Prolite: What Do I Need to Know?

[Toestr]

I'm thinking of picking up a Prolite as part of a lot with some other things I'm interested in. The Prolite itself is listed for $50 plus shipping. Seems to be in good external condition, is missing the barrel and has a VASA. Thoughts on the price?

Anything else I should look out for? Any parts that go bad? I'm aware of the rear sight coming off and losing the linkage? Any solutions to this?

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[Meleager7]

you'll probably need co2 . But some i've heard will handle hpa. Not too sure what accounts for different reports from other members on here. Mine favours co2, only shoots around 240 on hpa

[djeclypse]

I have a Pro Lite that shoots "ok" on a 950 psi tank. 255-275, very wide fluctuations. If you want a GOOD barrel for it, look into a J&J or Lapco, make sure they are the thinner barrels otherwise you have to bore out the front shroud slightly to fit the barrel. If you want a stock well used barrel I have 1. They share many parts with the pro carbine: shroud and feedneck assembly and bits, back cap, top sight, I believe much of the trigger assembly is the same but I'm not sure. The linkage arms ARE NOT compatible. There is a slight variance and neither will shoot correctly if swapped. Don't ask lol. Also, the front bolts are not the same length, but as I recall using the bolt from the Lite in the PC, or vice versa, is an old school upgrade.

Do you have a picture? The pro lite shipped with a gas thru grip so I'm curious how the VASA is fed. Or is it set to directly connect the bottle to the VASA? I could see a heavy front weight imbalance with that setup. Those VASA are gold for those who like to tinker and upgrade their PC and PL. If you look to part it out, I am definitely interested. There was an aftermarket grip frame from tippmann that converted the PL to bottomline ASA, maybe that's what is on the PL?

As for the sight, there were 2 versions. Old style was an aluminum with a double set screw setup. It wasn't as long as the later plastic model but it looks nicer. The later model is a somewhat hard yet flexible plastic sight that slides with friction over the rail and has a little block that sits in the middle separation of the rail, holding it in place. I would assume those were PC only as the earlier PC had the aluminum sights and the lite was out of production. They are interchangeable. Just make sure your set screws are tight, maybe use some blue loctite or the purple vibratite.


Depending on how many shots, the sear may be worn down. But that would have to be ALOT of shots. Like 10 years a rental level shots. Drive spring will go bad, they are standard Tippmann drive springs, buy a kit and figure out what tension works best for you. Not sure if the spring guide pin is still available, so be careful with it. It is a different length from the pro carbine IIRC. Detent is the standard Tippmann in use since the Revolution. The detent retaining plate and screw are small and easily lost, so I recommend NOT removing at the field. They are still available at TippmannParts.

One easy "upgrade" is to polish all moving metal parts with a metal polish, I used brasso to start and finish with NevrDull. Also, if you fully disassemble, you can use a dowel in a drill with a rag and do a quick polishing of the tube itself. Be careful of the air fitting to the valve, there is a small oring that likes to deteriorate and fall out. I forget the size. The threads also strip easily.

As for value, 50 for a needs work PL seems ok, but you can get them cheaper. The VASA is the kicker here as they have a market and are pretty much unavailable nowadays. If you are looking to keep, I'd ask some questions about the wear items and try to bargain down based on that. If they are good then that's less cost for you refurbishing. If you are looking to fix and flip, you'd probably make your money back and a tad more, but I'm basing that mostly on the VASA.

[Toestr]

I have a Pro Lite that shoots "ok" on a 950 psi tank. 255-275, very wide fluctuations. If you want a GOOD barrel for it, look into a J&J or Lapco, make sure they are the thinner barrels otherwise you have to bore out the front shroud slightly to fit the barrel. If you want a stock well used barrel I have 1. They share many parts with the pro carbine: shroud and feedneck assembly and bits, back cap, top sight, I believe much of the trigger assembly is the same but I'm not sure. The linkage arms ARE NOT compatible. There is a slight variance and neither will shoot correctly if swapped. Don't ask lol. Also, the front bolts are not the same length, but as I recall using the bolt from the Lite in the PC, or vice versa, is an old school upgrade.

Do you have a picture? The pro lite shipped with a gas thru grip so I'm curious how the VASA is fed. Or is it set to directly connect the bottle to the VASA? I could see a heavy front weight imbalance with that setup. Those VASA are gold for those who like to tinker and upgrade their PC and PL. If you look to part it out, I am definitely interested. There was an aftermarket grip frame from tippmann that converted the PL to bottomline ASA, maybe that's what is on the PL?

As for the sight, there were 2 versions. Old style was an aluminum with a double set screw setup. It wasn't as long as the later plastic model but it looks nicer. The later model is a somewhat hard yet flexible plastic sight that slides with friction over the rail and has a little block that sits in the middle separation of the rail, holding it in place. I would assume those were PC only as the earlier PC had the aluminum sights and the lite was out of production. They are interchangeable. Just make sure your set screws are tight, maybe use some blue loctite or the purple vibratite.


Depending on how many shots, the sear may be worn down. But that would have to be ALOT of shots. Like 10 years a rental level shots. Drive spring will go bad, they are standard Tippmann drive springs, buy a kit and figure out what tension works best for you. Not sure if the spring guide pin is still available, so be careful with it. It is a different length from the pro carbine IIRC. Detent is the standard Tippmann in use since the Revolution. The detent retaining plate and screw are small and easily lost, so I recommend NOT removing at the field. They are still available at TippmannParts.

One easy "upgrade" is to polish all moving metal parts with a metal polish, I used brasso to start and finish with NevrDull. Also, if you fully disassemble, you can use a dowel in a drill with a rag and do a quick polishing of the tube itself. Be careful of the air fitting to the valve, there is a small oring that likes to deteriorate and fall out. I forget the size. The threads also strip easily.

As for value, 50 for a needs work PL seems ok, but you can get them cheaper. The VASA is the kicker here as they have a market and are pretty much unavailable nowadays. If you are looking to keep, I'd ask some questions about the wear items and try to bargain down based on that. If they are good then that's less cost for you refurbishing. If you are looking to fix and flip, you'd probably make your money back and a tad more, but I'm basing that mostly on the VASA.

Here's a picture, excuse the quality. It's the highest Tapatalk allows.

I already have an A5 J&J barrel so that's good to hear.

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[djeclypse]

I'm not that familiar with the VASA for the pro lite. Definitely different from the Carbine. It honestly looks like this is setup for dual bottle, much like many did with the VM68 back when. Same time period, so probably is. Doesn't have noticeable field rash, and was certainly never a rental. Tbh curious if it ever saw the field. I'd try to get it for 50 shipping included, but it seems like an honest price. So your basics: clean, orings, detent, drive spring. I'd be surprised though if you COULDN'T use it as soon as it arrived. It's a tippmann.

[Tippster]

What you've got there Is the "mini-lite"! It's a Pro-lite with a vertical asa, has the plug so you can run a vertical tank, back or both. I heard a story about a guy that would put a 3.5 oz tank on the front and a larger on the back with an on-off asa. He'd shoot the 3.5 til it was out of air, then switch on the other tank and get those that thought he was out of air/co2 😁

Edit: Also, some of the modern A5 barrels have longer threads and will cause the bolt to get stuck, just kind of trial and error or not screwing the barrel in all the way for this.

[djeclypse]

[QUOTE=Tippster;n185658]What you've got there Is the "mini-lite"! It's a Pro-lite with a vertical asa, has the plug so you can run a vertical tank, back or both.[QUOTE]

Any idea on value?

[djeclypse]

What you've got there Is the "mini-lite"! It's a Pro-lite with a vertical asa, has the plug so you can run a vertical tank, back or both. I heard a story about a guy that would put a 3.5 oz tank on the front and a larger on the back with an on-off asa. He'd shoot the 3.5 til it was out of air, then switch on the other tank and get those that thought he was out of air/co2 😁

Edit: Also, some of the modern A5 barrels have longer threads and will cause the bolt to get stuck, just kind of trial and error or not screwing the barrel in all the way for this.

Tippster, any idea about value?

[Tippster]

Not 100% sure, I'd say $50 is a fair price especially if it works. I paid $60 for mine a few months back on ebay.

[Toestr]

Update: includes a short barrel (ends at the foregrip) and cycles fine on HPA. Asking price is sounding good to me. Any thoughts?

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[Chappy]

Hell ya at $50

[uglyduckling]

Yep, that's a mini-lite, its worth the 50. The drive spring is NOT the same as newer tippmanns btw