I have a 704 greenie with the silver plate on the side in the family since I was at a young age. a couple of years ago I came across another greenie which I could not pass up. It turned out to be a lefty Penn 705 greenie w/ silver plate instead of what I thought was a Penn 704.

I want to fish the surf and the spinning reels that I have (Shimano Stratic 8000fh, Penn 7500ss, Shimano 6500b) are not reels that you want to dunk in salt water'

The 704 is more forgiving, reliable and easier to clean and maintain but I have a delima.

Do I sell the greenie Penn 704 & Penn 705 for a new Penn 706Z ?

I do not need that many reels to be happy, actually the fewer the better. I hope I will not regret letting go of the greenie 704 but I need to sacriface two reels to obtain the Penn 706z.
or a comprimise would be:

Do I sell the greenie Penn 705 lefty and Penn 7500ss for a new Penn 706z?

Your feedback is always appreciated.

THX

I have 2 green 704s and 2 black 704Z's. I've had a green and a black apart side by side, and I can tell you with a good bit of confidence that there is no difference in the internals.

Definitely sell the 7500. As far as which greenie to sell, it's up to you. If you're more comfortable cranking a spinning reel with your left hand, sell the 705.

One other option you have is keep both the 704 and 705, and buy a 706 spool, rotor cup and line roller. The cup and spool will fit on both a 704 and 705 body. A black cup and gold spool on a green body might look weird, but it'll work.

THX MikeP:

I agree, the Penn 7500ss and Penn 705 lefty greenie will soon be purged to the classified.

The black and green colors will create a few goods laughs and rolling eyes.

I could drill round holes in the original Penn 704 cup just like the Penn 706 cup if only the holes and not slotted holes, and add a bail-less mod and keep the original spool. This way the color is uniform throughout.

Would the same bail make any difference is it negligible?

Is the line roller part of the mod bail-less kit or is it a hop up part?

Also is the stock bail-less bail that is standard on the Penn 706z have this line roller that you speak of is is it also a hop up part?

Probably in the end it would be best to obtain a new Penn 706z and keep the Penn 704 greenie original ( maybe bail mod).

The manual conversion for the 704 uses the same roller that's on the bail. The kit consistes of the manual pick-up arm, and a replacement part that attaches to the opposite side of the rotor cup. That part has a slotted piece on the bottom that holds down the bail trip, so it doesn't clank when it hits the trigger on the main bearing washer every time the spool rotates.
The 706 uses a bigger line roller, and it rides on a ball bearing. I don't know if Penn includes the roller when you buy a spare rotor cup or you have to purchase the roller and bearing separately.

I have 2 green 704s and 2 black 704Z's. I've had a green and a black apart side by side, and I can tell you with a good bit of confidence that there is no difference in the internals.

The internals of the gold Penn 706z the same as the black Penn 706z if compared side by side with each other ?

I would believe they should be the same but did Penn use the same type of metal for the gears, pin, etc. and did the quality improve, declined or stayed the same?

I'm not a metalurgist, but the quality of the metal looks identical. Bronze main gear, stainless steel pinion and shaft. Those are the key internals. Everything else inside the reel is just along for the ride. The crosswind block and antireverse ratchet are either brass or bronze, and the antireverse dog is stainless.

One of my greens is over 30 years old. I had to replace the shaft once (cost less than $10 for a new one). That's the only thing inside any of my 4 704s I ever had to replace. Otherwise, just drag washers. I also have 2 black 706s.

Did the green version have a metal sideplate vs the plastic one on the newere versions? Just curious.
I have a 704 and 706 in the black body and spool. I like the all black, just to be a little different.

Originally posted by PurpelNoon
Did the green version have a metal sideplate vs the plastic one on the newere versions? Just curious.

Yup, that's about the only major difference.

The greenie Penn 704 Plus 30 years has a rectangular side plate that is silver with the penn logo painted on it.

Are there different types of side plates of the greenie Penn 704 that are not the rectangular silver type?

Yes, there are.

The original version of the reel was called the Penn 700. It was the same dark green as the original 706 and had a stainless steel base on the rotor cup. Basically the same inside as the 704.

The nest version was the 704 you have---mist green body and the silver side plate with the Penn logo and Spinfisher painted on it.

Later green 704s were also mist green, with a plain mist green plate that had a brass Penn medallion on the plate.