Opinions on AMF Grand Prix tables

pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am considering purchasing an AMF table and would like to hear any information about them, good or bad.

Table looks to be a pretty close knock-off of a black Gold Crown.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
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pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought one a few years back from a closing pool room. I spent about 1,000 bucks for it. I set it up myself in my basement. This table isn't as nice as a Gold Crown but I wasn't able to find a decent GC in my area. The one thing that stands out to me is the cushions aren't as lively as a nice GC. To compensate for this I put 760 Simonis on it. Overall, I've been satisfied with how it plays. I've thought about redoing the cushions but I'm not sure it would really improve the play-ability enough to justify it. So a well set up Grand Prix is a decent table in my opinion and they are build solidly ENOUGH to last forever in a home environment.
 

pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought one a few years back from a closing pool room. I spent about 1,000 bucks for it. I set it up myself in my basement. This table isn't as nice as a Gold Crown but I wasn't able to find a decent GC in my area. The one thing that stands out to me is the cushions aren't as lively as a nice GC. To compensate for this I put 760 Simonis on it. Overall, I've been satisfied with how it plays. I've thought about redoing the cushions but I'm not sure it would really improve the play-ability enough to justify it. So a well set up Grand Prix is a decent table in my opinion and they are build solidly ENOUGH to last forever in a home environment.

Thx BD, appreciate the input. Do you have pics of your table?
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
Grand parents has an AMF Playmaster. That's all I remember playing on growing up. It was a nice, solid table. I agree with adding some fast cloth to mimic today's equipment.
 

Jerry R

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a mid 60's Grand Prix and love it. Still has the original cushions on it and it plays great. Very lively. The table mechanic that set it up was also very impressed with it and comment about the rubber in those years being better.
 

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pocket
Here's me playing on it, well sort of. This is about the only type of play I get here recently but that's a good thing.

https://youtu.be/0IGpXdrR0R4

I say my table plays better than a poorly setup or poorly maintained GC but not as good as a nicely setup or maintained one.
 

pocket

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pocket
Here's me playing on it, well sort of. This is about the only type of play I get here recently but that's a good thing.

https://youtu.be/0IGpXdrR0R4

I say my table plays better than a poorly setup or poorly maintained GC but not as good as a nicely setup or maintained one.

Nice looking table. Thanks.

Next tourney I host, "A" players handicap will be to have to play in roller blades.
 
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Sealegs50

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought my AMF Grand Prix 21+ years ago. My objective was to find a table that played as close as possible to the Gold Crowns in the local pool hall. All of the used GCs available at that time were pretty beat up from use in pool halls. My new Grand Prix was half the price of a new GC. Overall, I have been quite happy with the table. The table plays pretty similar to the local pool hall GCs with the exception that my pockets are too large. I need to have a real mechanic extend the rail beds. But I have been waiting for the cloth to wear out, which the 860HR just won’t do. The ball returns work well and rarely hold up a ball. The undercarriage and general construction looked pretty similar to GCs that I examined. I won't say it is identical to a GC. But IMO, the Grand Prix is closer than the other options that were available at the time.
 

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Mark Griffin

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Amf Grand prix

Back in 1969, I installed 32 Grand Prix tables. They had the floating bed, figure 8 base and rubber feather strips.

The picture from Sealegs 50 is a completely different table. So I don’t know which table the OP was asking about.

The original Grand Prix was a pretty good table.

Mark Zgriffin
 

rexus31

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Back in 1969, I installed 32 Grand Prix tables. They had the floating bed, figure 8 base and rubber feather strips.

The picture from Sealegs 50 is a completely different table. So I don’t know which table the OP was asking about.

The original Grand Prix was a pretty good table.

Mark Zgriffin

Mark, the Grand Prix name was resurrected by AMF in the '90's. One could say it is a Gen 2 Grand Prix.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

JC

Coos Cues
My son bought one and I set it up for him. It was a "gen 2" made probably in the early 90s. It still had the original rail cloth on it. It was made in the time frame of the GC3 of which I have also worked on a few. The GC3 is a little shoddy in construction but makes the Grand Prix look even worse. The rail wood is light. It has k66 rubber. The pot metal pieces are chintzy even compared to the GC which is hard to believe.

The slate backing wood is cheap. Overall they are 2nd rate. Not a very good imitation of the GC3 which itself was a bit flimsy.

Better than nothing though but they better be cheap.

The original AMF Grand Prix however was a better animal.
 

MJB

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Official Table of the PBT!

AMF Grand Prix was the shiznitz in the early/mid-90s. The men's pro tour was using them along with the funky tan cloth.

They were ok tables as long as you maintained them. Our local pool hall did not maintain there's, and they played like garbage.

You could probably pick up one dirt cheap now and refurb it with nicer rail rubber.
 
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