Ithaca 1943 ??

[JohnHM]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post on this marvelous forum.
My name is John , and i'm living in the Netherlands.
I recently bought a "what i believe" 1943 Ithaca 12180**.

I searched the forum for a few days now, "God " if you want to learn something about 1911A1s , this is the place to be.
I learned that it is almost impossible to find out when or where my gun was shipped to ,so i will not bother you with question about records for shipment.

What i do want to know , what did i buy ??
Is it the original finish and original parts , what do you think abouth it ??

And can someone tell me where i can buy a nice slide for it ( they damaged the original , see pics )

kind regards,

John B
Netherlands


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/john69_bucket/Afbeelding1283.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/john69_bucket/Afbeelding1281.jpg

[kenhwind]

First welcome to the forum.
Looks like someone modified this ITHACA 1911A1 with target sights, still a nice looking pistol.
We have several very knowledgeable members that can answer your questions.

[Dexter]

Yes to what he said, in all regards, including the welcome. Be patient, and some of the resident experts will be by, so keep your camera handy, as they may want some more pics, and you may want to field strip it, so that you can let them know what barrel it has; just thinking that since someone obviously changed the sights, maybe they tossed the original one.

[John Holbrook]

Your Ithaca was shippped to Augusta Ordnance Depot, Augusta, GA on approximately December 11th. 1943...

[JohnHM]

Your Ithaca was shippped to Augusta Ordnance Depot, Augusta, GA on approximately December 11th. 1943...
Hi John,

Thanks for forwarding this information to me.

kind regards,

John

[JohnHM]

First welcome to the forum.
Looks like someone modified this ITHACA 1911A1 with target sights, still a nice looking pistol.
We have several very knowledgeable members that can answer your questions.
Hi Ken,

Yes indeed , it's still a nice pistol.
but if the possibility is there , i would bring it back in original condition.

kind regards,

John

[JohnHM]

Yes to what he said, in all regards, including the welcome. Be patient, and some of the resident experts will be by, so keep your camera handy, as they may want some more pics, and you may want to field strip it, so that you can let them know what barrel it has; just thinking that since someone obviously changed the sights, maybe they tossed the original one.
Thanks for your reply Dexter , kind regards

[kenhwind]

Yes indeed , it's still a nice pistol.
but if the possibility is there , i would bring it back in original condition.
If I had your Ithaca 1911A1 I would want to do the same thing. I've seen slide for sale on Gunbroker, maybe one of our members can hook you up with a correct slide.
If I could find a slide then I would buy a frame and build a paper puncher out of the other slide or try to sell it.
I am a big Ithaca fan, especially their shotguns. Named my goofy dog Ithaca, he's a black labrador.

[JohnHM]

Ken,

There is one on gunbroker right now , unfortunately its a Brazilian slide.
I just registered myself on gunbroker , i think i have to check the ads every day for a while see what's popping up.
So you think i bought a fairly original gun ??

[kenhwind]

I'm no expert on these, or much else, but I'd say your gun was original except for the sights. The receiver looks good, good enough IMO to try and find an Ithaca slide. There was a nice one for sale awhile back on Gunbroker.

[Scott Gahimer]

Provided the pistol is original finish and an original finish slide is sought to restore it's appearance, there are a couple of things to consider.

Ithaca finish varied throughout production. The surface preparation varied, which affects the color and appearance of the finish. So all Ithaca slides may not match the frame.

"P" proofs matched on slides and frames. Several dfferent stamps were used. It will be a challenge to find a slide the right color and condition that also has a matching "P" proof.

This Ithaca pistol probably has a matching set of flaming bombs on the slide and frame. The bomb is located down ion the recoil spring housing. The bomb on the slide is at the back, under the firing pin stop plate. Any new slide, to look original, would have to have a matching flaming bomb as well.

All this adds up to a difficult task in finding a slide for this pistol which will look original.

I would recommend keeping this slide with the pistol, even if another suitable slide is found to make the pistol look unaltered. Originality only happens once. If this slide is original to the frame, don't dispose of it.

[JohnHM]

Provided the pistol is original finish and an original finish slide is sought to restore it's appearance, there are a couple of things to consider.

Ithaca finish varied throughout production. The surface preparation varied, which affects the color and appearance of the finish. So all Ithaca slides may not match the frame.

"P" proofs matched on slides and frames. Several dfferent stamps were used. It will be a challenge to find a slide the right color and condition that also has a matching "P" proof.

This Ithaca pistol probably has a matching set of flaming bombs on the slide and frame. The bomb is located down ion the recoil spring housing. The bomb on the slide is at the back, under the firing pin stop plate. Any new slide, to look original, would have to have a matching flaming bomb as well.

All this adds up to a difficult task in finding a slide for this pistol which will look original.

I would recommend keeping this slide with the pistol, even if another suitable slide is found to make the pistol look unaltered. Originality only happens once. If this slide is original to the frame, don't dispose of it.
Scott ,
probably you're right , i have to think abouth the next step.