I found a 1911a1 colt mfg us property marked pistol in a gunshop that someone had turned into a bulleye gun adding a full length sight rail to the top of the slide. How are these attached and is the gun worth restoring. the front strap was also roughed up using some type of coarse abrasive.

If you mean restoring it to its original state, for a collection pistol, I sincerely doubt it is worth the effort. The slide rails are usually either attached with screws or welded to the slide, which means that even if it is removed, restoring the slide to its original shape will be a tough proposition. The frame may also be a trouble.

I do not think it is worth the effort, but I am no collector.

Rgds

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

Sounds like it could take a new slide, if the original has been permanently altered. Also, to restore the grip strap, I'll bet you'd end up a little thin there. Even then, you'd have to refinish it (again?). I'd give it some real thought before spending a lot of money on it. May be best to leave it alone and save your money for another project.

The frame rails may also have been swaged to tighten the slide to frame fit. Just dropping on another slide may prove to be challenge. I second the motion to leave it as is.

Well I may be Odd man out.....again . Those types of pistols are what I look for. I'm not a master gunsmith, heck I'm not gunsmith at all. But I've brought some pretty nasty wrecks back to half way normal looking, No they would never pass as a collectors items or origional but they end up looking more like they once did. I picked up an old Colt 1911 made in 1914 that sounds pretty much like the one you discribed, I swapped out a few parts plugged a few holes, smoothed out a few spots, It looked pretty good when it was all said and done, I traded it down the road and made a little extra out of it, maybe I even lost a few bucks when you calculate the parts and the time I invested in working on it, but tinkering and working on an old wreck is what I consider the best part of the hobby, I guess hobby vs collector is the big dividing line on these sites, I'm not looking for Sgt Yorks 1911, I'm looking for an old 1911 that I can have some fun with. I say give the old gun a chance.

I might have tried to restore is but the guy wanted $485 for it on consignment. With the Springfield milspec sitting next to it for $390 I could not justtify it.