WillieK
It was a great reel for surf 20 years ago.You can obviously still use it but one cannot for performance compare it with the latter-day multipliers.It is probably the 2 speed version that you got and should be ok for surf applications.The retrieval might just be a bit slow for fishing off ledges where your sinker may get stuck in front if reeling in too slow.
.43-45MM line should give you about the best of both worlds insofar as capacity and breaking strain goes (it does not hold a lot of line by todays standards,can be solved by using backing)..
Having said all of this,I can assure you that many fish have been caught along our coastline using old Abu 10 000 reels and in various other sizes,they seem to be indestructible.
ps.They can be made very user-friendly when casting,use both the end-caps to centre the spool and tighten up a tiny notch when overwinds occur.
