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Author Topic: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?  (Read 15820 times)

ekster

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Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« on: February 17, 2005, 01:07:47 PM »
I picked one up on EBay.  I was under the impression that the ball was either a blem of a Columbia, Track, or AMF.  Is that the case?

It really doesn't look like any balls they have had in the past few years (hence the blem).  Is Bonanza II just leftover weight blocks and coverstocks or is it actually a blem of a current ball?

It has the surface finish for SKU #039010150 and its serial number is 4YF00304.  It kind of a pukey green-brown with silver and brown swirls.

Any hints on this mystery or should I just drill for symetrical core and have at it.  I love a challenge.

Any help will be appreciated.  Go Eagles!  (oops)

 

BowlerKidR

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #16 on: March 01, 2005, 04:29:21 AM »
#3 is a rule, #2 a big bully, and i dont know #1
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DP3

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #17 on: March 01, 2005, 07:14:56 AM »
Looks like #2 could also be a Crunchtime.  I also recieved one of these balls that looks something like #1 but with a super long pin and more red. I was thinking it could be a detour but yours looks more like a Track Spell, but it's hard to discern what it is without having some way to look at the weightblock.  

I've heard AMF changelings can come in any color depending on what vats leftover coverstock is from so in this case they could all be those as well, you never know, that's the mystery of the Bonanzas.
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qstick777

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #18 on: March 01, 2005, 12:15:11 PM »
Okay, well the potluck/mystery is what makes the deal so much fun!  Any clues/suggestions as to how to drill up ball #1?  Should I leave that up to the pro shop, drill it label leverage, etc?  I don't see a CG punch on the ball, so I don't know if that is something the pro shop can find?  Never had one of these before, so I don't know what to expect when I take it to get drilled.

1fife

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2005, 12:17:30 PM »
any good pro shop guy should be able to find cg(and should) before drilling any symetrical ball

DukeHarding

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #20 on: March 01, 2005, 07:18:11 PM »
My Changeling came in today.
It's brown looks lColumbia Trooperish.
It's supposed to have the AMF Triumph core, according to Beans.

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BowlerKidR

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2005, 07:38:03 PM »
isnt the cg in the 300 lable, like in the WD plastic balls?

Ryan
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DukeHarding

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #22 on: March 02, 2005, 08:31:05 AM »
Here's a picture of my Bonanza II. It reminds me of my Columbia Trooper.
Looks like a Bully? Detour? Is it an AMF core (Triumph)

http://homepage.mac.com/dukeharding/.Pictures/Bowling/BonanzaII.jpg
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qstick777

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #23 on: March 02, 2005, 08:44:37 AM »
Duke -

That is correct.  The Changelings are Triumph cores with left over coverstock from other ball runs.  This should probably be its own subject, but at least with the Changelings and X-outs from Ebonite/Hammer you know what core you are getting - the colors and maybe the weights are a little out of spec.  With the Bonanza's, you have no idea what core is inside.  The ball might be Bonanza because the colors are off, the pins too short, top weight too heavy, or whatever.

Like others have suggested, my ball #3 could be a Track Rule or an AMF Titan blem - those balls have very different cores.  Ball #2 could be Big Bully or maybe a Crunch Time - again, very different cores.  You would think (at least I would) that Columbia/AMF/Track would have some sort of coding to know which core is inside - Ebonite does with their X-outs.  Maybe the companies differ in their quality control process.  Maybe Ebonite makes, engraves, and then weighs and inspects colors last, thereby making it easy to know that the ball is a v2 sweet, but the blue is off or there is too much pink, or whatever.  Maybe Columbia/AMF/Track inspect the colors before they engrave the balls and then just pull them and put them in one central location to be weighed and engraved at a later time.

I'm not complaining about either process.  I think that's the fun of getting these balls.  I could drill them up and they could be the best ball I've ever thrown, or they could be the worst.  Either way I'm out only a little bit of money.  IMO that's better than dropping $200+ on a ball and not being happy with it and then trying to sell it here for $40.

I guess I'm more intrigued by what the process is for the companies.  Either way it gives people a chance to get the product in their hands for a little bit of money.  Unless of course my Ball #1 really is just a White Dot, then I overpaid just a little!

qstick777

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #24 on: March 06, 2005, 11:33:48 PM »
Okay, I was doing some research on the columbia300 site and found an "ask the expert" question about the serial numbers.  I checked my bonanza's and found that 2 of them have 2 different serial numbers - 1 is on the bonanza label and another on the other side of the ball.

Now according to the question and answer the serial numbers start with a number and a letter - the number being the year it was produced and the letter being the month (starting at N and ending at Z, with O skipped to avoid confusion with 0).  The rest is a code to represent the production line.

Both of my Bonanza's have serial numbers starting with 2x, so that would seem to indicate October 2002 as the date of manufacture.

Anybody know which balls were produced in the later part of 2002?  I know most companies probably don't have any current balls that were produced that long ago.

LuckyLefty

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #25 on: March 06, 2005, 11:59:06 PM »
I swear ball # 3 is a titan from AMF

REgards,

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Matt Fortney

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #26 on: March 07, 2005, 12:30:47 AM »
qstick-the pic of ball #2...the color is blue and red or is it more of an orange? and is this one of the balls with 2 serial's on it? lmk...cuz if it's more orange than it looks... and it was manufactured in 10/02...


http://www.123bowl.com/ball.asp?ballid=1343

qstick777

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #27 on: March 07, 2005, 06:00:43 AM »
Ball #2 is definately not red - its more of a copperish- orange.  It doesn't really show up very well in pics.

Here are 2 more pics - 1 shows the 2nd serial number, and the other is another angle where the copper/orange shows up a little better.
http://www.dipspit.com/qstick777/Balls/bonanzas/14-15-1.JPG
http://www.dipspit.com/qstick777/Balls/bonanzas/14-15-2.JPG

1fife

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #28 on: March 07, 2005, 06:49:46 AM »
777 look like a crunchtime

Strapper_Squared

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #29 on: March 07, 2005, 10:29:19 AM »
I had one similar in color to yours (grey, purple/bluish).  I drilled it 5 X 5... polished it was very smooth... good for dry lanes.  I took the shine off the cover and it became a different ball... it REALLY hooked a ton.  Just because they are close in color doesn't mean they are the same, but the might be...   I have no idea what they are.  never seen the color either.  I would say go with a medium / aggressive layout and play with the cover to get it to your liking... they seem to be decent balls.. and can't beat the price!

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1fife

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Re: Bonanza II Value Ball - What is it?
« Reply #30 on: March 07, 2005, 11:07:19 AM »
if you are really worried where the cg is(which i would be)-just weigh it up and find the cg. I would do this with all balls, as they are not always where they are marked