GunN4U
6th December 2008, 15:42
Note to Forum Moderators: It wasn't clear to me which forum this thread should be posted. The subject gun is not a custom pistol by most standards but rather a restored, mostly stock, Colt post-WWII Commercial Government Model. The involvement of a nationally renowned professional gunsmith in the restoration project was present but minimal.
Since turning my ‘52 Colt Commercial Government over to John Harrison for total custom rebuild my intension was to replace its daily home defense and carry-duties with a well-used, mostly original 1953-vintage Colt Commercial Government .45ACP that I’d bought for cheap a couple years ago and set aside for a future project. Upon cleaning and inspecting the high-mileage ’53 Colt in preparation for deployment, substantial rust spots forming on the slide and frame flats were discovered. Additionally, its slide to frame fit and action lockup were found to be substandard from God only knows how many rounds fired through it by numerous owners over its past 55 years of existence. The trigger pull wasn’t unbearable but was notably gritty and slightly heavy. So it became abundantly clear the old warhorse needed some work for restoring it to its former glory and once again making it fit for duty prior to placement into service for home defense and occasional carry.
Calling on my close friend and gunsmith, John Harrison, for help with the limited budget restoration/upgrade project, the results are partially illustrated in the accompanying photos. Please pardon the hilariously amateurish photographs that I took myself with a cheapo digital camera. But I could not bring myself to impose on John’s good nature for asking to use his photography studio which should be reserved exclusively for his full-house custom pistols… not low-budget rebuild projects for imposing friends.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt0.jpg
To be clear, this ’53 Colt Government Model is not a custom gun; was not intended to be, therefore all temptation for turning Big John loose on it for building another full-house custom, safe-queen was resisted. The goal for developing a mostly stock, daily driver in like-new condition based on an early Colt Government platform for which I’d have no reluctance to carry on a regular basis or wear out on a pistol range drove the specification. Remaining steadfast with the spec was supported by an ailing bank account that has not yet fully recovered from the previous 1952 Colt full-house custom project (AKA Birth-Year Custom Colt) recently contracted to John. The subject gun can best be described as a tuned, blueprinted or enhanced stock pistol (your choice) with a facelift. In fact, with the exception of the trigger, sights, barrel bushing and plain-Jane checkered walnut grip panels it’s built straight from good old Colt parts. Some of the parts such as the barrel and hammer were hand-selected from boxes of OEM takeoffs leftover by earlier custom gun projects that I’ve collected for years.
Since I mentioned the barrel first, let’s start there. The project gun is equipped with a like-new condition, hard-fitted Colt factory barrel of unknown vintage (and origin) providing rock-solid lockup. It was selected for this project over numerous other spare factory barrels because it was found to be slightly oversized for the ’53 Colt in its critical lockup areas allowing it to be tailored to the gun without the need for welding. I’ll take all the dumb luck I can find these days and run like the devil with it.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt2.jpg
The barrel bushing is a snuggly fitted Ed Brown unit. Normally I prefer EGW bushings for custom guns however the Ed Brown part was selected for this project due to its standard flange thickness, offering more of an OEM look than would the thicker-flanged EGW (so I thought). It does however irritate me that the bushing is stamped across the front face of the flange with Ed Brown’s logo… large, upper-case lettering “B-R-O-W-N”. Had I know that prior to placing the order I probably would’ve selected someone else’s bushing. But I’m past that now… it is a high-quality product, so let’s just move on before I start complaining again. :mad:
The trigger, tuned to a crisp, creep-free 4 lb pull, is a fitted short, solid aluminum unit with over-travel stop produced by Cylinder & Slide. Initially I reinstalled the OEM blue steel unit after having it refinished along with the other gun components. Although the newly polished blue OEM trigger looked fabulous reinstalled in the project gun the loose-fitting, undersized stock part rattling around in the frame failed to meet expectations for upgraded performance… so out it came. However, I must confess the contrasting bright aluminum finish on the C&S unit bugs me even more than does the “BROWN” barrel bushing so I may opt to eventually replace it with a blackened Harrison unit offered up for solution by Big John himself… knowing that I’m a nitpicker and would’ve eventually driven him nuts.
Although an authentic Colt part, the early GI-type wide spur hammer is obviously of mismatched vintage for a ’53 Commercial Government. I could’ve reused the original narrow spur hammer for the project but my redneck alter ego kept whispering “wide spur… wide spur”. What the heck… this is essentially just a hot-rod Colt parts-gun anyway, right? So the wide spur hammer was selected for the basis of project. So if shamed into reinstalling the OEM hammer by my nagging Colt-purist buddies, I’m only out a trigger job… or a better solution yet may be to have John match the OEM hammer to a spare sear providing interchangeability without sacrificing performance.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt1.jpg
No Colt Government restoration/upgrade project based closely on factory styling would be complete without Uncle Ted’s Retro Rear Sight. Mated to John’s SDM front sight with white or gold bead (or equivalent by others) provides crystal clear target picture and lightning fast target acquisition. You owe it to your 1911-loving selves to try an equivalent sight combination based around Heirloom Precision’s superb Retro Rear Sight. I should also mention that John staked-on the SDM white bead front sight rather than the generally preferred method of dovetailing for two primary reasons; originality followed by budget considerations.
Outside of just enough slide to frame tightening to remove audible rattle, replacing worn small parts and springs and adjusting critical clearances and spring rates to factory spec or better, no further machine work or modifications were performed on the otherwise stock Colt. Again this was as-specified for the low-budget rebuild better suited for an ailing wallet and a gun destined for heavy use rather than “safe-queendom”.
Now for the facelift… for closely mimicking Colt’s period-correct high-polished blue flats with matte rounds, John bead blasted the radial surfaces, mainspring housing, grip safety, hammer and internal parts to a matte finish. He followed with polishing the slide and frame’s flat surfaces, thumb safety, slide stop, magazine catch and screws/pins to 1200 grit. The bluing was applied by the finishers at Glenrock Blue out of Glenrock AZ. They’ve done several custom guns for John on my behalf and I highly recommend them.
Aside from John function-fire testing the gun to ensure it says “BANG” rather than “KABOOM” and zeroing the new sights with a few rounds at an indoor range, this gun has not been formally range-tested. So unless it totally embarrasses me by falling short of expectations, I will update the thread in the next couple of weeks with a range report after having the opportunity to thoroughly wring it out. Again, sorry for the hokey pictures... I’ll update the thread or repost the gun if I can improve on the photos at a later date. Thanks for looking.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt3.jpg
Since turning my ‘52 Colt Commercial Government over to John Harrison for total custom rebuild my intension was to replace its daily home defense and carry-duties with a well-used, mostly original 1953-vintage Colt Commercial Government .45ACP that I’d bought for cheap a couple years ago and set aside for a future project. Upon cleaning and inspecting the high-mileage ’53 Colt in preparation for deployment, substantial rust spots forming on the slide and frame flats were discovered. Additionally, its slide to frame fit and action lockup were found to be substandard from God only knows how many rounds fired through it by numerous owners over its past 55 years of existence. The trigger pull wasn’t unbearable but was notably gritty and slightly heavy. So it became abundantly clear the old warhorse needed some work for restoring it to its former glory and once again making it fit for duty prior to placement into service for home defense and occasional carry.
Calling on my close friend and gunsmith, John Harrison, for help with the limited budget restoration/upgrade project, the results are partially illustrated in the accompanying photos. Please pardon the hilariously amateurish photographs that I took myself with a cheapo digital camera. But I could not bring myself to impose on John’s good nature for asking to use his photography studio which should be reserved exclusively for his full-house custom pistols… not low-budget rebuild projects for imposing friends.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt0.jpg
To be clear, this ’53 Colt Government Model is not a custom gun; was not intended to be, therefore all temptation for turning Big John loose on it for building another full-house custom, safe-queen was resisted. The goal for developing a mostly stock, daily driver in like-new condition based on an early Colt Government platform for which I’d have no reluctance to carry on a regular basis or wear out on a pistol range drove the specification. Remaining steadfast with the spec was supported by an ailing bank account that has not yet fully recovered from the previous 1952 Colt full-house custom project (AKA Birth-Year Custom Colt) recently contracted to John. The subject gun can best be described as a tuned, blueprinted or enhanced stock pistol (your choice) with a facelift. In fact, with the exception of the trigger, sights, barrel bushing and plain-Jane checkered walnut grip panels it’s built straight from good old Colt parts. Some of the parts such as the barrel and hammer were hand-selected from boxes of OEM takeoffs leftover by earlier custom gun projects that I’ve collected for years.
Since I mentioned the barrel first, let’s start there. The project gun is equipped with a like-new condition, hard-fitted Colt factory barrel of unknown vintage (and origin) providing rock-solid lockup. It was selected for this project over numerous other spare factory barrels because it was found to be slightly oversized for the ’53 Colt in its critical lockup areas allowing it to be tailored to the gun without the need for welding. I’ll take all the dumb luck I can find these days and run like the devil with it.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt2.jpg
The barrel bushing is a snuggly fitted Ed Brown unit. Normally I prefer EGW bushings for custom guns however the Ed Brown part was selected for this project due to its standard flange thickness, offering more of an OEM look than would the thicker-flanged EGW (so I thought). It does however irritate me that the bushing is stamped across the front face of the flange with Ed Brown’s logo… large, upper-case lettering “B-R-O-W-N”. Had I know that prior to placing the order I probably would’ve selected someone else’s bushing. But I’m past that now… it is a high-quality product, so let’s just move on before I start complaining again. :mad:
The trigger, tuned to a crisp, creep-free 4 lb pull, is a fitted short, solid aluminum unit with over-travel stop produced by Cylinder & Slide. Initially I reinstalled the OEM blue steel unit after having it refinished along with the other gun components. Although the newly polished blue OEM trigger looked fabulous reinstalled in the project gun the loose-fitting, undersized stock part rattling around in the frame failed to meet expectations for upgraded performance… so out it came. However, I must confess the contrasting bright aluminum finish on the C&S unit bugs me even more than does the “BROWN” barrel bushing so I may opt to eventually replace it with a blackened Harrison unit offered up for solution by Big John himself… knowing that I’m a nitpicker and would’ve eventually driven him nuts.
Although an authentic Colt part, the early GI-type wide spur hammer is obviously of mismatched vintage for a ’53 Commercial Government. I could’ve reused the original narrow spur hammer for the project but my redneck alter ego kept whispering “wide spur… wide spur”. What the heck… this is essentially just a hot-rod Colt parts-gun anyway, right? So the wide spur hammer was selected for the basis of project. So if shamed into reinstalling the OEM hammer by my nagging Colt-purist buddies, I’m only out a trigger job… or a better solution yet may be to have John match the OEM hammer to a spare sear providing interchangeability without sacrificing performance.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt1.jpg
No Colt Government restoration/upgrade project based closely on factory styling would be complete without Uncle Ted’s Retro Rear Sight. Mated to John’s SDM front sight with white or gold bead (or equivalent by others) provides crystal clear target picture and lightning fast target acquisition. You owe it to your 1911-loving selves to try an equivalent sight combination based around Heirloom Precision’s superb Retro Rear Sight. I should also mention that John staked-on the SDM white bead front sight rather than the generally preferred method of dovetailing for two primary reasons; originality followed by budget considerations.
Outside of just enough slide to frame tightening to remove audible rattle, replacing worn small parts and springs and adjusting critical clearances and spring rates to factory spec or better, no further machine work or modifications were performed on the otherwise stock Colt. Again this was as-specified for the low-budget rebuild better suited for an ailing wallet and a gun destined for heavy use rather than “safe-queendom”.
Now for the facelift… for closely mimicking Colt’s period-correct high-polished blue flats with matte rounds, John bead blasted the radial surfaces, mainspring housing, grip safety, hammer and internal parts to a matte finish. He followed with polishing the slide and frame’s flat surfaces, thumb safety, slide stop, magazine catch and screws/pins to 1200 grit. The bluing was applied by the finishers at Glenrock Blue out of Glenrock AZ. They’ve done several custom guns for John on my behalf and I highly recommend them.
Aside from John function-fire testing the gun to ensure it says “BANG” rather than “KABOOM” and zeroing the new sights with a few rounds at an indoor range, this gun has not been formally range-tested. So unless it totally embarrasses me by falling short of expectations, I will update the thread in the next couple of weeks with a range report after having the opportunity to thoroughly wring it out. Again, sorry for the hokey pictures... I’ll update the thread or repost the gun if I can improve on the photos at a later date. Thanks for looking.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/DHRoss_photos/53Colt3.jpg