Just for fun I decided to modify my Minimax 45, I decided that the first thing that "needed" fixed was the ignition parts, so I replaced the sear, disconnector, hammer, hammer strut, trigger, and sear spring with Chip McCormick parts.

The next thing that had to be done was to replace the MSH with a S&A magwell w/lanyard loop, also titanium mainspraing cap, and new mainspring. added the needed length to the grip so that it is about 1/8 shorter than fullsize now.

Then I polished the feed ramp, slideways/frame rails, ejector surfaces, and generally cleaned up the rough edges.

The only thing left is to replace the sights with Novaks and refinish it.

Now don't get me wrong, I liked the little gun as it was, shot mid 240's out of 250possible on the Texas CHL qualification with it, so it was a functional and accurate weapon to start with.

As I usually say,

Rgds

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

It would be worth the price of admission to see pics of this. i own a minimax, however my is still dressed the way it came. I would really like to see your work. please send pics.
joe

I recently picked one up in a trade with a family member. Its still got all the stock parts but he did give it a trigger job and rounded all those sharp edges with a file and smoothed it up with sandpaper, looks alot better and feels way better.

Did all those chip mcormick parts drop in? You didnt get the grip safety? The one on mine sinks lower into the grip than Id like.

Its only got one problem, the firing pin lightly strikes the primer failing to fire a round frequently.

Had the same problem with my Colt. Needs a new mainspring. Might cost as much as $5.00.

I have yet to test fire it, but I think I found the problem. Didnt have a firing pin safety disconnector. It still fired! Firing pin safety was cheap metal and dented enough to allow some shells to ignite. I just yanked all that firing pin safety nonsense out.

Hate to say it but I'm going to put some valve grinding stuff I got at autozone on the slide and on the outside of the barrel to work out all this roughness on my self claimed POS. If you have ever seen pimp my ride well that is what I'm going to do with this thing got to find a metal shop around here to get the material I need for the grips and go from there I might have every pimp in the world wanting my pistol when I get done.

I really wanted a 40 s&w instead of the .45 but couldn't find one at the Dallas gunshow this weekend. So I bought the mini-max 45. So far it looks pretty good after cleaning it up a bit. Ramp doesn't have any really obvious bad spots. I'll polish the ramp and barrel a bit with a dremel and some jewelers rouge. What is the little pin that comes by the disconnector? Pushing on the grip safety seems to cause it to move up, Is it some kind of firing pin safety? The slide to frame fit seems pretty good on this. No rattles when shaken. I'll get some magazines from cdnn. They have some defender .45 mags for a fairly good price. Trigger pull is a bit gritty but I think I can clean that up with some stoning. I like the idea of using some valve grinding paste to clean up the slide rails. Have to look into that. Also the sights are a bit small. I'll look into replacing them eventually. All in all, not a bad buy for $250. The next step up would have been the rock island compact for about $120 more. Next time I may look into getting a .40 eventually.

Any ideas on what to do to this thing to increase reliability and functionality? Any suggestions welcomed. How about some pictures of what you've done to yours?

Thanks,
Mel

Risking to be boring

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

don't have any pics yet I hope yours doesn't have any problems like mine. Just try to chamber a few rounds with the firing pin out to insure it does not go off with live ammo and end up with a hole in the wall. Just incase you haven't figured out how to take the slide off and the firing pin out this is what you do. Make sure your mag is out if you look on the slide you will see a small notch right before the slide catch, line it up with the part of your slide release that catchs the slide and push the slide release out from the other side pull it completely out. then just pull the slide forward be careful as the spring will have tension on it. Take the spring/guide rod whatever you want to call it out. There should be a plug that has to come out also before the barrel can slide out. Alright now comes the fun part you might want some help with this part one of those times you need a third hand. If you hold your slide with the rear pointing up or away from you you will see the firing pin housing there is a circular part on the right side of the little dip it has to be pressed down while pressing the fire pin down and slide the piece holding the fire pin in. It should then slide out. The circular part has to be held down to get the pin and spring out. Also you will need to put that small piece back in to get the slide back on and oh yeah it will fall out. So after you get the barrel and spring back on the slide and put the slide back on the frame I suggest pulling the slide all the way back and Slide that small piece out so it doesn't get lost. The valve grinding compound might best advice if you have never used it is put a little bit on at a time or you may have problems working the slide it's like liquid sand paper. Oh yeah were you at the Market Hall Gun show B/c I was there also for about an hour