[CA357]

I just bought the innards of an almost new 1971 Colt Government. I'll buy a DGFM 1911 from the shop where I work part time on Tuesday. They're pretty beat, so I can get one for cheap.

My plan is to strip the Argentine and install the good Colt parts. This will be my first true build/rebuild and I'm excited about it. I'll try and keep a record with some pics for those interested in this project.

I figure to come out of it with a pretty good quality GI 1911 that I'm intimately familiar with.

 

[CA357]

Okay. Will do.

 

[CA357]

I bought the Sistema 1911 today. I was able to really look through a bunch of them and this one seemed like the best candidate.

The slide to frame fit was good, the slide rails were good and the steel wasn't all beat up and dented or dinged. It operates really well, so here's hoping it's a good base to build on.

There isn't a speck of bluing left and it has a huge importers mark on the slide, but it won't matter in the end.

My plan is to either live with it as it is, or I may send it to Novak's for three dot sights and rebluing. That's a long way off and I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I can't pick it up until January 23rd due to the idiotic CA handgun laws. Then I'll disassemble and clean everything and see where it goes. I'll take some pics when I have all the bits and pieces together.

 

[CA357]

My wife put in her papers and her first official day of retirement will be New Years Eve.

We have some other stuff to take care of and then that will pretty much be it. Realistically, it looks like Spring to early Summer will see us back in the States.

 

[CA357]

Will do.

 

[CA357]

I was finally able to bring the Sistema home today. I field stripped it for the first time. Man, this pistol is tight, slide to frame fit is excellent, but it's also really beat up.

It's scratched and scraped with lots of character. It will take some work to make it right. I pulled the grips and one grip screw took the bushing with it. The bushings are beat and new grip screws were part of the plan anyway, so no big deal. There's also many years accumulations of grease and dirt as well as some rust here and there, including inside the barrel.

On the positive side, the frame, slide and barrel are numbers matching. Of course, the mag doesn't match and is in lousy shape. Surprisingly, there's very little take up on the trigger, but it's got an awfully heavy pull.

The idea is for me to get a solid, accurate shooter grade 1911 out of this. I'll take some pictures this week and try to keep a good record of the project as it goes along.

 

[CA357]

Here's a link to the actual project thread which has better information and photos:

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f35/1927-colt-sistema-rebuild-project-10296/