Inherited 1911 in bad shape

[tworr]

First time posting here and I was hoping that someone could give me some advice on this gun I inherited.

I was given a Colt 1911 that had belonged to my Grandfather. I had originally thought that my dad got it in Okinawa, but that was wrong. It was found in my Grandfather's trunk when he passed away 25 years ago and my dad got it. He said they could not find the other parts when they went through the trunk so that's how it was found. Since then, my dad had the gun wrapped in an oiled rag and locked away.

I would like to restore this gun back to usable condition and replace the missing parts. It looks like lots of the parts need to be replaced, but I don't believe the gun is in unrepairable condition or am I wrong?

I know restoring decreases the value of the gun, but I can't imagine it would be worth much in the shape it is in now.

Is there anything unique about this gun?

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r212/tworr/Misc/1911/IMG_0559copy.jpg

Gun Info:
------------------------------
Patented Apr 20,1897, Sept 9, 1902
Dec 19, 1905, Feb 14, 1911, Aug 19, 1913

Colts PT FA MFG Co.
Hartford CT USA

United States Property

No. 289988

Model of 1911 US Army
-------------------------------

This is all I have been able to find about the serial numbers.

Colt: S/N 108,601 to 290,000 = Feb. 8, 1915 to May, 1918

S/N 109,501 to 110,000 Navy Model
S/N 223,953 to 223,991 Navy Model
S/N 232,001 to 233,600 Navy Model

S/N 151,187 to 151,986 U.S.M.C. Model
S/N 185,801 to 186,201 U.S.M.C. Model
S/N 209,587 to 210,386 U.S.M.C. Model
S/N 215,387 to 217,386 U.S.M.C. Model

or

1918 - 390166 produced
216987-594000 Colt
1-13152 Remington UMC

Thank you,

[exitwounds]

It is a 1918 Colt 1911, one that was shipped in a 3600 pistol shipment on May 9, 1918 to the Commanding Officer at Springfield Armory, MA. Due to it's condition, and missing several parts restoration into a complete pistol would likely not hurt it's value any. The original parts could have some value if sold off individually and left in their current state. However, if you are interested in restoring it into a functional pistol than a good restoration would not hurt it's value due to it's present condition and missing parts.

[tworr]

Thanks!

Would this be considered a chrome finish or nickel on this 1911 I have?

Also when buying parts will they come "raw" metal or blued?

I have other guns to shoot so I probably never really would shoot it if I was able to get it back to a beautiful looking gun. Chrome finish seems like it would be hard to take care of so it might would become more of a display item that I could show off.

[exitwounds]

Is the pistol chrome/nickel plated? I could not determine the finish from the pictures. The pistol would have been originally blued. If it is chrome/nickel finished then any value it did have is gone, and refinishing it will not hurt a thing. USGI parts are normally found blued or parkerized.

[tworr]

I did find out that my Grandfather got it around 1950 and it definitely has a mirror finish or at one time did. I had a very hard time getting a good picture of it this morning.

So your saying that it was never chrome to begin with and was refinished post war? I guess I had a "movie image" of an officer with a fancy gun.

So going back to having it blued would actually be more original than chrome with pearl handles?

[Hawkmoon]

Thanks!

Would this be considered a chrome finish or nickel on this 1911 I have?

Also when buying parts will they come "raw" metal or blued?

I have other guns to shoot so I probably never really would shoot it if I was able to get it back to a beautiful looking gun. Chrome finish seems like it would be hard to take care of so it might would become more of a display item that I could show off.
I'm not sure what your intentions are here, or your priorities, but given that this was your grandfather's sidearm during his military service, it strikes me that even a restoration would be more true to your grandfather's memory and heritage if you put the gun back to the military-issue condition. Which would have been blued, NOT chrome or nickel plated.

Many replacement parts come either blued or in stainless. Few come in nickel or chrome, and few (for small parts, anyway) come "in the white" (unfinished). There have been numerous other therads on this forum discussing the wisdom of shooting these old Colts, and the consensus seems to be ... DON'T. The metallurgy just isn't there. More than likely it's perfectly safe to shoot, but if the slide or the frame should happen to crack -- there goes the heirloom memento of Grandad's Army service.

If it were mine, I believe I would have it re-blued, replace the missing pieces/parts, and keep it as a part of the family history.

[tworr]

Unfortunately this wasn't my Grandfather's side arm during the war, but rather one he bought from a neighbor around 1950.
I'm betting the reason why there are parts missing is that he was getting it ready to have it re-blued and never got back to it.

[exitwounds]

tworr, you are correct the pistol was NOT originally chromed. It would have been blued and was chromed after it left it's military service. If you wish to restore it a blued finish is what is should have with double diamond walnut grips. You can view some correct examples of that vintage pistol at www.coolgunsite.com in the 1911 Gallery.

[M J]

tworr,
congrads on a wonderful piece of history. i would put it togeather and use it. i have one built in 1917 and one built in 1976, both colts. the 1976 is tighter than average but the 1917 out shoots it. there is just nothing like an old 1911.
m j

[72 Broncoman]

Am I looking at the same pistol you people are ? The pistol posted sure looks like its been in a house fire. Maybe thats why they never re-assembled it.If thats the case better junk it,its lost its temper and shooting it could be deadly.Burned pistols are more common than you might think.Grandpa might have known the whole story so have the pistol checked out by a gunsmith . Just my thoughts.

[John]

House fire? How on earth did you determine that?

[Doran]

I thought the same thing when I first saw the discoloration. Will it clean off with just an oily rag?

[72 Broncoman]

John; From years of experince my friend,also automobile fires are frequent;Do you think that pistol looks shootable if new parts are added ? My experince is pulling many type weapons out of burns and that sure looks prime to me. I hope I'm wrong for his sake so he may have something of his grandfathers.

[John]

Oh I am not questioning your experience, I just wanted to know. I have no experience with old guns, so this one just looked rusty to me, something that could or could not be cured with a refinish, depending on how deep the rust had eaten the metal.

So that's how a gun which has been in a fire looks like? Thanks for letting me know.

[exitwounds]

If it went through a fire it may have become brittle depending upon the intensity of the heat, and should probably be checked out by a competent gunsmith to see if would be safe to shoot, and has no warped.

[Hawkmoon]

John; From years of experince my friend,also automobile fires are frequent;Do you think that pistol looks shootable if new parts are added ? My experince is pulling many type weapons out of burns and that sure looks prime to me. I hope I'm wrong for his sake so he may have something of his grandfathers.
You may be onto something with the fire theory. That would render it unsafe to shoot, but it could still be refinished and made "presentable" -- possibly without a firing pin and maybe with the firing pin hole welded shut as a precaution in the event knowledge of the unsafe condition becomes divorced from the gun in the future.

[72 Broncoman]

Notice the backside of msh,it has heat streaks which should not be there along with streaking on other areas which puts you in mind of case-hardning from old colt weapons 1880's.Also mid slide heat melted plating where possibly something fell or laid across causing heat temper . I also agree 100% with Hawkmoons idea.

[exitwounds]

I would agree with Hawkmoon's idea, but some weapons can be salvaged and restored that have gone through fires. If the pistol is not warped, cracked, etc. and is examined and determined to be salvageable, a usable pistol will certainly have more value than a demilled display one will. Likely the metal will have been tempered enough to render the pistol useless, in which case the display route would be the way to go.

[tworr]

I always just thought it was just badly tarnished like the blue look that silverware gets.

I will try to get a better picture. I had a really had time with the light and flash off the shiny metal parts and getting the macro to work on my camera.

Thank you for all the advice!

[72 Broncoman]

Tworr; Take a few minutes and let a gunsmith check it out and let us know.Hope for your sake its just photos and you can rebuild and cherish for a long time. Just a few minutes is all the smith will need and should not charge a cent.

[1917-1911M]

I can't really tell much from that picture except that the major parts are there and it should be a simple task and not too expensive to put the pistol back together. Is the barrel there? +1 on better pictures and some more views of components.

Now regarding the strength of old steel, not fire damaged, just old. What are some lower powered rounds that could be fired safely in an old 1911. And..............what's their story? M1911

[230HB]

I think I would go with the opinion of having a competent gunsmith check it over for fire damage.