Hi,
I recently made an impulse buy of a 'priced to move' Norinco Model of the 1911A1 45 auto at a local gun shop with a couple of knockoff Colt mags thrown in with a knock off Seville mag.
SERIAL NUMBER zMust be on the. Pistols 1911 Type Serial Number Location TOCTOC LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY. Manufacturer: NORINCO Model: MAK 90 Sporter Caliber: 7. Serial numbers that begin with a “C” were.45 ACP and serial numbers that begin with a “W” were.455 Webley calibers. 4) Colt M1911 British RAF Contract: S/N W91,100 to W110,696 = Jan. 22, 1918 to April 28, 1919 (Approx. 10,000 pistols were shipped to the Royal Air Force from this serial number range and were.455 Webley caliber.). Duplicate Serial Numbers: Colt manufactured 60,000 pistols in the Ithaca serial number range (804), 41,696 in the Remington Rand serial number range (900), and 4,171 in the US&S serial number range (10896). Ithaca and Remington Rands where not manufactured or shipped in numerical order.
Regardless, the pistol itself is in good working order and 100% original (crappy grips and all), it appears to have been only lightly, if ever, used. Serial number is in the 507xxx range, marked CSI Ontario, CA import.
Norinco 1911 Serial Number Lookup Series
I intended for this to be a beater, no frills 1911a1 though I'm thinking of sending it off for a quick buff & polish job on the internals including the trigger (less than $100 according to Frontiersman) to improve reliability long term. I did swap on a pair of Hogue grip panels since the greasy brown plastic jobs that come stock are worse than I expected even in a Norinco but that's as far as I intend to go with exterior modifications unless hammer bite is a problem in which case it is getting a beavertail grip safety & commander hammer.
Just curious if this pistol has any significant collectible value besides being my first Clinton 'pre-ban' firearm that should steer me away from beater duty or a future upgrade project? Before I spend anything on the pistol it's going to the farm to eat a few hundred Winny white box out of some Novak and Kimber magazines so I can inspect for hammer peening or anything else out of sorts, of course. I'd hate to be 'that guy' that destroyed even a bit of twisted firearm history out of complete ignorance. My Google search of Norinco 1911a1's makes me think this is an ideal beater gun but just in case...Also, any suggestions for local shops/individuals who do a good post-factory fitting/fluff on a 1911 in the $100 or less range (assuming nothing needs to be replaced, etc..)?
Thanks,