Turning a whore into a Lady: My Norinco 1911 rebuild

I just put on a set of Hogue grips. They consist of two panels and have that pebble finish. Each grip has a bit of a palm swell. I find them at least as comfortable as the Pachmyers.'

One Norc I bough came with those Hogues with the finger grooves. Ugly and not accurate for me.
 
Ganderite said:
I just put on a set of Hogue grips. They consist of two panels and have that pebble finish. Each grip has a bit of a palm swell. I find them at least as comfortable as the Pachmyers.'

One Norc I bough came with those Hogues with the finger grooves. Ugly and not accurate for me.
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Yeah those are what I run..
 
Newfoundlandrover said:
I'll admit, that I've never been a big fan of anything from China...I have a problem with supporting the knock-off market....BUT, I've seen and held some Norinco's that have totally impressed me. These firearms can be easily transformed into a class A custom, that are as good or better than the brands that they copy. I think there's a place for a Norinco in everyones gun safe...and with not a lot of investment,a fella can have a firearm that is truly built to his own specks.....so yeah....that dirty ol' whore can indeed become your fairytale Princess
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Nice but I just don't have the energy...
 
Watching with interest - nice work and very useful.

I've added grips, and may add a full-length guide rod, but think I'll restrict my "investments" in this girl to my labour (polishing and the like), and put no more than a couple hundred bucks into it. These will never be more than $400 guns - there are just too many of them.
 
I absolutely love Hogue grips, particularly the finger groove ones. I even swapped out the grips on my C8 and Browning Hi-Power with Hogue grips while in Afghanistan. It's not as pretty as the fancy wood or pearl grips, but I find them a lot more functional.

Once they're on the market I'm looking forward to trying the Magpul 1911 grips:
420632_592586050753748_388100617_n.jpg


Cheers
John
 
Spanky said:
There's nothing more infuriating than repeatedly getting this in my shipping confirmation emails from Brownells:

***NOTE*** SIR: DUE TO DDTC RESTRICTIONS
***NOTE*** REGARDING THE NON-REGISTRATION
***NOTE*** OF MANUFACTURERS, ITEM(S) HAVE BEEN
***NOTE*** CANCELED FROM YOUR ORDER. THANK YOU.

In addition to the absurd "nothing over $100" rule, they won't ship outside the US if the manufacturers haven't registered...

So my carefully calculated under $100 shipments are lower, missing parts I need, and I'm still paying for shipping of a mostly-empty box every time.

So far, these are the items that they have refused to ship because of this "non-registration" bull####:

- Clark Custom Recoil Spring Guide
- Clark Custom Sear Springs
- Harrison Design & Consulting Extreme Service disconnector

So, word to the wise, don't try to order CLARK CUSTOM or HARRISON DESIGN & CONSULTING items. They let you add them to your cart and check out, but then they don't ship.

Having said that, Wilson Combat, Ed Brown and Nowlin products have been good to go so far.
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If you look up a particular series of parts, say 1911 trigger, on the left side of the Brownells page, there's a section called "Special Filters" with a "Available Outside the USA" and it'll only show what can be exported outside of the US. I think they implemented this earlier this year but could be wrong. I too had the same issue as you did on my first set of orders ie trying to max out the $100 gun parts limit only to find that some items are removed and they only ship $50 worth of parts. Had I known that at the time, I'd have bought extra mags or something else. One of the reasons I started calling in my orders so that they tell me on the phone if it can be shipped out. Wish they'd up that $100 to $500!
 
Spanky said:
I absolutely love Hogue grips, particularly the finger groove ones. I even swapped out the grips on my C8 and Browning Hi-Power with Hogue grips while in Afghanistan. It's not as pretty as the fancy wood or pearl grips, but I find them a lot more functional.

Once they're on the market I'm looking forward to trying the Magpul 1911 grips:
420632_592586050753748_388100617_n.jpg


Cheers
John
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Agree 100 %
 
Andy said:
Watching with interest - nice work and very useful.

I've added grips, and may add a full-length guide rod, but think I'll restrict my "investments" in this girl to my labour (polishing and the like), and put no more than a couple hundred bucks into it. These will never be more than $400 guns - there are just too many of them.
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Maybe you're right, but they always seem to be in demand on the EE, and never seem to last more than a day or two. I'm not a gun snob, and will admit to anyone that I collect on a budget....I have to, or just couldn't do it. With a quality 1911 or P226 trading in the $1000 range, the $350-$400 Norcs can make sense.....and even if I never turned a screw on it, it will always be worth it's purchase price less the taxes. This thread was enough to convince me into one of the Sig clones....I kinda like the idea of a "build" of my own.....remember the 80's movie Weird Science?....always wanted to design my own boobies :)
 
Pigeonman said:
We always do our re-qualifications during the week and at the height of northern Alberta mosquito season. Does that work??:p

Looks like a nice project OP. can't wait to see how it looks. Wish I never sold my Para, need another 1911 some day.
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Lots of folks seem to believe that Norcs are for newbies - I would disagree, if you take a $400 Norc 1911 to a good 'smith and give him $800, the return on your investment will be a pistol that will shoot along side any 1911 made. As far as I'm concerned, especially with the 1911, Norcs are for guys who want a solid, forged frame and slide made of excellent quality materials, to build a custom gun on - and you can't get a frame & slide of the same quality at that price anywhere.
 
Trinimon said:
If you look up a particular series of parts, say 1911 trigger, on the left side of the Brownells page, there's a section called "Special Filters" with a "Available Outside the USA" and it'll only show what can be exported outside of the US. I think they implemented this earlier this year but could be wrong. I too had the same issue as you did on my first set of orders ie trying to max out the $100 gun parts limit only to find that some items are removed and they only ship $50 worth of parts. Had I known that at the time, I'd have bought extra mags or something else. One of the reasons I started calling in my orders so that they tell me on the phone if it can be shipped out. Wish they'd up that $100 to $500!
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Sometimes the filter doesn't work.
Kind of upsetting brownells shipped my first order with only half of my order but oh we'll.

My second order I called in and have the nice ladies the part number who informed me if the part can be shipped out of USA.
 
UPDATE

I got my first of six packages from Brownells, with the extended slide stop, commander hammer, match trigger, and the pin kit. Looks good.

HOWEVER, trying to knock the hammer strut pin out actually broke my punch. The pin was peened in at the factory, and it's not going anywhere. So I've ordered a new strut and some spare pins, so there will be no Norinco parts left in the trigger/hammer/sear mechanisms whatsoever.

The trigger was a bit oversize (on purpose) so I took a stone then some 1000 grit sandpaper to it until it fit perfectly in the channel.

The pin and springs rebuild kit is EXCELLENT. This is a really cheap and simple upgrade but the difference is huge.

MORE TO FOLLOW.
 
SIGNUT said:
cant argue with that. best of luck. i think you'll be tickled.....at least a light pink....
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I think so too... the question is, at what price point? Haha I have a feeling this one is going to cost a lot... I'm already at about 1K into it (parts and accessories ordered) but I will show my total costs after it's done

Cheers
John
 
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