Hi Capa 4.3 Race Pistol Project

[xxlycan]

Hello everyone,

I am building my first race pistol off my TM Hi capa 4.3... My goal is to have a 7" pistol with a seemore that has been internally upgraded to shoot extremely accurately with a fast and crisp cycle.

 

I'm hoping to leech off of everyone's knowledge of GBB race pistol building and tuning to create a knowledge base that anyone else looking to build a race pistol can have access to.

When I have finished my pistol I'm going to turn this post into a tutorial with guides on how to install each individual thing and the effects that it will have on the gun.

 

At the bottom of this first post I will write the things that I need to do currently and the things that I need help with.

 

 

Upgrades that I have already installed:

• Guarder 150% Recoil spring
  
• Guarder 150% Hammer spring
  
• PDI 6.01mm (4.3 length) tightbore
  

 

Upgrades which I have but haven't installed:

• Shooters Design piston head
  

Upgrades that I am going to purchase in the future:

• PDI Palsonite 7" 6.01 Tightbore
  
• Shooters Design SPHD Signature Metal Slide
  
• Shooters Design Type 2 compensator (2 tone)
  
• Shooters Design DOM Flared mag well (Silver)
  
• Shooters Design Trigger (Red)
  
• Element Seemore (Red)
  
• 5KU Round cocking handle (Black)
  

Accessories that I have purchased:

• 1.5" IPSC Belt (Black)
  
• King Arms Triple Mag Pouch (2)
  
• Hi Capa 4.3 Holster (Black)
  
• Hi capa 4.3 Magazine (4) (Black)
  
• Hi capa 4.3 Magazine (3) (Silver)
  

Accessories that I am going to purchase:

• Belt mounted drop pouch
  
• Belt mounted IPSC Speed holster
  

Listed above is everything that I am going to put in to my race gun and purchase for it as of now. Any suggestions of what else to get would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

What I currently need help on:

• Does anyone know how to install the Shooters Design piston head on the 4.3? If so, please tell me, as I have no clue.
  

 

Thank you very much,

Lycan

[Dagonet]

I like these projects

 

Right i dont have the same bits as your using, this may be helpful. I have TM G17

 

Piston head.

Remove the slide. Now remove the BBU from the slide, this may have a retaining screw, and /or be a tight fit, you may have to spread the slide slightly to get the BBU to pop out. There will be a long thin spring sitting in a channel on top of the unit, it may fly off.

Then remove the loading Nozzle, again i had to use mild force to spread the BBU to allow the loading nozzle to be removed. Pull it fowards, then hinge it up-wards and it will pull free. The stock TM head is now in view, and may have some slight play on the retaining stub.

 

I have a TM G17 and installed a Action alloy piston head. The stock TM head was removed from the blowback unit, and the Action head should just swap over.

 

However, the head sits on stub, with the allenhead or screw going through to retain it.

I had to bore out the rear of the Action head so it would slip over the stub. The new head is fixed the old TM head had some play.

 

Next issue was getting it all back together again, as the new head is a much tighter fit. The loading nozzle spring on top of the BBU is not strong enough to cycle the nozzle. In use the nozzle would not retract, if the slide is not short stroked this is not a problem. This has got better over time. I can run a small short stroke spacer on the slide now.

 

I never looked but there may be a take down guide somewhere. I just went on the parts picture that came with the G17.

[xxlycan]

Thanks for the advice Dagon however I will wait until I get some more tips before doing it as it sounds harder than I initially thought .

[mimesis]

You should go to youtube, find LaZouche Custom, and watch a few of his videos. You'll find them very helpful.

 

I see you've bought a lot of external accessories; you should perhaps consider trying out a few more combinations of internal upgrades.

 

Anyway, on to the piston head. As already explained, it's pretty simple. You unscrew the screw in the back of the slide (where the hammer hits), slide out the rear sight, and the BBU drops down with the small long spring.

 

You pull the loading nozzle forward and then angle it up. Take care not to damage the tab on the back of the nozzle that rides in the slot where the spring goes. The nozzle will only come out of the metal housing one way; just experiment (gently) to find the exact angle.

 

The piston head is now exposed. Find a phillips head screwdriver that's a good fit for the screw in the middle of the piston head. Unscrew. Pop off the piston head (it may need some persuasion). Install new one and do everything in reverse to reinstall. The tricky part is getting the BBU back in the slide with the spring sitting where it's supposed to sit (the narrower end, with the tighter coils, goes to the rear). People have different methods. I just keep everything right side up (you can't see what you're doing) and just go by feel.

 

Loading nozzle and piston head. Lube the O-ring on the piston head a little. Check to see how the loading nozzle moves back and forth over the piston head/O-ring. You want a good seal, but you don't want the nozzle's movement being impeded at all. As you've gone with Shooters Design, you might want to pick up their white POM loading nozzle set, and try that too.

 

Other good piston heads are made by Nine Ball and PDI. Airsoft Surgeon does a BBU with an integral red piston, but then you'd need an AS nozzle too. If you stick with the TM nozzle, which is fine, perhaps try the NB or PDI piston head as well as the SD and see which gives you best results.

 

A high performing gun is about tolerances (fine), tuning, and fitment. Unfortunately, you can't just slap high-quality parts together. Even parts from the same manufacturer may need some work (I found mold ridges on SD's POM valve blocker), and combining parts from good-quality manufacturers may be even trickier.

[Dagonet]

what mimesis said.

 

To back it up. Just because a part is listed as fitting what you have, don't be surprised if it dosen't just drop fit. Expect to do some extra work, some fine file work to the slide or the BBU. Mixing brands/parts may drive you nuts with fitment issues, or just slip together.

 

 

I went Glock so haven't watched Lazouche's how to films. He is on here and lurks in the 1911 picture thread. Glocks are simple beasts...and ugly, but simple to work on, downside is lack of choice for upgrades.

 

 

Good research tool is 1911 or 2011 picture threads, over 400pages of technical chatter little tips and loads of stunning photos. Airsoft canada forum has a good one, some good stuff in airsoft forum as well. Hi-cappas (2011s) are the most popular base for tuning up, the research material is out there (damn i should have got one, maybe later )

[xxlycan]

Thank you very much to both of you. I am going to watch a few vids by LaZouche. When I have googled how to do this (And I have actually spent hours searching) I never seem to be able to find anything so maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing.

I'll try and put in the piston head when I have some time, however the one thing I am concerned about is the spring. Will it be easy to tell where it's supposed to go?

 

Also, the SD piston head came with a new spring... should I put that in and replace the original one?

[mimesis]

LaZouche Custom has his own channel on youtube. He has dozens of videos. Just search something like hi-capa disassembly or take-down and you'll find what you're looking for.

 

There is a slot in the upper casing of the BBU where the spring goes--you can't miss it. It's off to one side, and that tab on the back of the nozzle rides back and forth in the slot. You insert the spring when the nozzle is fully pushed into the BBU--it'll be obvious. The spring is only just longer than the slot, so it's easy to get in. When the BBU is installed, the spring is held in place by the inside "roof" of the slide.

 

I'm guessing that the spring that came with the SD piston head is actually the rocket valve spring and not the nozzle/BBU spring. This latter is perhaps 1.5mm wide and 10mm long.

 

The nozzle has some moving parts inside it. These can be changed if you wish. You need to undo a very very tiny phillips head screw. I recommend getting some good quality jewelers screwdrivers. During my last build (see 2011 picture thread) I put in a Nine Ball rocket valve spring that came with a NB piston head that I'd bought, but it didn't work as well as a softer MAG brand spring, so the stock TM spring may be just fine.

[hwagan]

I'd give the Element Seemore a miss - See if you can find a better brand clone maybe. Unfortunately I can't recommend one, but I can tell you the Element version decides which brightness level it's going to be with every shot on a GBB. They seem to work fine on AEG's, but the kick of a GBB messes with them something awful.

[xxlycan]

Thanks for your advice hwagan... Unfortunately I don't have any idea which brand of C-More I should go for.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

I won't be able to try and install the piston head until Thursday due to the fact that the safety on my hi capa is not locking and flops up and down so I left it with my club armourer. Does anyone know how I can fix that? If so, I can pick up my hi capa at any time and attempt to do it myself.

 

Thanks,

Lycan

[mimesis]

Check you haven't lost the detent pin or the spring for the detent pin.

[xxlycan]

This would be a good time to mention that I've never upgraded a pistol before and through this project I am hoping to learn the ins and outs so that in the future I can help anyone else that may need help as well as building a collection of high end pistols.

 

In other words, what is a detent pin?

[xxlycan]

Sorry for the double post but I can't find the edit button.

 

Can someone recommend me a good race pistol sight? I need something that I can adjust the brightness for, won't break and I know I can rely on.

 

Cheers

[mimesis]

On the left hand side of the pistol, right above the grip, there's a little hole. A pin emerges from the front of the hole and keeps the slide catch/release in the down position until the piece in the magazine pushes it up to engage with the cut-out in the slide.

 

Invisible from view is a spring.

 

Another pin emerges from the rear of the hole and engages with the thumb safety, encouraging it to stay in the down position until your thumb pushes it up.

 

These are the two detent pins and spring.

 

Have a look on DenTrinity. Last time I was there they had a clone C-more for ~$100 in grey (black sold out) that was supposed to be the best replica around.

[fabien]

yes, look at lazouche and then also read airsoft barrack article on the hi-capa cusomization....http://airsoft-barracks.com/site/index.php/articles-and-tutorials/gas-guns/24-complete-hicapa-guide I JUST NOTICE THAT THE LINK DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE too bad, it was a good reading.

i wanted to do the same and i end up only changing the inner barrel for a 6.01 pdi but after few month i think a 6.03 would have been better... i did have few bb bursting out of my tracer!