The Original Daiwa Millionaire

Name: Stingray Tackle
Address: US

By Tom Odell of Stingray Tackle

The original Daiwa Millionaire was introduced about 1970. In the mid 1980's these reels were redesigned with the new version known as the Millionaire II.

The original Millionaires were essentially clones to the more expensive Abu Garcia reels. The Millionaires were made in Japan and were good quality reels, and if properly cared for can still be fished today.

Daiwa later re-introduced the Millionaire name about 1998, but these new reels are a completely different design.

There are numerous model numbers of these Millionaires. I will attempt to list them and explain the differences. The differences in models depends on the reel width (wide or narrow), bearings (ball bearings or bushings), gear ratio, frame (black aluminum or chrome plated brass), and handle (double or single paddle).

These reels were also sold by Sears under their Ted Williams brand. I believe the models were 525, 535, 540, 550, and 560. They were identical to the Daiwa reels except for colors and the brand markings. Sorry I don't know which Daiwa models correspond to the Ted Williams model numbers.

Millionaire V. This was the first Millionaire. It is a different design than the later models. It has 2 ball bearings. It has a gear ratio of 3.6 to 1. Although it just has a single disc drag system, it is a very large disc, which allows the drag to work very smoothly. All later models have a triple disc drag system with smaller discs. The V model was only available in a narrow size.

Millionaire 3 & 4. All Millionaire models 3 & 4 are narrow, and none have ball bearings - they have bushings instead. There are numerous versions of these two reels. All reel numbers with an H are high speed reels (5 to 1 gear ratio). Reels with an M have a black aluminum frame and no left side spool tension knob. R stands for low gear ratio. All of these reels have a 3 disc drag system. All of the drag washers are small except the 3H which has large washers. In fact, the 3H reel has the best drag system of all Millionaire models - it is the only one with a 3 large washer drag. Too bad it doesn't have ball bearings as well.

Millionaire 5 & 6. These two models were the best sellers, and therefore are the most easy to find today. The 5 and 6 were identical except for the width - the 5 was narrow and the 6 was wide. Like all Millionaires, these reels were available in different configurations, designated by the letter code in the model number. All model 5 and 6's came with two ball bearings, except for RM models, which had 2 bushings, and the HM models which had one ball bearing (on non-handle side) and one bushing (on handle side). The H stood for high speed (5 to 1). The M models had a black aluminum frame (the other models all had chrome plated brass frames). The M models also did not have a spool tension knob on the left side - just the right side. The S models had a double paddle handle, whereas others models had a counterbalanced single paddle handle.

Millionaire II. About 1985 Daiwa redesigned the Millionaire and called it the Millionaire II. There were 4 models: The 500M, 600M, 5000M and 6000M. The 500M & 5000M were narrow, while the 600M and 6000M were wide. The 500 & 600 had bushings, the 5000 & 6000 had ball bearings. All four models came with a higher gear ratio - 5.2 to 1. None of these reels had a left side spool tension knob.

Miscellaneous Millionaires. Daiwa had a lot of success selling the Millionaire reels and the Millionaire trademark became well known. So Daiwa started using it on several other reels that had little to do with the reels mentioned here. Most of these reels were not successful and quickly disappeared. I don't have any information on these miscellaneous reels, I just have info on the models numbers listed here.

Recommendations: If you are looking to buy one of these fine reels, I would recommend the model 5H & 5HS (narrow reels) or the 6H & 6HS (wide reels). The reason being, that these are the only models that have all the desirable features: 2 ball bearings, a high gear ratio, and both a left and right side spool tension knob. The Millionaire V is also a good choice, but it has a low gear ratio of 3.6 to 1, so it's not a good choice if you need high speed, but it will work very well if high speed is not a concern. The V model has a very large single disc drag that, in my opinion is just as smooth and effective as the small 3 disc systems of the later reels.

I would stay away from all M models. All M models are missing the left side spool tension knob. When Daiwa decided to remove the left side knob, they had to make several design changes. These changes added unnecessary complexity and made the reel more difficult to use. I believe the M models were designed to simply make the reel more attractive in order to increase sales, without any consideration for functionality.

As far as handles go, I personally find no advantage of either the single or double paddle handles.

Drag washers. If you purchase one of these reels, the first thing you need to do is replace the drag washers. All versions of models 3, 4, 5 and 6 (except the 3H), and all models of the Millionaire II, take the same size drag washers. The original Daiwa part numbers is 374-9302, 374-9305, or K16-0102. All three part numbers refer to the same size washer. These same drag washers are found on other Diawa reels as well. The Smoooth Drag set of Carbontex drags model Daiwa 27H are a perfect replacement for these reels. Or if you want to order the drag washers individually from Smooth Drag they are model 4A.

The large singe drag washer found on the Millionaire V is part number 374-5801. This drag washer just happens to be the same size as a Penn Jigmaster washer (Penn part number 6-309), which are inexpensive and easy to find.

The drag washers for the 3H - are an odd size, different from all other Millionaires, they are part number 375-2201. The size of these washers is 12mm ID, 22mm OD, .6mm TH. You can purchase the drag washers from Smoooth Drag, but you will probably have to order them individdually, Their size 12A is a good replacement size.

Bearings: You may want to replace the bearings as well. All of the reels that came with two ball bearings take the same ball bearings (except for the Millionaire II models). They are Daiwa part 634-6701. But don't buy replacements from Daiwa - the Daiwa bearings are not ceramic, and will quickly become stiff. Best choice for bearings are ones made of stainless steel, but have ceramic balls.

The 634-6701 bearing size is 3x10x4. That is 3mm inside, 10mm outside, and 4mm thick.

The reels that have only one bearing takes a different size bearing - I am not sure what size it is, so you will have to measure the old one. The same goes for Millionaire II 5000M & 6000m models - they have a different bearing on each side. In either case you will have to buy replacements from a bearing supplier based on size.

My advice on reels with bushings - they will never be able to cast as far a reel with ball bearings, but they are easy to maintain - just clean the bushings and re-grease them, and the reel will be as good as new. With ball bearings, once they start to get stiff, they must be replaced. It is possible to replace bushings with ball bearings. This can be done using the same 3x10x4 ball bearings listed above. However there are different retaining rings for bushings and these should be replaced with the ones designed for bearings. These retaining rings are hard to find, so you would probably be better off just living with the bushings. Don't try replacing the bushings on any of the M reels, they have two different size bushings, and one cannot be removed.

Level Wind. All Millionaire’s have a non-disengaging level wind system. The level wind stays engaged while retrieving or in free spool. This means that while casting, the level wind gears turn and the line guide goes back and forth. This reduces casting distance significantly. For me, this is not acceptable, and what’s more, I find the level wind to be of little use. So, I remove the entire level wind mechanism. Without the level wind, I can cast very far with these little reels.

To remove the level wind, take off the left side plate. You will find a large plastic gear, remove that off the side plate - it is held on by a tiny spring clip. It is not necessary to remove the gear on the end of the spool spindle. Then remove the clip that holds on the worm shield. Take off the worm shield and worm. Unscrew the nut that holds the pawl in place, and then you can slide the line guide off. Once the line guide is off, replace the worm, worm shield, and clip. I recommend also replacing the tiny clip that held on the plastic gear – so you don’t loose it. When you are all done the only parts you will have left over is the large plastic gear and the line guide, complete with pawl. Save these parts so you can make the reel complete again, if necessary.