68 Special: Out of the box Specifications

Tippmann Pneumatics 68 SPECIAL

Top half are the accessories that were available at the time: Stock Tippmann 20oz Siphon tank with generic buttstock, 100 Rnd Viewloader hopper (the biggest the store had but its expandable), Stock Tippmann Sniper Barrel, generic hopper adapter (painted pipe fitting). Shown in the lower half of the box is what you got. Owners manual, patch, spare O-rings, The 68 SPECIAL, 40 Rnd hopper, 7oz siphon tank, squeegee, sling and filler adapter with rubber washer. The marker with no accessories was purchased new in 1991 for $369.00+tax. This was their display marker, the 68 Specials were back-ordered with no scheduled delivery date. I can't remember what the accessories cost, they were purchased later. In those days stock Tippmann parts were expensive.
I have seen a number of recent 68 Special sales, all claiming to be in excellent condition, complete and original straight from the box. Most were actually in poor condition and damaged with ill fitted mods, as well as having non-Tippmann or missing original parts. I am posting this to show what really came in the box. Sorry, It's NOT FOR SALE, so please don't ask.

This is from the manual. Compare this to the ridiculous number of parts in modern markers. The earliest 68-Special design is shown on this diagram. Receiver tube is SMG-60 without the safety, the receiver is not yet milled for the valve retainer spacer which is not shown. Valve has not been milled for the valve retainer spacer.  Trigger is SMG-60 Gen2. Power tube is of first run design.. There is a roll pin under valve from SMG-60 Gen2 on this model. I have rendered from this diagram an accurate exploded view and parts list of the last model that I will upload at a later date.

Specifications of the Tippmann 68 SPECIAL

Caliber:........................................................................................................68
Power:.................................................................CO2 (7 oz. siphon cylinder)
Mag. Capacity...........................................................................................50+
CO2 Capacity..............................................................225 shots per cylinder
Cycle Rate:......................................................................................300 RPM
Standard Barrel Length.............................................................................11"
Length-Overall:..........................................................................................32"
Weight:....................................................................................................4.8 lb.
Effective Range:..................................................................................150+ ft.
Action:..........................................................Semi-auto (open bolt blow-back)
Tippmann Stock SNIPER Barrel Length...................................................16"

One thing to consider along with the roundness quality when selecting paint is the paint ball diameter size and size consistency. The 68 cal paintballs vary in size depending on the manufacturers or brands. They can range from .684" to .694". Modern paintball markers favor the smaller size. These can result in lower velocities, poor accuracy, and breakage issues in the 68 Special. The optimum size for consistent velocity and accuracy is .692". Charts are available on the net to check the nominal sizes of the brands your field carries for the best selection.

Due to the nature of the liquid CO2 "Wet System" , After the tank is installed and before paintballs are added at the chronograph station. The marker should be pointed upward and rapidly fired three to four times to "wet the system" (remove all gas from the lines and valve). This puts the marker at its maximum velocity for chronograph purposes. [Note that doing this with a dry CO2 marker will temporarily lower the velocity, a primary difference in the two systems.] Most likely your field will not be familiar with wet systems and rather than argue the fact chronograph the first seven shots, the last three being your velocity. Been there. done that.
     To save on tank seals when removing a still charged tank. Unscrew the tank 3/4 turn, invert marker to dump balls from feedneck back to hopper and fire marker in a safe direction. It will fire three to four times with remaining CO2 in the receiver  The bolt will remain closed when empty. The tank can then be removed without the hiss and O-ring damage. Lube the o-ring for longer life.

I am posting on this site the only two Technical Information Letters from Tippmann that I have found so far, TIL-SMGSPG and TIL-GENORID. These Refer to all early Tippmann markers but contain extremely useful information on the 68 Special's main spring and O-rings. I wish I had these when I bought my marker, I probably didn't need to replace the valve seats, only the o-rings. If anyone is aware of the location of the following TILs, Please direct me to them in comments so I can get and post them. The needed TILs are:
TIL-GENVEL

TIL-SMGCLN
TIL-SMGOIL
TIL-SMGSEAL

TIL-SPCVEA   < This one is of great interest as it may supply extremely useful information on the 68 Specials velocity adjustment system.The others may have useful references.

I copied my owners manual and will soon be posting it after I crop and size the scans.


                                                                                                                                         SML


Blogger.com user StrayBlackCatsMeow

Address http://68-special.blogspot.com/
Blog "The 68-Special from Tippmann Pneumatics Inc"
Blog Reference page number 03
Title - 68 Special: Out of the box Specifications
Revised - 08/22/13