minimum lure weight for an ambassadeur

Do you even tension knob baw?

8 lb test line or thin braid. Heavier line is harder to cast with lighter lures.

All that said, don't expect to cast 1/8 oz lures bast 15 feet without the world's biggest ball of bullshite

45 and 55

If you don't throw into the wind, put the wind at your back, and adjust your brake you should be able to throw 1/4 oz without issue.

On setting the brake you should be able to hit the slack button and the lure barley starts to fall towards the ground without any help from you is about right. Of course if you throw it and you get a birds nest your brake is too loose tighten it up. I still have a bunch of 5500's and they can throw a 1/4 oz bait with no problem, it just takes practice you will get it. Also I use 15 lb big game mono on mine not saying that's what you need to use just that is what I use and it works for me.

I cringe to say this, but you can cast light lures with an ambassadeur by just muscling it. It's not going to be the wrist action you usually use, it's going to be more of an arm action. I used to fish 1/16oz beetle spins like that with an old C3 on a golf course. It's not ideal but you can get the job done if you're in a pinch.

Ambassadeur just isn't the best for that application.

I use ambassaduers for saltwater fishing. When bass fishing I don't use ambassadeurs. Lews makes a damn good reel that's cheap and easy to cast.

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Ambassadeur just isn't the best for that application.

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Oh I agree with this.

It is people don't know how to use the old Abu Garcia 4500 reels. Mostly the younger generation that really doesnt know what a real reel can do. I got a few of the old Abu Garcia 1000 from the 80's that I can put the new plastic cheaply made Korean and Chinese made reels including Lews under the bus.

4500C you can take the spool bearings out.
Clean out the bearings in lighter fluid, let the bearings dry, and put back in. If you change the bearings to ceramic bearings you will have to adjust your spool tension.
You can also use different weight brakes which came with the reels back in the day. Now if you want to have fun put in ceramic bearings and it is a casting machine. If you get a divet in your spool tension shim just turn it over. I have a few that still cast like a dream from the 1980's. Ps: want to get real crazy and throw light stuff mike's reel parts sells a machined cog wheel. Man you can throw some small stuff with a lot of control for $20 investment. Sometimes I buy used 4500C reels that are trashed for $15 and rebuild them for fun and resell them. My total investment is around $60 with parts (cog wheel, ceramic bearings, new drags, misc damaged parts, new composite pawl, etc. These reels can blow the doors off anything that is out there under the $259 price point if done right for less than $100.

Abu Garcia 1000 series is one of the original free spools. They made these to compete with the real Lews reels originally made by shimano, then ryobi, browning, and finally quantum/zebco. If you clean them up, put new spool brakes on them, and ceramic bearings they can throw some extremely light lures even better than the new Lews Chinese or Korean reels. They will also out last a Lews reel. These reels were made in the 1980's and I still see them around and I have red one, silver one, black one in primo shape. Parts are getting hard to find. At the end of the day they work and I got mine in primo shape.

My prized reels for my Japanese Daiwa reels.
These reels are made for finesses fishing. These reels are in a different league and the price tag reflects that.

You didn't mention the rod.

Length and action (fast or very fast -- as opposed to an old fashion "worm rod")make a difference.