AK, thumbhole to pistol grip conversion

[MLC]

OK, I'm officially sick of the cosmoline that sweats out of my Romanian 5.45 AK's stock onto my face and hands.
It's time to take drastic measures.
I want to get the Red Star Arms trigger group and gas piston as well as a K-Var stock set.
Who has done this conversion?
On a scale from:
I think I know where the bullets go to How many thousands is the headspace off, how difficult is changing out the trigger group?
I have built my own AR but it used pins, roll pins and detents not rivets.
What other US parts do I need to buy to make the conversion legal?
I also would like to solder an AK 74 brake onto my rifle, do I have to add another US part for that trade
Thanks in advance.
Also, I'd rather add a Romanian front sight base instead of soldering the brake, but can't find any so if anyone has a spare...

 

[GigaBuist]

IIRC you need to remove enough parts from the file so that there's no more than ten (10) imported parts left. I don't have the list handy for what's considered a valid "part" but I'm sure somebody that has done this will.

Regarding the cosmo I've heard from plenty of people that using a hairdryer will help the stuff sweat out quicker. I think a few of mine could stand some extra treatment in that area too.

 

[mrapathy2000]

few screws and couple drift pins for stock and trigger group.

www.ak-47.net parts info and assembly/dissasembly and a forum

for gas piston go to www.redstararms.com

www.akfiles.com nice forum www.ar15.com they have a ak47 section

not sure bout the handguards shouldnt be too tough.

for muzzle break buy a US manufactured muzzle break it will count positive towards parts count.

 

[Dionysusigma]

I think I know where the bullets go to How many thousands is the headspace off, how difficult is changing out the trigger group?

Removing the trigger group for the first time is not quite "How many thousandths is the headspace off (a 10 in difficulty)," but more around a 7-8 the first time you do it. Look at http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/fcgremoval.htm for a detailed, step-by-step explanation of how it's done. That's how I learned to do it.

After you take it out and put it all back together a few times, it gets to be about a 3-5 in difficulty. The "shepherd's crook" pin retainer will give you the most trouble, and RSA has a VERY user-friendly replacement for it here: http://www.redstararms.com/497.htm I don't have one though, but I might some day.

Once the FCG (trigger group) is replaced, look at http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/rsa_trigger.htm for a review.

Hope that helps some...

 

[Destructo6]

Overall, I'd say it's about a 3.

Pistol grip is comically easy. The buttstock is 2 screws and very easy.

The upper handguard may be difficult to turn out and off, but not bad. The lower handguard needs the lever lifted on the front side, but once that is done, it is very easy.

The little pin retainer spring is the hardest thing about the fire control parts. Once that's out, everything more or less falls out.

This really should be anticlimactic.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

http://www.courter.org/guns/rifles/slr_soup.html

 

[Sean T]

I've done this twice and this is what I've learned. First of all, you should know that it is NOT a one-size-fits-all deal. Be prepared for some sanding/gluing to make the handgrips fit. Second, make sure that there's a nut for the pistol grip screw to scew into. Found that out the hard way. If not you will have to order one. My MAK90 had one, my Romak did not.

Good luck!