Ed Brown mainspring housing

[1911-GATOR]

I recently purchased an Ed Brown chainlink patterned mainspring housing, in blue, from Midway. The idea was to replace the plastic original on my full-size Kimber - more of a cosmetic issue than anything else.

The part was listed as a "drop-in" and another Midway customer wrote a review of how well the part fit his Kimber so I went ahead with the purchase. Well, I was able to install the housing but as a result the grip safety no longer worked as designed. You could, with sufficient force to the trigger, fire the gun without depressing the grip safety at all - definitely not a good set up.

I replaced the Ed Brown part with the original plastic housing and everything works again as it should. Unfortunately, since I installed the new housing and found out that in spite of the fact that it did "fit" it didn't work properly, I can't use it or return it. Oh well, live and learn. :o

[Jolly Rogers]

There is a ledge at the top of the mainspring housing that captures the bottom of the grip safety. The EB has extra material on this ledge. This partially depresses the grip safety enough to allow the trigger bow to pass it when the trigger is pulled. If you want to use the new part you can file the ledge on the mainspring housing so the safety can relax enough to fully block the trigger bow. You could also peen the bottom of the safety tang to add some bulk and block the trigger bow but filing the housing is the easiest way to correct the fit.
Joe

[1911-GATOR]

Thanks Jolly Rogers - When I get around to messing with the part again, I think I'll follow your advice and use a file on the ledge. I appreciate the tip.

[1911-GATOR]

Looking at the STI annimation it looks like the "ears" of the grip safety must be scraping against the top of the mainspring housing (MSH) in my case, preventing the grip safety from returning to the full release position - correct?

Also, with the Ed Brown MSH installed, the part of the Swartz safety contained in the frame is not flush to the top of the frame when the grip safety is released - it sticks up a bit and causes the slide to bang into it during reassembly, not as severe, but similar to what you get if you try to reassemble the pistol while it is upside down or while you are pressing on the grip safety.

Will filing the shelf of the Ed Brown MSH likely correct both issues?

[Jolly Rogers]

Sorry I don't know from Swartz :o That said I do not know of any safetys that have any interface with the mainspring housing save the ILS from Springfield Armory. I would bet that the position of the grip safety being partially depressed by the lack of clearance at the mainspring housing is what is causing the linkage to become problematic. If the only part you changed is the housing and the Swartz is changed the grip safety position is what effected it.
Speculation here only.
Joe

[1911-GATOR]

Thanks Joe - I think I figured it out. I don't know when I'll try it but at some point I'll file down some of the material on the Ed Brown housing and recheck the fit/function - nothing to lose and a new skill to gain.
Ed

[Rio Vista Slim]

Thanks Joe - I think I figured it out. I don't know when I'll try it but at some point I'll file down some of the material on the Ed Brown housing and recheck the fit/function - nothing to lose and a new skill to gain.
Ed
And this thread, ladies and gentlemen, is the primary reason this forum exists, and why I'm so proud to be a member and moderator.

Thanks, guys! :appld:

[1911-GATOR]

This forum has already been a big help to me because of the wealth of information contained here and the willingness of the members to give others their opinions and answer questions. I might not always get an exact answer but I'm always the recipient of enough information to "figure it out."

Hope your health is back to 100% Steve. Best regards, Ed