[Skunkabilly]

Say I get, for example, a Kimber Custom II and a few parts from, say, Wilson Combat or whomever....if I buy the "drop-in" parts, are they 'drop-in' or do they still require fitting and so forth?

Are sights easy to swap out, or do they require one of them sight pushers?

What's the worse that can happen?

[cookhj]

well, i got a nowlin drop in hammer/sear/disconnect kit for a 1911 from brownell's and, well, it dropped right in, AND it functions. however, some kits are more "drop-in" than others.

[Jim Watson]

Around here we say that "drop in" means that you buy the parts and then "drop in" at the gunsmith's shop. Not every part you can buy will require fitting, but that is the smart bet.

Sights are usually tight in their dovetail. A padded vise and a non-marring punch (Most say brass, my FLG usually uses a piece of nickel silver or for tough cases, mild steel.) can substitute for a screw-action pusher, but you have to be careful.

What is the worst? Depends on the part. Maybe it cannot be fitted, already too small in some dimension and it is either ugly or doesn't work. Maybe you muck it up trying to get it in. Maybe you beat up the expensive piece trying to make the cheap one work.

I see a lot of posts to the effect that "Nothing to it, I made my own gun out of an anvil." But you tend not to talk about your failures and I just wonder how many skinned up parts are on the back shelves of the country.

I have one gun built out of reject parts from a competitive shooter's junk box. His gunsmith screwed them up, mine made them work. But it wasn't fast and in the end, not cheap.

[AZ Jeff]

The "drop-in-ability" of parts on a M1911 type pistol is highly dependent on two things:

1. the part being "dropped in"
2. the brand (manufacturer) of the M1911 into which the part is being installed.

Let me address #2 first: if you are dropping parts into a major brand M1911 (Colt, Springfield, Kimber, etc.) expect the number of parts that truly drop in to be higher. If you are trying to drop into something built on an Essex frame, or a Auto Ordnance, or the like, expect less luck with true drop in.

The following parts are pretty much drop in type items:
1. recoil spring, guide, & plug
2. standard dimension barrels (NOT those that require match fitting, or "semi-fitted") and link, pin, and bushing
3. mainspring housing and internal parts
4. firing pin and spring
5. plungers and spring
6. all pins
7. sear spring
8 mag catch and assoicated parts
9 stocks, screws and bushings
10 grip safety (NOT beavertail type)

The following parts almost always require some fitting/adjustment, if for no other reason than to insure 100% reliability and functioning:

1 Sear, hammer, and disconnector
2. Trigger
3. Extractor
4. Ejector
5. Slide stop
6. Safety lock

In the M1911, by virtue of it's design (there is a lot of tolerance stackup on some of the machining operations for the various parts) it's impossible to have certain parts fit without some adjustments, no matter how minor. (THe safety lock is a real good example here.)

Just be cautious with your expectations of "drop in" when dealing the with old slab sides. In 25 years of fiddling with these pistols, I rarely have seen many true drop in parts actually do so with 100% reliability when done.

[Kruzr]

On a Kimber Series 2, neither a grip safety nor a firing pin (unless its a Kimber FP) is a drop in. I've used Wilson BP extractors in my Kimbers and all 3 were completely drop in. A MSH is almost a drop in...you have to adjust the Grip Safety stops on top to make sure it doesn't affect the safety.


Kimber sights are put in with a press in the factory. They are VERY tight. Some can be drifted out.....others take more effort or creativeness. I was able to get the adjustable out of mine once by drifting it out but I know of another that couldn't be budged.
Besides, Kimbers didn't originate in Italy..........you won't like them :D

[10-Ring]

One of the guys I shoot with added drop in parts to his 1911. It came out okay. The problem w/ the drop in parts is that for the convenience of drop in, you seriously compromise on fit & finish...

[Delmar]

I'm "drop fitting" a steel MSH from Wilson's to my Officers model as we speak-I have a Kings beavertail which is a bit long.

[dwestfall]

I've found that McCormick parts usually drop in to Kimbers.

They should, right? Doesn't McCormick supply Kimber?

At any rate, it makes it easy to get parts from Brownells. I just replaced a Kimber ambi safety with a McCormick single-sided one. Dropped right in, and feels slightly crisper than the factory one.

[Tamara]

1) "No gunsmithing required" means "Some gunsmithing required".

2) "Some gunsmithing required" means "Bring money".

3) "Gunsmith fitting recommended" means "Are you sure you want to buy this part?".

4) "Match grade" means "Hope you got a machine shop in the basement, bro".

5) "Mil Spec" means "My cousin's brother's stepson's best friend told him that he saw a pic of this part on a Lower Slobbovian mercenary's gun in a back issue of Soldier of Fiction once".

6) On the other hand, sometimes "drop-in" means that the part should have enough clearance to be "dropped in" from across the room and will rattle around in your gun like a BB in a box car.

7) "Oversize" really means "Max. spec."

8) Unless it's from Marvel, in which case "Oversize" means "Hope you got a machine shop in the basement, bro". (Or a twelve-pound sledge. Whichever.)

9) A pin that is "oversize" on a Colt may fall right through a Painted Ordnance.

10) Once you go Bo-Mar, you'll never go back.

11) Because you can't. At least, not without a lot of iffy welding and grinding.

[cookhj]

those are some good rules to live by tamara. i'll try to remember them from now on. :neener:

[Sean Smith]

Tamara's list, with some modifications (hey, I'm on gunsmith #4 :D )

1) "No gunsmithing required" means "Some gunsmithing required".

Or, "it will be so ugly you wish there WAS some gunsmithing required.

4) "Match grade" means "Hope you got a machine shop in the basement, bro".

It also means, "you will no longer have any hardware excuse for sucking behind the trigger."

5) "Mil Spec" means "My cousin's brother's stepson's best friend told him that he saw a pic of this part on a Lower Slobbovian mercenary's gun in a back issue of Soldier of Fiction once".

Anyone who has been in the military can tell you that "Mil Spec" is a dubious distinction if it isn't an A-10 Warthog.

6) On the other hand, sometimes "drop-in" means that the part should have enough clearance to be "dropped in" from across the room and will rattle around in your gun like a BB in a box car.

To elaborate: drop-in parts that actually drop in will work horribly or look ugly. Drop-in parts that don't drop in will at least look and work well eventually.

8) Unless it's from Marvel, in which case "Oversize" means "Hope you got a machine shop in the basement, bro". (Or a twelve-pound sledge. Whichever.)

And if you bought one, you deserve no better. :p

9) A pin that is "oversize" on a Colt may fall right through a Painted Ordnance.

Which is saying alot about Para-Ordinance, and none of it good.

[1911Tuner]

Drop in is a pretty loose term. If we keep in mind that all
rank-and-file production pistols are assembled on a line using
drop-in parts, it gets a little more closely defined.

The assembler *select fits* a part or group. If one part doesn't
pass the function/timing test, another is selected until it works,
and the gun passes to the next station. The aim is to eliminate
the need for hand-fitting. Note that there is rarely any evidence
of any prep work on anything in a production gun. When it is
seen, you can about bet that there is a badly out-of-spec frame
or slide on that gun.


All GI pistols (1911) were built this way since the early twenties.
That's why they could be quickly serviced in the field with spare
parts without hand fitting. The catch was that all suppliers
of government runs of parts had to make them within
certain tolerances. It was a more tightly run operation then.
It had to be. Lives might depend on it.

Since so many manufacturers are building guns, and only
sometimes two makers will get the components from the same supplier, things can get a little tricky. If you're replacing a part,
going back to the particular gun maker will get you the
best chance of having it drop in and work. Mixing parts
from different manufacturers turns it into a crapshoot.
It will be a successful swap sometimes...sometimes not,
depending on how closely they adhere to true Ordnance
blueprint specs.

I've found that aftermarket "Drop-In" parts are generally
made to maximum size/minimum tolerance so that many times
a certain amount of hand-fitting will be required. Not always,
but at least 3 times in 10.

Best bet is to take the term Drop-In with a grain of salt.
It might work...but don't bet on it.

Cheers!
Tuner