1911 parts advice

USP

USP

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I need some input on what parts to get. I have a Norinco 1911 Government and wanted to get it done. Will be having it chromed. Whats the best brand of beavertail,trigger,hammer to get?

Was planning on Novak type sites any thougths on this?

Also should I go guide rod now or just change springs/buffs?

Thanks
 
I like the STI safety, grip safety and hammer. For sights, along with Novak, which are excellent, I'd also consider both Heinie and XS. I prefer the G.I. conventional recoil system, rather than any full length guide rod, but that's me.

Only you can decide what is best for you.

Peruse the Brownells 1911 catalog to get an idea of what is available.

http://www.brownells.com/htm/images/1911-4web.pdf

FREE! Our new 1911 Catalog includes just what you need to build, maintain and shoot the most popular pistol in history. No rifle or shotgun stuff, nothing for those “other” pistols. Just the best selection of 1911 goodies ever! 210 new products have been added to Brownells 1911 Catalog #4 that has grown to 70 pages and more than 3,000 total products. Selection. Service. Satisfaction. 100% Guaranteed!

If you would like to immediately browse through the catalog, download our 1911 Catalog PDF version.

http://www.brownells.com/htm/images/1911-4web.pdf

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=23960
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I think the parts you put in depends on how much you want to spend. Hammer /sear /disc can be had as a tuned package for about $ 125. Beavertail should fit your hand. There are many out out there and some are drop in and most need to be fitted. As for guide rod, one or two piece is up to you. Myself I prefer one piece as less chance of it coming loose when you least expect it. Hope this helps.
 
any generic parts I should go for? Like all wilson for example? Any others?
 
The problem with Brownells is that you're going to be limited in regards to which brands they'll actually ship up here anymore. I know for a fact you can still get Wilson parts, for example. On the other hand, somebody here recently mentioned that they couldn't get Smith & Alexander parts from Brownells anymore, which really stinks. Unless you have your heart set on a specific part under a specific brand, Wilson should make just about everything you'd need. I put one of their ambi safeties, trigger and hammer on one of my Norcs.
 
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Should I get a new mainspring housing and bull barrel? Im am iffy on whether I should get an ambi safety as well. Should I change out the slide stop?

If I did go all brand name, like wilson or brown or bear is it worth the money or should I just go with something generic? I will be having a pro install the parts so fitment is going to be up to the smith and not me.

More thoughts?
 
... Well I don't shoot Competition, although years a go I did. So take my suggestions for what you pay for them ! The NOVAK sights are excellent ! May require some fitting, personally, I liked to "round then off a little". DLASK makes a good trigger, the actual length is up to you, dependent upon the length of your fingers and how far back you like to curl your trigger finger. ( My 1911 has a solid trigger, but that's individual taste ) Try to get a pre-fitted hammer/sear, cheaper than having one fitted individually, unless you really feel confident about doing it yourself ! Grip safety, well, try a few different styles if you can, and also both the "arched" and "flat" Mainspring housings. Grips are another area where if possible, try before you buy, personally, for what I wanted the gun for, I went with smooth wooden ones, Hogue comes to mind. Change out the slotted screws for the Allen Wrench types, easier and less chance of a "slipped" screw driver ! Wolfe Springs are excellent replacement ones, and reasonably priced, and fairly readily available. Then there's the area of "porting and polishing" and "checkering" etc.etc. Without a doubt, the 1911, is subject to more "improvements" and "personalization", and after market "add-ons" than any other pistol I can think of ! 'Funny when you think of it, but with some rare exceptions, they shoot just fine, straight out of the box ! ..... Anyway, have fun, and try to handle different pistols before you hit yours with the Dremmel Tool ! .... David K
 
USP, my advice is go surf the 1911 picture thread in the photo forum,

I prefer wilson ambi safties, S&A Magwells with flat mainspring housing and one of the various speed bump high grip safties (Ed Brown being my favorite)... STI carbon fibre trigger and the internals I leave to the gunsmith, let him pick what he likes to work with.

The gun pictured below has a 2.5# trigger pull and it breaks like it is glass, armco did the trigger for me.

sights I like the novak extreme duty adjustable sights, with tritium inserts.... get a good gunsmith to install them though.

here is mine done the way I like it.... commander length colt combat commander (steel frame) in 9mm.

Colt_Combat_Commander_9mm.JPG
 
USP said:
Should I get a new mainspring housing and bull barrel? Im am iffy on whether I should get an ambi safety as well. Should I change out the slide stop?
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Like David mentions, the MSH really comes down to a preference for flat vs arched. A few years ago I put a flat, smooth MSH w/lanyard loop on my stock Norc, and I've been in love with the flat ones ever since. But of course, your mileage may vary. The bull barrel is ok, but there's nothing really wrong with the Norc barrel that a good bushing can't fix. (not to mention, a bull barrel will necessitate a full length guide rod, and raise the ire of the "OMG teh FLGR!!1!one!" crowd) And, 5 years on I've had no issues with my stock slide stop.
 
Some time ago when I was playing with my Norinco 45 I found that Mc Cormick parts are just drop in. I had the grip safety installed that and it was perfect, no need to adjust the frame the radius seem to be just right. I also replaced trigger and sear and the idea is to keep them as a package from the same manufacture.
As far as the sight, if you are going to fancy there is no way to install them without milling the slide. Never the less after so many changes the gun remains a average gun, and the look of it did not justify the expense, there is no going back at that point . Considering the different finish on the parts you will end up thinking to refinish everything so they look the same ....and at that point I use some black duracoat paint.
And if I can go back I would not had done it .Total expense was not worth it I could have bought an very expensive 45 for that money
 
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1851 Navy said:
I see this argument a lot, and frankly I've never really gotten it. There's a world of difference between building something for yourself, and just buying the equivalent.
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Its my first .45, Ive had it since 91 and I always wanted to fix it up. As im getting it plated I figured i would try and get most parts to match. Thanks for the posts. I dont want to get it finished only to figure out I screwed up and missed getting things done I shouldve at the same time.

So is the consensus that a guide rod and bull barrel are a waste of time?

I suppose I should add a magwell while im at.
 
1851 navy,

frankly for the expense it is easier to just go buy a Kimber from TSE allready built and ready to run.... the kimbers have all the features that he is asking for and can be had for approx $1000-$1200 all kitted out and ready to go.

for building what you want you might as well go with premium parts and get a gunsmith to install them and make dam sure this is a gun your going to keep.....

for example with the cost of the gun I would estimate to build something exactly like mine, with only one trip to the gunsmith would be $700 worth or parts (sights alone are $300), and probably 8 hrs of gunsmith time to install and tune the trigger plus a refish job..... so say $450-$600 on a flat charge scale.

the norinco's are nice guns, and they are great bases for custom work, but frankly it is cheaper to buy a kimber or a used gun from armco allready built rather then piece it together (I bought mine used, and everything but the sights was done... I paid $800 for it)
 
.... Realistically, it's highly doubtful that you'll ever recoup your expenses ! But, and it's a big, but, you do make your gun your own, and there's a lot of personal "satisfaction in making it one of a kind"! . At the risk of pointing out the obvious, don't get it chromed/refinished until you are 100% satisfied that you won't be modifying it any more ! .... David K
 
USP, re: bull barrel

Keep the norinco barrel, have your gunsmith fit an oversize link to it and a match grade bushing , put a new recoil spring in, because it is probably time anyway and get him to tighten the slide to frame fit.

you will be good to go..... for 1/4 the cost of new barrel.
 
In regards to the bull barrel, well I guess it does away with the bushing, like just about every other modern pistols has. If I was to redesign the 1911 from the ground up, that's the route I'd go. But I don't really know if it offers any tangible advantage one way or the other.

But as for the FLGR, well.... there'll never be an end to that debate. I did find that when I put a one-piece Wilson in my already Armco tuned & tightened 1911, it seemed to reduce the slide play to almost nothing, so maybe there's an argument to be made for using them in looser pistols. I'm currently running a 6" 2-piece in my comped model, mainly for ease of disassembly.
 
Stay away from the 2-piece guide rods! If you are not lucky, they are falling apart. If you are lucky, they are great and easy disassemble, but I prefer if my guide rod comes apart when I want.
 
Thanks guys, the gun is being built just for me to use. I realize its a money pit and its not going to be built with the idea of future sale. Currently the gun is really tight, its one of the first Norcs that I saw for sale when the 1911s first came over here. Its a basic parkerized finish with maybe 5k rounds on it over the years.
 
Westicle said:
1851 navy,

frankly for the expense it is easier to just go buy a Kimber from TSE allready built and ready to run.... the kimbers have all the features that he is asking for and can be had for approx $1000-$1200 all kitted out and ready to go.
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Sure they do. In fact, once you cross that $1000 barrier, pretty much every 1911 comes with those features. But even then there's a dizzying array of options out there, enough that somebody could dump a couple hundred into a pistol without really "changing" anything. Maybe Kimber Custom II would be exactly what he wants, but then he'd decide that he like the profile of the Nighthawk slide stop better, or thought that the Cylinder & Slide checkered slide stop added just the touch of class that he wanted.

As for having a Dlask or Armco build a custom pistol, that's all well and fine, but that's still not the same as doing the work yourself. On my hotrodded Norc, I started with an Armco tuned model (mainly because he was the only one to have them in stock at the time) and did all the rest of the work myself. I did it because I wanted the experience of filing down the frame tangs for the grip safety, for filing down the little lug on a $65 ambi safety until it was just right, etc. The only thing I didn't do was cut the dovetail for the Novak rear sight, having no access to a milling machine nor the skills to use it. I can't speak for USP's motivations, but I built my pistol for my own satisfaction.
 
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