So I recently picked up a used 98 custom and bought what I feel are some pretty basic upgrades for it:

-Smart Parts pro touch grip

-maddog designs firetube and starfire bolt

-complete SS bolt kit

-GTA expansion chamber kit

-DOP Rocket cock

-adjustable drop forward

My main questions are about barrel and trigger options.....I'm pretty sure my gun is the not an ACT version (bought it used from a guy who knew very little about it other than he bought it for his son for xmas and already got a new one....blah blah blah).

I would like to get the E trigger but upon reading about it have heard it's only compatible with the ACT guns. is this true? if so is there another trigger that is is compatible with non-ACT guns that can be auto (or at least pretty close)?

As for barrels I've heard the flatline is by far the best but "fragile" and a bit of a PITA to setup. Is there something cheaper/easier top maintain anyone can reccomend...the stock barrel(think it's right around 10" or so) is ugly and not very accurate 

Currently it's stripped to the bare frame awaiting some new paint(it was pretty beat up....will post pics in the right forum when it's fully reassembled and working with all progress pics) also how do I really tell if I have an ACT gun? and is there a serial # on the frame anywhere I can get off of it to go look it up/register the gun(whether it's ACT or not)?

As for style of play, it's mainly just going out with friends to play around at local fields...nothing too serious so I don't need some real expensive stuff that's a **edited** to clean/maintain, just a little better/nicer than stock is all I want to have/deal with

any help is much appreciated.

hitman71 wrote: So I recently picked up a used 98 custom and bought what I feel are some pretty basic upgrades for it: -Smart Parts pro touch grip -maddog designs firetube and starfire bolt

I recommend against this.  Stock Tippmann Internals are the best.  You'll derive no benefit from these upgrades.  You may even find that theses will impair your marker's performance.  Aftermarket internal upgrades for Tippmanns are more of a gimmick than anything else.

-complete SS bolt kit

See above.

-GTA expansion chamber kit -DOP Rocket cock -adjustable drop forward My main questions are about barrel and trigger options.....I'm pretty sure my gun is the not an ACT version (bought it used from a guy who knew very little about it other than he bought it for his son for xmas and already got a new one....blah blah blah). I would like to get the E trigger but upon reading about it have heard it's only compatible with the ACT guns. is this true? if so is there another trigger that is is compatible with non-ACT guns that can be auto (or at least pretty close)? As for barrels I've heard the flatline is by far the best but "fragile" and a bit of a PITA to setup. Is there something cheaper/easier top maintain anyone can reccomend...the stock barrel(think it's right around 10" or so) is ugly and not very accurate

The Flatline Barrel for the 98s are a bit of a pain as far as set up and cleaning.  They are not 'fragile'.  You have to use decent quality small to medium bore paint to get the best performance.  The Flatline Barrels are no more accurate than any other barrel give or take.  Accuracy drops off the farther the paintball travels.  Great for longballing, but you're not going to get the 'one shot - one kill' from extreme distances like it's hyped up to be.  Pretty much the same goes for the Apex Barrel.  I own both, so I have experience with them.  If you truly want a good barrel for the money, a J & J Ceramic style barrel or a Lapco Barrel are your best bet.  Both companies have several barrels to choose from and are easy on the wallet.

Currently it's stripped to the bare frame awaiting some new paint(it was pretty beat up....will post pics in the right forum when it's fully reassembled and working with all progress pics) also how do I really tell if I have an ACT gun? and is there a serial # on the frame anywhere I can get off of it to go look it up/register the gun(whether it's ACT or not)?

I could be wrong, but ACT should be on the marker's grip and/or in the serial number itself.

As for style of play, it's mainly just going out with friends to play around at local fields...nothing too serious so I don't need some real expensive stuff that's a **edited** to clean/maintain, just a little better/nicer than stock is all I want to have/deal with any help is much appreciated.

Thanks for the help/input so far.

as for the "internal upgrades" I got it simply because the stock one had a crack in it and I found it cheaper than the tippmann piece. and I got the SS bolt kit because all the bolts had quite a bit of surface rust underneath all the crap that was on them.

For barrels I've heard CMI tru-flights are pretty good for the money. haven't checked into JJ or lapco too much though I'll do that asap.

From what I gather from the response trigger articles it can be setup to be almost fully auto(which would be nice for me as I tend to have a slow trigger finger)

Looked through the cocking area, only one spring visible and only one main spring in the gun(aside from the trigger and sear).

few more ?s:

Rear velocity adjusters....also a gimmick? seem very well priced if they work($15-25)

and because I've been really thinking about getting both the more I read about them:

the tippman cyclone feed system and  the response trigger, how hard would this be to setup? Something I could do myself as long as I follow the instructions or just let a shop install all that.

So if I decide to get a RT and cyclone feed I should probably stay away from the RVAs due to lack of "waste air"? or get one but let a pro tune it?

also for RTs: how easy is it to tune to get nearly full auto like I've been reading about?

EDIT: also my friend gave me a nitro. bottle to use.....is there any upgrades needed to accomodate the nitro over CO2?

hitman71 wrote: as for the "internal upgrades" I got it simply because the stock one had a crack in it and I found it cheaper than the tippmann piece.

Really?  How much did you pay for the Firetube and Starfire bolt?

hitman71 wrote: EDIT: also my friend gave me a nitro. bottle to use.....is there any upgrades needed to accomodate the nitro over CO2?

No.  Your marker will work with either C02 or HPA stock out of the box. 

I got it for 20 shipped. the 2 local places around here wanted like 9 for the part, highly reccomended a new valve and the 25/hour to install  ....they said the valve install was very labor intensive....LOL I just took out the one from the stock tube, wiped it clean, lubed the oring and put it in the new tube in less than 10 minutes

good to know about the nitro.

so total gun setup as of now(once it's all re assmbled):

Stock barrell(for now)

Custom painted/shaved frame (shaved off "tipmann" only leaving "Custom 98" and filled in the etched warning section then painted gloss black -> anodize blue)

stock loader setup(for now)

single trigger system(for now)

all the listed mods in the first post

should be a little nicer/easier to handle then when I fired it the day I got it

Don't plan on changing the trigger to a dual/fang style....don't like the feel. as for being legal on the fields, seeing as how it's just for fun and several players had fully auto angels and autocockers I doubt they'd say anything about me having a still semi-auto tippmann

Yeah only hoppers I'm really thinking of are the cyclone feed or using the one my friend gave me....a dye electric one but board need to be replaced or something. Thinking about just getting the dye fixed to sell it on ebay and buying the cyclone feed system.

so decided to pick up a few more small upgrades while my gun is still apart:

ended up deciding on a CMI tru flight 16" barrel. got it for only 25 bucks brand new and according to a few other forums these are one of the best under 50 bucks.

also got a 32 degrees rear velocity adjuster for only 7 bucks, thought this was a steal so I had to get it.

Mad dog spring kit

and because I lost a couple of the dowel pins when I took it apart 2 of the universal parts kits.

Not 100% positive but I think that's how it works as well. luckily my gun is non ACT so no issues there.

Future upgrades(maybe sometime this summer:

cyclone feed system and Response trigger  

got the frame and all internals from my house so by tommorrow I should be creating a build thread with all the pictures from starting point -> current state. pretty stoked on how the paint came out.