What's my Garand worth?

Hitzy said:
New Criterion barrel is $269
Receiver is $50
Stock set $100
Bolt $90
Trigger group $100
Gas Cylinder $60
Op Rod $150
Those are retail, you could probably do better on some of those prices.
Scrounge up the rest of the small parts and a Nork M14 rear sight for under $100....
Barrel install and finish ream could be done for some beers....and you have an M1 for under $1000.
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Lets drill down on this a bit more. Some of us are buying Garand parts on a fairly regular basis and see prices going nowhere but up. At present you can find a receiver and a Citadel barrel at retail in Canada for $50 and $269 respectively. Add the tax and shipping and that gets you to about $387 for the basics. A few parts do turn up on the EE, but a lot need to be imported with the associated US exchange rate. Here is a list of current prices for parts after US exchange:
Boyds stock set - $145
rear sight assy - $110 (don't use the crappy Norinco M14 parts as they are made of soft steel and that's why Norinco owners swap them out for real Garand parts)
trigger housing assy - $110
gas cyl assy incl front sight, gas cyl lock, stacking swivel and gas plug - $140
op rod and spring - $200
stock metal - $87
receiver internals - $187
bolt assembly - $100

Add this to the $387 for barrel and receiver and that gets you to $1466 without postage on anything but the barrel and receiver. Add the cost of a re-Parkerizing job for everything but the new barrel @ $150.00 and you are now sitting at $1600. Then there is the investment in tooling or gunsmith services to install a barrel and finish ream (most folks don't do this work for beer).
 
Technical knowledge is important when assembling a Garand to ensure safety and correct functionality. There is more to it than just gathering the parts and cranking them together. I'd want to know something of the credentials of a builder/assembler before buying a DIY project.
 
Hitzy said:
New Criterion barrel is $269
Receiver is $50
Stock set $100
Bolt $90
Trigger group $100
Gas Cylinder $60
Op Rod $150
Those are retail, you could probably do better on some of those prices.
Scrounge up the rest of the small parts and a Nork M14 rear sight for under $100....
Barrel install and finish ream could be done for some beers....and you have an M1 for under $1000.
Click to expand...

can you tell me where you find these parts for half of what they really cost?
anyone who puts a norc sight on a garand build needs to give their head a shake..
 
Power Pill said:
can you tell me where you find these parts for half of what they really cost?
anyone who puts a norc sight on a garand build needs to give their head a shake..
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Other countries that got large volumes of Garands back in the 50's have tons of parts. Just need to know people or make connections. It really amazes me how cheap Garand parts from Cyprus and Greece are.
 
Realistically I could see that Garand selling in the 1000-1400$ range. I just sold a in the grease Breda Garand for 1500$, and it sat for a bit. The scary part about Garands for me is that since there is no serial numbers (yes there are drawing numbers but the parts aren't serialized to the gun) it can be difficult to tell if it is something someone made in there basement or something that was through a arsenal refit. This is especially the case when you take a look at photos as it might not get disclosed until later on.
 
Syphen said:
Other countries that got large volumes of Garands back in the 50's have tons of parts. Just need to know people or make connections. It really amazes me how cheap Garand parts from Cyprus and Greece are.
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Until 3-4 yrs ago you could get some good bargains on parts from ebay vendors in Italy and Greece (same guy that sells/sold from Cyprus and Bulgaria). Nowadays, not so much, plus you are paying US dollars on ebay.
 
And then there are people who will bend over and pay big bucks to have a "As New as Yesterday" Boyd's Stock and Reparked "Today" Garand in Bubba's Bathtub. It has to look Pretty, Shiney and New.
 
Eaglelord17 said:
Realistically I could see that Garand selling in the 1000-1400$ range. I just sold a in the grease Breda Garand for 1500$, and it sat for a bit. The scary part about Garands for me is that since there is no serial numbers (yes there are drawing numbers but the parts aren't serialized to the gun) it can be difficult to tell if it is something someone made in there basement or something that was through a arsenal refit. This is especially the case when you take a look at photos as it might not get disclosed until later on.
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The Danish surplus Garands which included rifles built on all of Springfield, Winchester, Breda and Beretta receivers were a real hodge-podge of parts and many had been rebuilt or overhauled over the years with any make of parts. All Garand parts made by the 4 US military makers and the 2 Italian makers are interchangeable so they were used in the repair and overhaul process regardless of make. The Danes also made their own replacement barrels, rear sight pinions, and stocks. Most US military Garands were rebuilt at least once in service using any make of part which was available. With some time and effort you can assemble a "parts correct" Garand, especially a mid to late WW2 or 1950s vintage Springfield.

Folks who sell a restored or self-built Garand should say so. It can be tough to distinguish an arsenal rebuild from a " home armory" production. The key things are that the rifle is safe and functions properly.
 
Power Pill said:
can you tell me where you find these parts for half of what they really cost?
anyone who puts a norc sight on a garand build needs to give their head a shake..
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I just looked up prices on Numrich.....it was really diffcult lol.
Tradex has the receivers and barrels and a few other small bits. I also think the "Nork sights are soft as butter" to be a bit of BS....I've had some apetures that were crap QC, but no sights that wore out on Nork M14's.
There are nice folks that run Garand clinics from time to time that will install your barrel, parkerizing can be done at home for cheap, but I would suggest you get a Smith to do the finish reaming which shouldn't run anymore then $50.
If you won't/can't/ or have no idea what you are doing then yeah, pay $1500-$2500 for it...just makes my M1's worth that much more...lol

This is what home parking looks like...
 
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Parkerizing isn't rocket science, but you do need to buy the chemicals to do it as well as investing in an air compressor and blasting gun to clean and prep the metal. After that it's a matter of having a non-reactive ctnr for the solution and a controlled heat source. You can park every part of the rifle, less barrel and op rod, in an oblong shaped ceramic crock pot. After that all you need is a candy thermometer to check the temp of the solution and stainless steel tongs to handle the parts in solution. Beyond that it's a matter of rounding up degreasing chemicals, rubber gloves, a pail for rinsing the parts after the park solution and some WD40 for a stopping agent and some 3 in 1oil for curing. I keep the parts wet with oil and let them cure for 3 days after parking. Parkerizing is a fun exercise and it pays for itself in pretty short order. Ditto for tools, gauges, and a finishing reamer if you are going to make this a hobby. I also re-work and rebarrel M1903 Springfields so you can use the same .30-06 gauges and finishing reamer for them.
 
Really not enough info from one picture, but like Hitzy says, your rifle has been rode hard and put away wet. Cosmetically.
Suspect $1500 would be optimistic. Guys lug 'em back and forth to gun shows in that condition.
Parkerizing isn't rocket science for sure. Doesn't need a compressor, but it does need temperature controls.
Gotta re-think the value of my retirement fund. Paid $175 for my M1. Professionally re-Parked, 30 years ago. Well over 100 clips(20 of which are BNIB still in the factory wrap), both bayonets, the grenade attachment, a BNIB grenade sight and 3 repro ammo belts.
 
Gosh, there's one on the EE right now being flogged as a "true WW2 Garand" and a "certified Nazi killer" for $1600. I don't know about the "Nazi killer" part, but I do see a number of post-WW2 parts on this one. ;)
 
Maybe he'll throw in a used and well worn Saving Private Ryan VCR tape for a quick sale. :cool:
The only Nazi's it killed were on the TV set when he was holding his rifle and making the sounds boom boom ping!

purple said:
Gosh, there's one on the EE right now being flogged as a "true WW2 Garand" and a "certified Nazi killer" for $1600. I don't know about the "Nazi killer" part, but I do see a number of post-WW2 parts on this one. ;)
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sunray said:
Really not enough info from one picture, but like Hitzy says, your rifle has been rode hard and put away wet. Cosmetically.
Suspect $1500 would be optimistic. Guys lug 'em back and forth to gun shows in that condition.
Parkerizing isn't rocket science for sure. Doesn't need a compressor, but it does need temperature controls.
Gotta re-think the value of my retirement fund. Paid $175 for my M1. Professionally re-Parked, 30 years ago. Well over 100 clips(20 of which are BNIB still in the factory wrap), both bayonets, the grenade attachment, a BNIB grenade sight and 3 repro ammo belts.
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A compressor is required to run a blasting gun which is required to blast the parts before immersion in the parkerizing solution. The parkerizing process involves a chemical reaction with the surface of the steel so the steel needs to be blasted to create a clean and unoxidized surface which will react with the acid based solution. Sure you can degrease the parts and toss them in the park solution, but the results will be irregular and unsatisfactory. This is why people who do parkerizing for a living always blast the parts beforehand.

After parts have been blasted they should be put into the park solution ASAP before the freshly activated steel begins to oxidize.
 
purple said:
Lets drill down on this a bit more. Some of us are buying Garand parts on a fairly regular basis and see prices going nowhere but up. At present you can find a receiver and a Citadel barrel at retail in Canada for $50 and $269 respectively. Add the tax and shipping and that gets you to about $387 for the basics. A few parts do turn up on the EE, but a lot need to be imported with the associated US exchange rate. Here is a list of current prices for parts after US exchange:
Boyds stock set - $145
rear sight assy - $110 (don't use the crappy Norinco M14 parts as they are made of soft steel and that's why Norinco owners swap them out for real Garand parts)
trigger housing assy - $110
gas cyl assy incl front sight, gas cyl lock, stacking swivel and gas plug - $140
op rod and spring - $200
stock metal - $87
receiver internals - $187
bolt assembly - $100

Add this to the $387 for barrel and receiver and that gets you to $1466 without postage on anything but the barrel and receiver. Add the cost of a re-Parkerizing job for everything but the new barrel @ $150.00 and you are now sitting at $1600. Then there is the investment in tooling or gunsmith services to install a barrel and finish ream (most folks don't do this work for beer).
Click to expand...

The above is in line with what I just priced a garand build to cost. And I'll say anyone who does gunsmithing for beer is probably not going to be my first pick to do barrel work.

Hitzy said:
Omg, and last year our dollar was on par! Imagine that!
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Hitzy, so by that rational I could say No.4 mk.1 longbranch lee enfield is really only worth $300 because they were that price just 4 years ago??

We are talking garand build prices at TODAY'S exchange rate not what you COULD of built one for if you did it last year.
 
Tinman204 said:
The above is in line with what I just priced a garand build to cost. And I'll say anyone who does gunsmithing for beer is probably not going to be my first pick to do barrel work.



Hitzy, so by that rational I could say No.4 mk.1 longbranch lee enfield is really only worth $300 because they were that price just 4 years ago??

We are talking garand build prices at TODAY'S exchange rate not what you COULD of built one for if you did it last year.
Click to expand...

So add 20% to my prices.....still less then $1500.
I take it you have never been to one of Hungry/Tactical Teachers M14 or Garand clinics where you can install/time a barrel all by yourself with supervision?
 
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