Vertical adapter modification
Let Us Indulge
The fist thing needed to be done is stripping the whole marker down of parts including the valve. Most all of this info can be seen in the field stripping article in the SPPS tech section. The only thing that wasn't done in that article was removing the trigger frame and valve assembly. To remove the trigger frame you simply remove the 2 screws holding it to the body with an allen wrench. To remove the valve you first need to remove the screw holding the VA to the body then pull the VA from the bottom tube. With the trigger frame, rear cap and striker removed, remove the brass valve body screw from the bottom of the marker body with a screwdriver. Using a plastic or wooden object such as a dowel rod, push the valve body towards the front of the marker body through back portion of the bottom tube. All that should be left now is the valve stop pin in the bottom tube of the marker body. No need in removing that component for what we're doing here.
Now that everything is removed and broken down we may as well start by installing the Magnaport valve body back into the marker body in the reverse order as you just removed the stock valve. If you don't already have one you can either purchase one from the SPPS paintball upgrades section or make your own following the directions in the home mod Magnaport valve article in the paintball tech info section of the SPPS website. You can start by putting some paintball oil on your finger and rubbing it in the inside diameter of the front portion of the bottom tube of the marker body. Now apply some more lube to the o-rings of the valve body. Insert the Magnaport valve body in the bottom tube making sure the hole for the valve screw is facing the bottom of the body. Push it all the way in until it hits the valve body stop pin then reinstall the brass valve body screw. Just prior to putting the screw in, put a drop of blue Loctite on the threads of the screw so it will stay in place without rattling out. Wipe up any excess Loctite after torquing the screw down.
Part Modifications
Let's modify some parts now. Just follow the instructions provided in the links attached to the words of this article in either green or purple letters. We'll start by using a pipe cutter to make the shorty barrel. Do not cut the barrel any shorter than 6" because it takes a high pressure marker at least 6" of travel to push the ball through the barrel to maximum velocity. Now let's polish the bolt and striker, bevel the face of the bolt, remove the venturi, lighten the bolt by drilling some excess weight from it and modify the vertical adapter shown in the LP Spyder free mods article. When modifying the VA, be sure not to open it up too much. If you do you may find yourself trying to tame too high a velocity. Make the hole so it is no larger than the one in the photograph of the LP mod article. Adding the swoosh-air bolt insert mod is another you may consider while modifying the bolt. Drill and tap the rear of the bolt and install the Autococker cocking rod to the back of the bolt as shown in the rear cocking Spyder bolt article if you should choose to make it rear cocking. As if that wasn't enough to keep you busy, let us do the Spyder mechanical trigger job to smooth out the action of that stiff trigger with long pull. Jeez! You've performed the greater percentage of Spyder mods in the SPPS tech section and you're still not done. Isn't this fun?
If utilizing this particular body style for your pistol and you change it to rear cocking, you can make a metal or plastic cover for the slot on the left side of the body that was there for the initial side cocking pin that screwed into the striker. Make the cover at least 1/8" - 1/4" past the ends of the slot so you can use some epoxy to hold the plate to the body. I replaced the set screw type velocity adjuster in the back cap with a finger dial style velocity adjuster. This was just my preference, either will suffice just fine. If you'd like a beaver tail since you've converted to rear cocking, you can attach an Autococker beaver tail to the rear trigger frame screw. You'll probably need to use a slightly longer screw to make up for the extra thickness of the beaver tail.
Putting It All Together
Well, now that all of the mods are completed it's time to throw this schweet little baby back together so you can test and tune it. The Magnaport valve body is already installed so that's been done. We'll start by installing the stock valve pin, stock(or heavy from a spring kit) valve spring and star cup seal guide. Assemble all and attach it back into the VA. Since we have opened up the flow so much by utilizing the LP mods, we want to minimize the flow at the valve by using the somewhat restrictive stock valve pin and heavy valve spring to help control the velocity. Apply one drop of Gold Cup or similar oil to each o-ring on the VA. Insert it in the marker body and hold the VA in place with the screw that held it together initially. Screw the LPC into the VA.
We'll move on to installing the internals next. Insert the bolt and striker into the upper and lower tubes. Now install the light striker spring, rubber buffer, spring guide, small aluminum velocity adjuster disk and back cap. Insert the quick strip pin and clip to hold everything in place. Start off using the light striker spring and if the velocity is not up to par, replace it with a medium striker spring to increase the velocity. Since you've opened the internals up so much, using the light striker spring along with the stock valve pin and heavy valve spring should get you where you want to be velocity wise. This combination worked perfectly for me the first time I used it. Since Spyder's aren't made to strict close tolerances and you may not have performed your modifications exactly the same as I, your Spyder may require a different spring combination. All the information I have provided you with here should be a good starting point anyways.
All that's left to do now is attach the trigger frame with the two screws that held it together initially. I wanted to use a mechanical trigger frame with this marker since this configuration has it's limitations with ball and propellant capacity. I made this configuration with more a slower rate of fire in mind. If you perform the trigger mod half way proficiently, you should have no problem pulling 6 - 8bps. I like this slower configuration because it forces me to use skill over accuracy by volume. Challenging yourself is a great way to tune in on your skills. All that's needed to do now is screw the barrel on and you're ready to tune this sweet little pistolliver.
Tuning
Tuning should really not be too difficult. You have to be in the frame of mind as to what you've done here. You've taken a high pressure marker and added a high flowing valve body and high flowing LP mods to it. Using a heavy valve spring and light striker spring should be your best bet for tuning. It should accomplish the velocity you want and keep the marker at a decent efficiency level. Using a lighter striker spring will yield less felt recoil as well. I've used my 14" J&J ceramic barrel with this marker before and found that it is a bit better efficiency wise and uses the light spring much better than the 6" cut stock barrel. It most likely has to do with the quality of the barrels but also has to do with the travel length and amount of pressure it takes to eject the ball to maximum velocity through the barrel. In any case, I average about 250+ shots from the small 4oz bottle I use with this marker. Rule of foot in tuning this particular marker configuration is; stay with a heavy as possible valve spring and light as possible striker spring.
Using The Compact/Compact In Play
The only time I use this particular marker is for either speedball, hyperball or close quarters scenario games. It's certainly not the type of marker one would use for woods or longballing opponents. I use 10 round tubes to fill the hopper and carry only 200 rounds and the hopper filled when in play since it will only give me relatively that many shots from one 4oz bottle. As I stated earlier, it's a great little marker to use when you feel like challenging yourself. If you can survive a close quarters game with this type of marker, you can easily gain a great deal of respect from other players. You can either hold on to the front bottle as a grip or hold it in a Weaver type grip. With its small size and weight, it's perfect for snap shooting and a lot less bulky than a regular larger configured marker. It's an excellent marker for shooting around corners because there is no big bulky bottle to restrict your movement. It's really a fun little marker to use. On top of all that, it certainly was a great learning experience configuring this little Compact/Compact.
Technical Information
