Tacamo Magazine Fed Conversion Kit - 98 Custom

[[PX]IronFist]

I recently purchased a Tacamo magazine fed conversion kit for my old 98 custom in the hopes of giving it a bit of a facelift and also as a way to get a cheap mag fed gun. I purchased the kit from Tacitcal-Mod.ca, mostly because they were having a sale and they are located in Canada so shipping was reasonable and there was no duty (RAP4 is the American supplier). Here is the link:

http://tactical-mod.ca/index.php/parts-upgrades/for-tippmann-98/mag-fed-conversion-kit/tacamo-mag-fed-conversion-kit-for-tippmann-98.html

These kits are available for many Tippmann guns but i think they make the most sense on older guns like the 98 custom. I don't think I would be buying this kit for a new X7 since although it uses many of the internals of the original gun, it pretty much replaces everything else.

Here is my old gun:

The kit comes with a new receiver which can take the 20 round T68 RAP4 magazines, new trigger assembley, magazine attachment, and a 20 round magazine. Everything else will come from the old gun.

Here's the assembly diagram:

The first step was to disassemble my old model 98.

Next I removed all the guts (bolt, powertube/valve, striker,etc...) and put them into the new receiver. The powertube/valve is held on with two screws on the model 98 that require thread locker.

I assemled all the parts into the new receiver with the new trigger assembly. I also picked up a wooden AK style stock since they were on sale as well.

The next step was to install the sear and spring on the trigger. Unfortunately it turns out Tippmann changed the way the sear spring works at some point in the development of the 98 (no-one seems to know exactly when the change over happened) and this kit was designed to use the new style, while my gun has the old one. My sear is the pull spring style:

So I've had to stop the assembly at this point and have ordered a new style sear and spring from tippmannparts.com.

If you are using this kit on an Alpha Black/Tango One you won't have this problem as they all use the new style sear. I'll complete this guide/review once I have the new parts and can finish the assembly.

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

Very cool. Can you switch between hopper and mag on the fly? How much are additional mags?

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

Does the A5 kit suffer from the same issues you and I discussed in your shop?

[[PX]IronFist]

Yeah, I am pretty sure they are almost identical except designed to take the A5 internals.

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

So it would have the same problems? If no, it might be a better option for someone starting from scratch. Or maybe the BT-4 as it seems to be newer (ie. more standardized).

This kit combined with the dual drum would be............epic.

[[PX]IronFist]

So it would have the same problems? If no, it might be a better option for someone starting from scratch. Or maybe the BT-4 as it seems to be newer (ie. more standardized).

This kit combined with the dual drum would be............epic.

I guess I don't know what you mean by "problems". The only thing I can remember us talking about is that you can't quickly switch from mag fed to hopper fed (which I don't see as a problem).

I don't think there would be much advantage to starting from an A5 or a BT as they are not very different internally. You should really just start with the cheapest possible gun you can get your hands on that there is a kit for

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

I was referring to the sear (?) issues you encountered. Where you said they changed it but nobody could remember when.

If the other kits don't have that issue.......

[[PX]IronFist]

Oh, sorry...

Yeah the sear issue will only affect 98 Custom users, if your 98 Custom is newer and has a split receiver then there is a good chance you won't have a problem either. If you have the older 1 piece receiver then there is a chance you will have the same issue and it's hard to know which sear you have without disassembling your gun.

So from that standpoint the other kits would be better since there is less chance of having an issue. But the sear is only $8 new, so if you can get a super cheap old 98 it's probably still worth it.

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

Right, that's why if you don't have a 98 custom I was wondering if the other markers are known for that. If not, for someone starting fresh, they might be another option they should consider.

If you buy the dual drum you can carry an entire CASE of First Strikes. That adds a whole new element to our games. Especially since everything is pretty much no more than 250ft. H3ck, even the double 20 shot mag would totally change things.

[[PX]Kal Bob]

Have you been able to find any documentation that confirms that this mod will run on a Tango One?
I have not been able to find anything that confirms this.

[[PX]IronFist]

Have you been able to find any documentation that confirms that this mod will run on a Tango One?
I have not been able to find anything that confirms this.

There is definitely a kit for it:

http://www.rap4.com/store/paintball/tacamo-magazine-conversion-kit-for-us-army-carver-one

This one is for the Carver but as you know they are the same gun, just called the Carver in the US. Unfortunately this kit is not available on the site I ordered from (Tactical-Mod Canada) but you could order it direct from RAP4.
It might also be possible to use the kit for the 98 Custom or the Alpha Black since they have the same internals but there could be some parts missing or things you have to make yourself.

[[PX]Kal Bob]

lol, thanks for reminding me of that!
I forgot the Canadian Rename on that gun.

How goes the mod testing?

[[PX]IronFist]

I actually got the new sear from Tippmann parts and installed it. Here is the new push spring sear installed (circled in red):

But when I installed it in the gun it would only rapid fire (the sear was not catching the bolt on it's return stroke). Basically the gun was like a fully automatic and would fire as fast as it could as long as you were pressing the trigger. It was kind of cool but not really useful as the spring feed from the magazine could keep up for the first couple shots but then it would just chop all the rest of the paint.

It turns out the sear I ordered was for an e-trigger gun, so I have ordered the correct one and I'm just waiting for it to come. So if anyone needs an e-trigger sear for a tango/alpha/98 I have an extra one.

One modification that I did make while I had the gun apart was that I created a spacer on the lathe for the trigger spring to give the gun a more positive trigger pull. It's the aluminum piece at the bottom of the spring in this pic:

Makes the trigger much springier.

[THE JEW (RaVeN)]

How much harder is it to pull the trigger?

[[PX]IronFist]

I wouldn't say it's any harder to pull. But ask me again after I've played all day with it. On the plus side it's an easy mod to reverse if I don't like it.