Norc .45 and 9mm 1911 Parts Commonality

Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle

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Quick question for those that may have traveled this path.

I'm picking up a mint Norc 9mm NP29 (cant justify the near double price of ammo for slightly bigger holes in paper anymore)

I have a 1911A1 Norc in .45 ACP. My question is: aside from obvious parts like barrel, slide, possibly extractor and frame; would it be safe to assume other parts like trigger, hammer, grips, grip safety, slide lock, safety etc would be interchangeable?

This may seem odd but I dont like the "modernized" upgrades of the NP29 as much as the old school A1 parts of my original in 45.

Will likely find out once the pistol gets here but I am curious in advance.
 
Some of their .45s are Commander-length (4.25" approx) while the 9mm are more likely the full 5", so you may find things like cases and holsters might not be long enough. And from past comparison it didn't appear that a .45 and a 9mm came from the same factory or even used the same parts suppliers; it appears Norinco is an umbrella organization over a bunch of different producers.

9mm 1911 mags have to be the same size outside but narrower inside, so you'll see a groove down each side and that's the thing to look for so you don't grab the wrong mags on the way to the range.

Some parts like the firing pin are different per calibre but most are the same; tearing down both guns and carefully comparing parts while being awfully careful not to prematurely swap anything might be your best bet. But note that a number of 1911 bits like the sear fit and the safety are tuned to work together and you can't just swap critical-fit bits. Better to have a good book on 1911 gunsmithing or some expert help before going down that route, and even then know the standard safety/functionality checks for that platform.

And there are so many 1911 offerings on the market that buying one that addresses the niche you want as-is will almost always beat customization, especially for work you don't already know how to do yourself.
 
No it's an A1 sized 5" style np29 just like my A1 .45 model.
If I could just swap the grip safety, back strap and the slide lock I'd be pretty happy to honest.
I'm also not a huge fan of the ambi safety but i can live with it.
If not I'll just shoot it and beat it as is like I'm trying to break it just like my old .45 A1 ;)
 
The NP29 will have the back of the frame cut for the beavertail grip safety, so the GI grip safety won't fit properly. But depending on the slide to frame fit you could probably swap the 9mm slide (and associated parts) and extractor onto the 45 frame.
Kristian
 
turbo_bird said:
The NP29 will have the back of the frame cut for the beavertail grip safety, so the GI grip safety won't fit properly. But depending on the slide to frame fit you could probably swap the 9mm slide (and associated parts) and extractor onto the 45 frame.
Kristian
Click to expand...

Ejector would need to be swapped too, it's different.
 
NP29 details have changed over the years. As far as the basic frame goes, the primary difference is the ejector. Swap ejectors and magazines, and the frame assembly works for either 9mm or .45.
 
tiriaq said:
NP29 details have changed over the years. As far as the basic frame goes, the primary difference is the ejector. Swap ejectors and magazines, and the frame assembly works for either 9mm or .45.
Click to expand...

That's really interesting.
So basically a standard A1 style .45 frame and a 9mm frame are identical aside from ejector!?
So if all the parts I'm looking to swap are mounted into the frame, as long as the pistol passes the function test after reassembly and all the parts fit, I should have no issues swapping the backstrap, hammer, trigger, slid lock and safety. (I won't be touching the extractor or any part of the slide itself. The extractor and firing pin are going to be 9mm proprietary I'm assuming here.

I'll give it a go once it comes in. I'll report back. It will either work or not. But it's good to know there's a solid chance!
Thanks for the info guys.
 
I have put a Remington Rand slide with a Norinco .45 barrel on a NP29 frame fitted with a .45 ejector, and it worked fine. The ejector was the only change to the frame.
There could, of course, be stacked tolerances with mixed source parts, but basically the Norincos are 1911A1 clones.
 
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