angled top line of the 1 being in close proximity to the - makes it look like a 4.