After answering questions and helping a few people on Messenger learn the in's and out's about their newly purchased RT Classics, I thought I'd just compile that info into something more visible and permanent (hacking aside). This is just a heads up on what to look out for and what to expect to replace on a newly bought RT Classic by someone who's never owned one of these great markers before. The Automag RT Classic first came out in October of 1996, and was only in production for a few years until it was superseded by the improved RT Pro in '99. They are the odd man out in the 90's AGD lineup in many ways, the black sheep of the family. The RT Classic was AGD's top of the line, stand alone 'flagship' marker that wasn't really parts compatible with anything that came before or after by Airgun Designs. The legendary RT Valve, like it's modern X-Valve descendent, is capable of insane performance in terms of how fast the valve can cycle and fire a ball. Unfortunately, when the RT Classic was in production, there were several design and technological factors holding back this performance that wouldn't be remedied for a few years, by which time the RT Classic had already gone out of production. I like to think of the RT Valve in the factory stock RT Classic as like putting a Formula 1 race engine in a Camaro. It was just too much performance for the marker to make effective use of in the era it came out in. Thankfully, nowadays almost all of these problems or drawbacks can be corrected, but it has a few quirky aspects to it's design to be aware of that other mags don't.
Edit note: This info is just the things I've encountered with many RT Classics over the years. As always, your mileage may vary.
1. Firstly, because they are now over twenty years old, when buying a RT Classic the phrase “might need new orings” often means that the marker has it’s original factory orings and parts, and will probably need a full rebuild. Orings and seals have a shelf life, usually between five and ten years for best performance, before they become dried out and yellowed. Just because the marker will hold air and maybe even cycle without any leaks when you first air it up, that doesn't mean that it's performing as it should. Many times I've had old orings disintegrate in my hand just trying to remove them. RT parts kits from AGD are relatively cheap, especially for how long a new set of orings will last you, so just replace them if they look old. ONLY use correct AGD orings, or orings of the correct material and durometer. If you open up your valve and see black buna orings, say a silent prayer and just replace everything because the previous owner didn't know what he was doing.
2. For just the RT valve itself, if it has it's original parts, you’ll usually need a new RT reg pin and reg piston. If you plan on upgrading the original Lvl 7 bolt to a Lvl 10, then you will have to replace the reg piston anyways because Lvl 10 bolts run at a higher operating pressure, even though their gentler on paint. I don’t personally think Lvl 10 bolts are an absolute necessity, but they are nice to have, especially with fragile paint. I run Lvl 10 bolts on all of my RT Classics except one, and that one I only use tougher field grade paint with a Rotor to prevent chops. The reg pins are very important, and they have a tiny spring pack on them that can start falling apart after many years. I’ve actually had old ones fall apart after I pulled them out of the valve. There's a little hole at the end of the reg pin so you can insert a dental pick in there to make removing the pin easier. Once you have a new one, you can actually rebuild it if one of it’s two orings goes bad, but you can’t fix a broken spring pack. If you get a tiny leak that seems to come from the little pinhole on the side of the valve, there's usually a problem with your reg pin or some debris has gotten in there. The reg piston is not rebuildable, except for replacing the piston oring if your having velocity problems, but a new one should last for many years. It's very rare to have any need to replace the large and small regulator springs, unless one has somehow cracked or broken. You'll want to clean them and lightly re-grease them if they're covered in really thick, grimy, twenty year old grease though. The valve body itself is a slightly smaller diameter than other AGD valves, as the body covers most of the valve, and is not compatible with any other marker, nor is any other valve compatible with the RT Classics except another RT Classic valve.
3. The next possible problem is the original RT Classic sear. It was a new design that originally had a carbide insert on the top of the sear that was super hard, and supposed to last longer than the older mag sears. The problem was that they were actually too hard, to the point of being brittle, and could chip on the insert part as well as chew up bolt lips because of their hardness. AGD later went back to sears without carbide inserts. If yours still has one you’ll recognize it, it has a dark bar going along the top of the sear. I’d replace this with a new sear, especially if you buy a $100 Lvl 10 bolt too. Why risk chewing up a nice, expensive Lvl 10 bolt. If AGD doesn’t have a RT Classic sear in stock, the RT Pro one can work but you will probably have to adjust the sear arm length to RT Classic factory specs. Per Sandman of AGD, the Classic RT sear measures 1.935in from the tip of the rod to the back of the sear.
4. Also, you’ll want to upgrade the powerfeed plug to the newer style ‘parabolic’ powerfeed plug. The original ones had a curve on the inside with a flat spot that could cause jams in the powerfeed tube. Unfortunately, AGD didn’t figure this out for several years! The newer style parabolic plugs have two small holes drilled in the bottom of them, the old ones don’t so check yours. It’s a pretty cheap upgrade and it does make a difference, especially if you want to setup your RT to hit some higher bps rates.
5. The banjo bolt is it’s own quirky can of worms! They’re really not too tricky if you treat them right. They have three orings that must be in good condition, undamaged, with no nicks, in order to seal right. When installing them, it’s a good idea to loosen your front frame screw a bit because your trigger frame, rail and valve have to be in perfect alignment for it to screw in properly. I like to push against the back of the valve slightly with one hand to get the holes lined up right. If somethings off, the banjo bolt will jam up and not screw in all the way. DO NOT force it in, especially with an Allen wrench. This can damage the orings or worse, damage the rail or valve. Just back it out by hand and try again. Once you screw it in all the way finger tight, give it about a quarter turn with an Allen wrench so it’s nice and snug, but don’t go ape shit. The banjo bolt as well as the front frame screw need to be tight, but not too tight or it can throw things off and cause mysterious valve leaks if ones much tighter than the either. All mags have this quirk. The banjo bolt just requires a bit of finesse and care. I seriously almost never have a problem with installing banjo bolts, but AGD did switch back to the standard thumbscrews for every mag afterwards for a reason! Every once in a looong while when I’m playing with my RT Classics, the trigger will go dead for no reason. I found that the web of my hand rubbing against the banjo bolt over the coarse of a few games could slightly loosen the banjo bolt and cause the airflow passing through the banjo to shut off. I started just double checking my banjo bolt a couple times off the field during the day to make sure that never happens anymore. If you need to replace your banjo bolt orings, they can be the most frustrating orings to replace that you will ever find. It can seem impossible to do without damaging them, but I figured out a great way to do it without any problems. I take something like a small paintbrush with a tapered handle, then I generously oil the orings and roll them onto the paintbrush handle. Then gently I'll slowly roll them up the tapered handle to let them stretch wider without damaging them. You can even soak the orings overnight in oil to make it even easier. Once they've all been stretched a little and are more flexible, I use a dental pick and my fingers to put them on the banjo bolt. Without pre-stretching them first, 90 durometer banjo orings are a serious paint in the ass to work with.
6. One little thing you might want to remove that you can’t see is a tiny airline filter that AGD installed in the RT Classic to filter the air coming into the rail and valve. It’s located where the hardline elbow screws into the foregrip. When you remove that elbow you’ll see it and it should unscrew. AGD intended for these to be replaced every year, which of course nobody did. With hindsight it really is overkill, and I always remove them because there’s no need for anything that can restrict airflow even a tiny bit. Most guys don’t even know about this little part.
7. Lastly, and this is just my personal experience, the twistlock barrel system really sucks with modern paint. The detents just aren’t forceful enough because paint has gotten so much smaller, and the twistlock breach is humongous. This can cause double feeds or even chops if the balls are really small. I’ve almost completely converted my whole mag fleet to Doc’s cocker barrel adapters because of this. They use a little Spyder detent that works much better than the twistlock nubbins do, plus cocker barrel options are endless. It adds about an inch in length to any barrel, so a 12in barrel looks like a 13in on the marker, etc. I like using a Rotor on my RT's, and the Doc's adapter just lets me not have to worry about feeding problems.
Edit note: As Jordon and Ollson have noted below, you may have a twistlock barrel that has no problems with modern paint, and the loader you use. Twistlock barrel breaches weren't all the same size, or made to the same tolerance so it can vary a good bit. Paint size of course can vary wildy from place to place, and within the same batch. If your twistlock barrel is working fine with your paint, stick with it. I only began encountering problems with mine in the past couple years, so I made the move to Doc's adapters to solve the problem.
Another option for utilizing twistlock barrels is to upgrade the original AGD detents with a new one made by Bearded Works. These are an extended detent design that projects farther into the barrel breach than the older AGD detents did to work better with the smaller sized paint we often have to deal with now, compared to when these barrels were originally made over twenty years ago. Many people have had great results using these BW detents, so give them a look if you want to utilize your twistlock barrels.
Realistically, you can't do anything to make the RT Classic 'lighter' or much more gas efficient compared to a modern mech. If you have the cash and a bit of luck, you might snag one of the aluminum, cocker threaded RT Classic XMT bodies that were made in limited quantities, and that would be a decent weight savings. However, these guys are tanks anyway you slice it, way overbuilt and made to last a lifetime. They're just a product of a completely different era of the game, with different design priorities. Now, with forcefeed loaders, Lvl 10 bolts, parabolic powerfeed plugs, a Doc's adapter, and paired with a good high pressure tank reg, we can really let the RT Classic show it's true performance potential in a way that just wasn't possible in the time that it was made. It definitely stands out on the field, and it's neat to people that don't know anything about it how something so old can be capable of doing what it can do. I'd definitely recommend buying and fixing one up!
Edit note: This info is just the things I've encountered with many RT Classics over the years. As always, your mileage may vary.
1. Firstly, because they are now over twenty years old, when buying a RT Classic the phrase “might need new orings” often means that the marker has it’s original factory orings and parts, and will probably need a full rebuild. Orings and seals have a shelf life, usually between five and ten years for best performance, before they become dried out and yellowed. Just because the marker will hold air and maybe even cycle without any leaks when you first air it up, that doesn't mean that it's performing as it should. Many times I've had old orings disintegrate in my hand just trying to remove them. RT parts kits from AGD are relatively cheap, especially for how long a new set of orings will last you, so just replace them if they look old. ONLY use correct AGD orings, or orings of the correct material and durometer. If you open up your valve and see black buna orings, say a silent prayer and just replace everything because the previous owner didn't know what he was doing.
2. For just the RT valve itself, if it has it's original parts, you’ll usually need a new RT reg pin and reg piston. If you plan on upgrading the original Lvl 7 bolt to a Lvl 10, then you will have to replace the reg piston anyways because Lvl 10 bolts run at a higher operating pressure, even though their gentler on paint. I don’t personally think Lvl 10 bolts are an absolute necessity, but they are nice to have, especially with fragile paint. I run Lvl 10 bolts on all of my RT Classics except one, and that one I only use tougher field grade paint with a Rotor to prevent chops. The reg pins are very important, and they have a tiny spring pack on them that can start falling apart after many years. I’ve actually had old ones fall apart after I pulled them out of the valve. There's a little hole at the end of the reg pin so you can insert a dental pick in there to make removing the pin easier. Once you have a new one, you can actually rebuild it if one of it’s two orings goes bad, but you can’t fix a broken spring pack. If you get a tiny leak that seems to come from the little pinhole on the side of the valve, there's usually a problem with your reg pin or some debris has gotten in there. The reg piston is not rebuildable, except for replacing the piston oring if your having velocity problems, but a new one should last for many years. It's very rare to have any need to replace the large and small regulator springs, unless one has somehow cracked or broken. You'll want to clean them and lightly re-grease them if they're covered in really thick, grimy, twenty year old grease though. The valve body itself is a slightly smaller diameter than other AGD valves, as the body covers most of the valve, and is not compatible with any other marker, nor is any other valve compatible with the RT Classics except another RT Classic valve.
3. The next possible problem is the original RT Classic sear. It was a new design that originally had a carbide insert on the top of the sear that was super hard, and supposed to last longer than the older mag sears. The problem was that they were actually too hard, to the point of being brittle, and could chip on the insert part as well as chew up bolt lips because of their hardness. AGD later went back to sears without carbide inserts. If yours still has one you’ll recognize it, it has a dark bar going along the top of the sear. I’d replace this with a new sear, especially if you buy a $100 Lvl 10 bolt too. Why risk chewing up a nice, expensive Lvl 10 bolt. If AGD doesn’t have a RT Classic sear in stock, the RT Pro one can work but you will probably have to adjust the sear arm length to RT Classic factory specs. Per Sandman of AGD, the Classic RT sear measures 1.935in from the tip of the rod to the back of the sear.
4. Also, you’ll want to upgrade the powerfeed plug to the newer style ‘parabolic’ powerfeed plug. The original ones had a curve on the inside with a flat spot that could cause jams in the powerfeed tube. Unfortunately, AGD didn’t figure this out for several years! The newer style parabolic plugs have two small holes drilled in the bottom of them, the old ones don’t so check yours. It’s a pretty cheap upgrade and it does make a difference, especially if you want to setup your RT to hit some higher bps rates.
5. The banjo bolt is it’s own quirky can of worms! They’re really not too tricky if you treat them right. They have three orings that must be in good condition, undamaged, with no nicks, in order to seal right. When installing them, it’s a good idea to loosen your front frame screw a bit because your trigger frame, rail and valve have to be in perfect alignment for it to screw in properly. I like to push against the back of the valve slightly with one hand to get the holes lined up right. If somethings off, the banjo bolt will jam up and not screw in all the way. DO NOT force it in, especially with an Allen wrench. This can damage the orings or worse, damage the rail or valve. Just back it out by hand and try again. Once you screw it in all the way finger tight, give it about a quarter turn with an Allen wrench so it’s nice and snug, but don’t go ape shit. The banjo bolt as well as the front frame screw need to be tight, but not too tight or it can throw things off and cause mysterious valve leaks if ones much tighter than the either. All mags have this quirk. The banjo bolt just requires a bit of finesse and care. I seriously almost never have a problem with installing banjo bolts, but AGD did switch back to the standard thumbscrews for every mag afterwards for a reason! Every once in a looong while when I’m playing with my RT Classics, the trigger will go dead for no reason. I found that the web of my hand rubbing against the banjo bolt over the coarse of a few games could slightly loosen the banjo bolt and cause the airflow passing through the banjo to shut off. I started just double checking my banjo bolt a couple times off the field during the day to make sure that never happens anymore. If you need to replace your banjo bolt orings, they can be the most frustrating orings to replace that you will ever find. It can seem impossible to do without damaging them, but I figured out a great way to do it without any problems. I take something like a small paintbrush with a tapered handle, then I generously oil the orings and roll them onto the paintbrush handle. Then gently I'll slowly roll them up the tapered handle to let them stretch wider without damaging them. You can even soak the orings overnight in oil to make it even easier. Once they've all been stretched a little and are more flexible, I use a dental pick and my fingers to put them on the banjo bolt. Without pre-stretching them first, 90 durometer banjo orings are a serious paint in the ass to work with.
6. One little thing you might want to remove that you can’t see is a tiny airline filter that AGD installed in the RT Classic to filter the air coming into the rail and valve. It’s located where the hardline elbow screws into the foregrip. When you remove that elbow you’ll see it and it should unscrew. AGD intended for these to be replaced every year, which of course nobody did. With hindsight it really is overkill, and I always remove them because there’s no need for anything that can restrict airflow even a tiny bit. Most guys don’t even know about this little part.
7. Lastly, and this is just my personal experience, the twistlock barrel system really sucks with modern paint. The detents just aren’t forceful enough because paint has gotten so much smaller, and the twistlock breach is humongous. This can cause double feeds or even chops if the balls are really small. I’ve almost completely converted my whole mag fleet to Doc’s cocker barrel adapters because of this. They use a little Spyder detent that works much better than the twistlock nubbins do, plus cocker barrel options are endless. It adds about an inch in length to any barrel, so a 12in barrel looks like a 13in on the marker, etc. I like using a Rotor on my RT's, and the Doc's adapter just lets me not have to worry about feeding problems.
Edit note: As Jordon and Ollson have noted below, you may have a twistlock barrel that has no problems with modern paint, and the loader you use. Twistlock barrel breaches weren't all the same size, or made to the same tolerance so it can vary a good bit. Paint size of course can vary wildy from place to place, and within the same batch. If your twistlock barrel is working fine with your paint, stick with it. I only began encountering problems with mine in the past couple years, so I made the move to Doc's adapters to solve the problem.
Another option for utilizing twistlock barrels is to upgrade the original AGD detents with a new one made by Bearded Works. These are an extended detent design that projects farther into the barrel breach than the older AGD detents did to work better with the smaller sized paint we often have to deal with now, compared to when these barrels were originally made over twenty years ago. Many people have had great results using these BW detents, so give them a look if you want to utilize your twistlock barrels.
Realistically, you can't do anything to make the RT Classic 'lighter' or much more gas efficient compared to a modern mech. If you have the cash and a bit of luck, you might snag one of the aluminum, cocker threaded RT Classic XMT bodies that were made in limited quantities, and that would be a decent weight savings. However, these guys are tanks anyway you slice it, way overbuilt and made to last a lifetime. They're just a product of a completely different era of the game, with different design priorities. Now, with forcefeed loaders, Lvl 10 bolts, parabolic powerfeed plugs, a Doc's adapter, and paired with a good high pressure tank reg, we can really let the RT Classic show it's true performance potential in a way that just wasn't possible in the time that it was made. It definitely stands out on the field, and it's neat to people that don't know anything about it how something so old can be capable of doing what it can do. I'd definitely recommend buying and fixing one up!
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