Colt New Service .455 Eley Conversions

[MI2600]

A friend has a Colt New Service that was originally chambered in .455 Eley but was "converted". What does that mean? Were the chambers just bored through, leaving the barrel in the original .454?
I researched around and found Missouri Bullet has .455 Webley bullets. If he wanted to reload could he just use those bullets in .45LC brass? Are there other steps to be taken?
Any help is appreciated.

 

[BigBlue 94]

You need to have the chambers and barrel cast by a gunsmith to see what its chambered in.

Many "new service" pistols were chambered in .45acp for the army in 1917. What does the barrel say on it?

You may get better luck if this thread is moved to the firearms research or gunsmithing sections

 

[MI2600]

Ok, The barrel was stamped "455 Eley", but is now overstamped ".45 Colt". A reformed .45LC cartridge fits smoothly into the chambers. A .452" bullet falls through the throat. A .454" bullet goes through the throat with a little effort. Both bullets were lead.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Hmmm, seems they were okay with not swapping barrels and having poor accuracy. You should be able to fire 45lc out of it, barring any issues with cartridge fit and headspace.

My 1917 colt us army is very accurate, even with a slightly untimed cylinder.

I'm not familiar with the eley or Webley rounds, so I can't say much about the chambers.