Grip Safety on a Colt Gold Cup

[HammeringHank]

I have a Colt Gold Cup Series 70 I purchased in the 70's. It is a tack driver. I decided to completely strip it to check for wear. To my eye everything looks fine to me. A gunsmith I shot with at the time removed the Depressor and Depressor Spring. He said the parts do not hold up. About a year ago I decided to reinstall the Depressor and spring. "What a chore" The Colt functioned as normal. I took the gun out of the volt to wipe it down and function check. The grip safety is sticking badly. After working it a few times it freed up a little. I installed all the parts correctly using info from a book.
Can you help me. Thanks, Hank

 

[billdeserthills]

My suggestion is you check out one of the 1911 forums, I'm sure plenty will pop up on google. Those guys are probably more familiar with your issue
www.1911forum.com
looks like a good place to ask

 

[Old Fuff]

My suggestion is you check out one of the 1911 forums, I'm sure plenty will pop up on google. Those guys are probably more familiar with your issue

Probably right. Nobody here knows anything....

Anyway, if indeed you did get the sear, disconector, and depressor/spring back right (something I wouldn't bet on) then what’s most likely causing your grief is the sear/disconector/grip safety spring. Be sure the little tab at the bottom hasn't slipped out of its slot in the frame.

Your so-called gunsmith set you up for a double-fire, caused by the relatively heavy trigger (the part not the pull) bouncing against the disconector during recoil. There is no way that either the depressor or spring are going to wear out - at least before the whole pistol does. NEVER REMOVE EITHER OF THOSE PARTS!

To assemble them you need what is called a slave pin. Take a regular sear pin and cut it so it's the same width as the sear. Then after putting the sear, disconector, depressor, and spring together insert the slave pin to keep them that way. Then it will be easy to insert the assembled parts into the frame, and as you push the regular sear pin into place it will push the slave pin out.

Not to shabby for someone who don't know nutt'in...

 

[rcmodel]

While you are at it, remove the mag release and take the trigger bow out and clean all the old dry grease & dirt out of there.
If the trigger is dragging and not returning all the way foreword, the grip safety will be dragging on it.

And I second putting the parts back in.
They simply don't wear out.

The heavy wide steel trigger of the Gold Cup requires the depressor & spring to prevent doubling or hammer drop to the intercept notch, which will quickly ruin the sear edge.

Believe it or not, Colt DID in fact have a very good reason to put them in there in the first place.

rc

 

[Crunchy Frog]

I have a Series 70 'Cup that I purchased used from a gunstore in the mid 80s. It was a shooter not a collector piece and the former owner(s?) had changed the grips and who knows what else.

Years went by without shooting the gun and about a year ago I pulled it from cold storage and took it to a local gunsmith for some minor work. He replaced the sear because the hammer was following the slide. Turns out the sear depressor and spring were missing.

Wilson Combat recently started making an aluminum trigger in the width of the old Gold Cup skeletonized steel triggers. I ordered the solid version (there is another version with three holes) and had it fitted.

I've only run about 200 rounds through it but the new trigger is holding up well.

 

[Zach S]

EGW and King's make Gold Cup triggers as well. Not adjustable for take-up like the Wilson is though.

 

[HammeringHank]

Thanks Old Fuff. You are correct about double firing. After shooting about 1500 or so rounds my Colt went full auto. The gunsmith did something to solve the problem. It has never happened again. When I reinstalled the Depressor and Depressor Spring my Colt functioned great. After shooting about 300 rounds my grip safety worked the way it should. I made a fixture out of a old drill bit which has two parts. One part holds the sear, the depressor and spring together as one part. The second part holds the complete sear with depressor and spring in the frame. Its the perfect installation tool. Is it possible somehow the sear spring went out of position. Can you explain how the sear spring sits against the grip safety. As far as cleaning. I put my colt in a bath of Hoppe's #9 and leave overnight. The frame and parts look like new. Thanks, Hank

 

[rcmodel]

The right curved arm of the three-lief spring pushes the grip safety out.

How 1911 safety's work.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=231096

Is it possible somehow the sear spring went out of position

No.

It is possible it wasn't in the right place when you put it together.

It sometimes wants to slip or turn when you compress the grip safety and begin to slide the mainspring housing back into position.

rc