Topic: Looking for Tornado Whirlwind Table Upgrade Advice

[vw5]

We have 2 Tornado tables.


The front table in the pic is a Whirlwind. We bought it used but I think it’s just a few years old. We are not sure what model the table in the back is, but it’s around 10 years old, has a lower profile case, is lighter, the legs are longer & bolted in from the sides with 3 bolts. They are both used a lot and are in need of new parts.

Upgrade: Neither table has the side strips on the playing surface so we think that would be a good upgrade option. Is there anything special we need to know before we do this?

Upgrade: We also want Counter Balanced players, at least for the 5 & 3 man rods. This kit on e-bay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400090919079 seems like it covers most of what we would need, but I am not sure if that vendor is the best option. Does anyone have any other foosball vendors worth checking out?

Repair: Can anyone confirm what are the best options for replacement bearings? We want to upgrade all of them on both tables. I believe there are 3 different styles available, but all 3 may not fit on our tables. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Repair: Replacement Rods, just looking for a vendor for these as well. I have done some searching on Google and compared all the companies on the first few pages. I just want to know if there are other vendors out there that are not showing up on Google.

Repair: Is there a solution for chips around the goal mouth?

Thanks in advance for your time and help,
Greg

[Nosorog]

Hey Greg, unfortunately it's not worth it to try to upgrade a whirlwind.  The main issue is the bearings.  Both the whirlwind and the storm (twister) have 1' thick walls and the split bearings are for 1 1/2" thick walls (cyclone and coin-ops).  Without the better bearings the other upgrades wouldn't do much.  And there's no easy way to fix a chip in the goal mouth. It would be much better to find a used coin-op or  at least a cyclone on craigslist for $300 - $600 and then donate one of those or both to some youth place or just sell them.  The play is so much better with the better bearings and the weight of the coin-op is very nice.  Here's a good article talking about the different coin-ops, what to look for when buying one, and also where to find parts. 

http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=2704.0

[vw5]

Nosorog: I did a lot of research and was afraid that would be the answer we received.

Anyway, we still need to replace the damaged parts listed above.

If anyone has any preferred vendors or anything to add to Nosorog’s reply, your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Greg

[jinhopark]

If anyone has any preferred vendors or anything to add to Nosorog’s reply, your input would be greatly appreciated.

The vendor that hosts this forum would be my preferred vendor:

http://foosdirect-store.stores.yahoo.net/

[vw5]

that's what i was looking for.

I have seen thier site but didn't realize they host the forum.

I'll support them.

Thanks man,
Greg