Series 70 Question

[BigRed3588]

I recently picked up a series 70 for what I consider a good price and was just looking for some info. This isn’t my first 1911 but it is my first Colt and I plan on shooting it, so I’m not concerned with collector value. That said, I am curious as to what alterations have been made as well as any additional info anyone may have. The sights are obviously aftermarket, I’m pretty sure it didn’t come with Pachmyer grips, and I suspect the ambi safety, beaver tail, mainspring housing, trigger, and hammer are all aftermarket as well. Anyway, what can you tell me? (I can add more pics if needed)

 

[Leadeye]

I agree that most of what you suspect is aftermarket probably is. I do remember seeing some Series 70 guns come from the factory with Pachmyers, but those were E- Nickel guns. You can also check to see if it has a solid or slotted bushing.

 

[BigRed3588]

Looks like a standard bushing. It seems to be a little bit shorter than usual but I’d have to measure it to be sure.

 

[Trapper Jim]

This piece is far from stock. You will have to see what works and go from there.

 

[Leadeye]

Here's a stock Series 70.

 

[drillsgt]

I recently picked up a series 70 for what I consider a good price and was just looking for some info. This isn’t my first 1911 but it is my first Colt and I plan on shooting it, so I’m not concerned with collector value. That said, I am curious as to what alterations have been made as well as any additional info anyone may have. The sights are obviously aftermarket, I’m pretty sure it didn’t come with Pachmyer grips, and I suspect the ambi safety, beaver tail, mainspring housing, trigger, and hammer are all aftermarket as well. Anyway, what can you tell me? (I can add more pics if needed)

View attachment 78624

From the picture I can see that the sights, trigger, grips, thumb safety, grip safety and mainspring housing are aftermarket. The Commanders did come with shorter barrel bushings as well.

 

[88E30M50]

A series 70 is a nice base to build off of. When dealing with a gun like this though, you might be careful in that you don’t know what the price point/quality level it was built to. Some stuff, like replacing the plastic MSH with a metal one is not too hard to get right but others can be. There are a great many 1911 parts floating out there that have nicer features than a USGI type, such as the extended safety, trigger, grip safety if you are not a fan of USGI style guns. The quality may be better or it may be worse depending on where the parts are sourced.

Hopefully the gun was tweaked by someone knowledgeable in the way of the 1911. Like I said, the Colt Series 70 is a great platform to build off of and that gun could become really, really good once tuned to your specific tastes. Grips are an easy swap and everybody likes different stuff. Pick up a set that speak to you and ditch the Pachs. Those are not the nicest ones around but if you like them then great.

After a full safety check, maybe shoot it a bit and see just how deep into the addiction you want to go. Could be that the gun is good enough as is but it could also be that to make it your own, you need to put some mammoth ivory on it, have the trigger tuned and a beaver tail grip safety fit. The 1911 world has something for everybody

 

[BigRed3588]

A series 70 is a nice base to build off of. When dealing with a gun like this though, you might be careful in that you donÂ’t know what the price point/quality level it was built to. Some stuff, like replacing the plastic MSH with a metal one is not too hard to get right but others can be. There are a great many 1911 parts floating out there that have nicer features than a USGI type, such as the extended safety, trigger, grip safety if you are not a fan of USGI style guns. The quality may be better or it may be worse depending on where the parts are sourced.

Hopefully the gun was tweaked by someone knowledgeable in the way of the 1911. Like I said, the Colt Series 70 is a great platform to build off of and that gun could become really, really good once tuned to your specific tastes. Grips are an easy swap and everybody likes different stuff. Pick up a set that speak to you and ditch the Pachs. Those are not the nicest ones around but if you like them then great.

After a full safety check, maybe shoot it a bit and see just how deep into the addiction you want to go. Could be that the gun is good enough as is but it could also be that to make it your own, you need to put some mammoth ivory on it, have the trigger tuned and a beaver tail grip safety fit. The 1911 world has something for everybody

I plan on getting it to the range soon but i'm cautiously optimistic. The gun appears to have been maintained well and the screws/pins aren't damaged which, from my experience, is the first indicator of shoddy work. I've owned a few 1911s, some of which I had fitted with aftermarket parts, and this one just feels like it was done properly. I'll put it this way; the ambi safety, grip safety, trigger, etc... feel natural to the point that I wouldn't have questioned them if I hadn't had some general knowledge of the features commonly seen in the 1980s.

Personally, I think this was probably a left-handed shooter's nightstand gun. The ambi safety appears to be older than the other aftermarket parts and the internals show enough wear for me to think someone was practicing. The bluing, on the other hand, doesn't show much holster wear. Not that it really matters, it just leads me to believe that the gun functions properly.

On a final note, I actually really like Pachmyer grips and have gone out of my way to track them down for a couple other guns. They certainly aren't the prettiest on the market but they fit me well and I like the texturing. Besides, my girlfriend read me the riot act last time I bought something with mammoth ivory grips. Apparently she can't understand spending that kind of money on a knife that will never get used

 

[LCSOSgt11]

the thumb safety appears to be an Ed Brown. The sights possibly fixed Trijicons. The hammer and grip safety appear to be stock. The only way to really tell is to take it to a competent gunsmith and have it disassembled, to see if the internals are stock or aftermarket. I also think the trigger is a bit long for a stock trigger in a Colt.