c33m0n3y
Active Member
I found this at a random gun shop in PA while browsing for other stuff online. I called the shop and they had 2 of them, I went with the one he described as having less original blue left and the gun slide "not locking". He knocked the price down to where I thought it would be a good project even if I had to spend a bit on some parts.
I ordered it on Thursday of last week, and it arrived this past Wednesday. (BTW, Have I said lately how awesome it is to have a C&R FFL ?
)
Pics:
This is how it came. It had some very light surface rust, the frame still had decent bluing, with a nice patina on the slide. The back strap and other heavily contacted areas were mostly bare.
I field-stripped it (found the spring and guide were in backwards), used some 0000 steel wool to lightly dry-clean the surface rust (most of it was under the grips and around the thumb safety lever), then gave it a good soaking with WD-40, cleaned the bore (which is in great shape with strong rifling), then used a synthetic spray cleaner to blow out all remaining WD-40 and rust, oiled and greased it where applicable, and reassembled it. I resisted the temptation of completely taking it apart based on the difficulty described in putting them back together. I will eventually do it, just not tonight.
Here are the "after" pics:
I ordered replacement springs from Wolff, as the recoil spring is all bent out of shape. I tried to take out the firing pin but after removing the detent plunger it would not freely come out, so I did not want to press it. If any of you have experience with these I'd love to pick your brain on that, as it has a 2-part firing pin that is unobtanium if broken.
Anyway, I also was able to fix the non-locking thumb safety. It seemed that the safety lever was loose, and it just was swinging freely. After deep-cleaning and oiling it I was able to push it in to where it needed to seat and it now will hold the slide open by engaging the notch. I ran function tests to be sure it fires on snap caps and that both safeties (thumb and grip) work properly. The grip safety feels tight and follows without slack, so I don't think I'll be trying to replace the leaf spring anytime soon. I just don't think this gun was shot very much.
It's my 4th Colt, and after handling it for a couple of hours I brought one of its big siblings, my Colt 1927, out for comparison. It feels like a monster compared to this one, but the Browning lineage is unmistakeable.
I'm very excited to finally land one of these, and can't wait to take it to the range.
I ordered it on Thursday of last week, and it arrived this past Wednesday. (BTW, Have I said lately how awesome it is to have a C&R FFL ?
)Pics:
This is how it came. It had some very light surface rust, the frame still had decent bluing, with a nice patina on the slide. The back strap and other heavily contacted areas were mostly bare.
I field-stripped it (found the spring and guide were in backwards), used some 0000 steel wool to lightly dry-clean the surface rust (most of it was under the grips and around the thumb safety lever), then gave it a good soaking with WD-40, cleaned the bore (which is in great shape with strong rifling), then used a synthetic spray cleaner to blow out all remaining WD-40 and rust, oiled and greased it where applicable, and reassembled it. I resisted the temptation of completely taking it apart based on the difficulty described in putting them back together. I will eventually do it, just not tonight.
Here are the "after" pics:
I ordered replacement springs from Wolff, as the recoil spring is all bent out of shape. I tried to take out the firing pin but after removing the detent plunger it would not freely come out, so I did not want to press it. If any of you have experience with these I'd love to pick your brain on that, as it has a 2-part firing pin that is unobtanium if broken.
Anyway, I also was able to fix the non-locking thumb safety. It seemed that the safety lever was loose, and it just was swinging freely. After deep-cleaning and oiling it I was able to push it in to where it needed to seat and it now will hold the slide open by engaging the notch. I ran function tests to be sure it fires on snap caps and that both safeties (thumb and grip) work properly. The grip safety feels tight and follows without slack, so I don't think I'll be trying to replace the leaf spring anytime soon. I just don't think this gun was shot very much.
It's my 4th Colt, and after handling it for a couple of hours I brought one of its big siblings, my Colt 1927, out for comparison. It feels like a monster compared to this one, but the Browning lineage is unmistakeable.
I'm very excited to finally land one of these, and can't wait to take it to the range.
