????'s about 1941 Colt production,blue v park.....

[RayP.]

I have a question of how much Colt 1941 production was parked and how much blued ?,Clawson small book says 1941 production was from #721978 to #756733,total 34,755 production,1st. park was #729993 so 1st. 8,015 pistols would have been blue,so we have a balance of 26,740 pistols of blue/park mixture,any of the "big books"(or anyone have a quess?) state how many blue v park in that ser# range?,are parked pistols approaching rarity status as that of blue pistols?

RayP.

[Duane Hansen]

Some of the early books, Clawson's included, said that their were blued Colt 1911A1 pistols up to 760,000. In later books it was stated up into the 740,000 range. I believe one would be hard pressed to find a legit blued A1 much past 732,000 range if even that high. Their are plenty of RS inspected Colts out their in the 732,000 to 750,000 range that were parked and now are blued.

[NyteOwl]

My 1941 is in the 736xxx range and it is parkerized except for the barrel and small parts like grip screws etc. which are blued if that helps narrow the cutoff down a bit.

[Johnny Peppers]

Original blued 1911A1 Colts have been observed in the low 734,000 serial number range, and it is thought the change to phosphate occurred around the middle 734,000 range.
I have never spoken with a knowledgeable collector who has seen an original blued Colt 1911A1 above that serial number range.

(Have a picture of a late blued 1911A1 and early phosphate Colt, but forum wouldn't accept 800X600 resize. Will try later)

[crappiecop]

RayP., my 1941 WB Colt # 752101 frame with it's # 752099 slide is parkerized. I'm grateful that it was left in it's original finish and not blued by a previous owner.

[Johnny Peppers]

The original phosphate finished pistols that were changed to blue finish weren't refinished by just ordinary previous owners. The finish was changed by hucksters to double or triple the value of pistols they were selling by changing the finish. The incorrect information, which at one time went as high as serial number 780,000 for the blued 1911A1 pistols, gave them a license to commit larceny.

[RayP.]

In case anyone is tracking #'s for blue v park,I have 748xxx parked RS with small blue parts(not hiding last 3 digits,don't want to go downstairs to check).

RayP.

[Johnny Peppers]

This is an early phosphate Colt 1911A1 which still has a mix of blued small parts. The grip screws, grip screw bushings, hammer and sear pin, and mainspring housing pin are blue.

http://i32.tinypic.com/sg349y.jpg

[Johnny Peppers]

This one was in the last 1000 or so blued Colt 1911A1 pistols before the change to phosphate.

http://i26.tinypic.com/5n8bqc.jpg

[Scott Gahimer]

While Mr. Clawson states in his books Colt began Parkerizing in May 1941 and the first pistol noted as having a Parkerized finish in the Colt records was s/n 729993, Colt did not standardize Parkerizing on the M1911A1 pistols until about the 734xxx-735xxx serial range.

I do not recall knowing a collector who has an original finish Parkerized pistol below s/n 735000. I also do not recall ever seeing one.

I believe most collectors believe the 729993 pistol was a trial run, or sample pistol and that's why it was noted specifially in the Colt records. Mr Clawson states in his book that normally the type of finish was not noted in the Colt shipping records. Colt 72993 was assembled on May 19, 1941. That pistol was shipped (according to the Colt records in Clawson's book) on May 29, 1941.

There were only two shipments on June 28 and July 18 before Colt's reached the 735000 mark. We know they assembled pistols for the July 18 shipment prior to that date. That's less than 60 days from the shipping date of 729993.

Colt's had been shipping once monthly (at the end of the month) since Oct 28, 1940. They shipped 10/28/40, 11/26/40, 12/27/40, 1/30/41, 2/28,41, 3/29/41, 4/30/41, 5/29/41, 6/28/41, 7/18/41, 7/31/41 and 8/28/41. After those dates, the numbers of shipments per month increased.

Looking at those dates, it seems logical to me that Colt's standardized the finish to Parkerized with the 7/31/41 shipment which began with pistol 735178. I think the last blued pistol may have been 735177. If there was a transition period where blued and Parkerized pistols were shipped in the same order, I believe it was the 7/18/41 order of 1000 pistols (734178-735177). I speculate that's why the extra out-of-place shipment in mid-July was made...to clear out the blued guns and start fresh with Parkerized pieces.

I just spoke with Chuck Clawson and ran this past him and he agreed my thinking is logical. There just aren't any known records that specifically address exactly when the change occurred or at what specific number. However, he said shipping dates, the known records and the observed pistols do support my thinking.

He first said he believed the last blued pistols were in the 734xxx range and that, according to his notes, Parkerizing was standardized at Colt's in July 1941. We then discussed the schedule of shipments and the out-of-place order and he agreed. He also confirmed 729993 was a sample pistol and that he had never seen an original Parkerized Colt below s/n 735000.

[RayP.]

It appears that there were 14,000 +/- blue and 20,000 +/- parked pistols in the 1941 production if my estimates are any where close.

RayP.

[NyteOwl]

This is an early phosphate Colt 1911A1 which still has a mix of blued small parts. The grip screws, grip screw bushings, hammer and sear pin, and mainspring housing pin are blue.

http://i32.tinypic.com/sg349y.jpg

Nice! Less than 400 units away from mine but in better shape.

http://i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/M1911AVT/m1911a1right2.jpg