Replacement parts for a 1911 Norinco

[Ravenmoon]

First I want to say thanks for such a great sight!

My 1911 Norinco broke the slide stop right where it goes though the barrel link. Never thought that part could or would brake like it did. I have had the gun for 15 years and enjoy shooting it a lot. So to get a good many more years from it what brand of parts should I look at? I also want to replace the extractor because I am starting to get some feeding / ejection problems. So far I have looked at Wilson and Ed Brown stuff at Brownells, they seem pricey, are they worth it quality wise? Or should I get it a whatever brand from ebay or someplace else? Anything else I should look at or replace while it’s apart?

 

[Jim Watson]

If you could find a real USGI part that the Norinco was copied from, that would be good. But most of those have dried up.
1911Tuner, this board, recommends the Wilson Heavy Duty part. Less expensive than the Bullet Proof and a better fit in most guns.

 

[1911Tuner]

A replacement isn't hard or expensive to arrange, but breaking a slidestop crosspin indicates a deeper, more serious problem. Most Norinco pistols that I've owned and handled have a common glitch. The barrels stop on the link. In fairness, there isn't usually enough interference to cause a problem, and most of them seem to do just fine. If one is stopping on the link hard enough to break that pin...that's not a good thing.

In every one that I've seen with that malady, it's been due lower barrel lug location instead of the Vertical Impact Surface, but it's possible that a few of'em could have a VIS that's out of spec. I suggest having the pistol examined by a pistosmith who is wise in the way of 1911, and mention these concerns to him.

 

[WardenWolf]

The Norinco 1911's were made out of hard tool steel, much stronger than the normal steel used in US-made 1911's. Good gunsmiths know these are excellent candidates for fine-tuning. However, many don't like working on them because the harder steel is difficult and time-consuming to work with, and puts a lot more wear and tear on their own equipment. Don't let a smith tell you it's junk, but also don't be surprised if they charge you a little extra to fix it.

 

[GCBurner]

If you don't require any expert pistolsmithing, however, and just need to replace a worn or broken part, any part that will fit in a regular Colt 1911A1 will fit in the Norinco 1911A1 just fine.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Thank you for the help sorry I did not reply sooner.

I will go with the Wilson parts they do have a good reputation.
I was able to swap in my buddies slide stop from his Springfield of about the same age and shot some light loads. It worked same as before. Would a new barrel help with the lower lug problem? The OEM one seems to be soft as I read about on this sight. I put dent in mine above the feed ramp on the extractor side due to feeding problems with a funky mag. So I would not mind an upgrade. A new mag and mag springs in my other mags fixed the feeding problem for lots of rounds even with the dent. Now I think the extractor needs a reset or replaced to make it 100%.

I have read what has been said about the steel in Norincos and I like that, which is why I will spend some money to get this one to run the way I want it to.

So the plan for now is to get the Wilson parts and find a Norinco friendly 1911 smith for check up.

It puts a Smile on my face just shooting a 1911.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Just a follow up to a boring thread. Tuner you are right the barrel is stopping on the link so the smith tells me. His fix is to fit a replacemet barrel. He has used Storm Lake, Wilson, Colt and Clark, but will use what ever I want. Never heard of Clark barrels so I searched. They make a lot of barrels! So now whats a good one? and is this right way to fix the "stopping on the link" or is the someting else that I should look at? On a side note after reading for hours about 1911 barrels I want/need a new one for this Norinco. I found that the OEM barrel when cammed down the barrel is tool close (over if I push hard) to the feed ramp, Not good! Whis I had better sights that 460 Rowland thing would be Way cool but my my Norinco might not like it, but still the power, the look, maybe some day.

 

[1911Tuner]

I recommend Kart barrels.

If your Norinco is one of the later ones that didn't have vertical lug engagement issues, I'd go with the Kart Easy-Fit system. If it does prove to have insufficient vertical engagement, a gunsmith fit...or "Hard Fit" barrel is really the only option. Due to the rear of the barrel having more upward tilt, you'll probably need a taller rear sight.

Other than the method of fitting, there is no difference between the two.

 

[Ravenmoon]

How do I tell if I have later Norinco? Ser# 615XXX from what I can tell it was near the end of the imports. So I should get a gunsmith fit barrel and have that fitted? All he said about the VIS was it was good. I did notice the primer strikes on the last range session were not centered. This is the time when slide stop broke. Even with the borrowd stop they are still a littel off but better than when the stop broke. Told the smith about that and he said lower lug, link and stop were causing that, not a good full lock, lots of slop, up or somting to that effect. Maybe I need to keep looking for a different smith.

 

[1911Tuner]

With a caliper...put the pistol in battery and measure from the top of the slide to the top of the barrel as closely as you can. Take 3-4 measurements until you get a consistent reading.

Then back the slide up and use a popsicle stick, cut to fit into the breeface, betweeen the breechface and barrel hood. Let the slide snap forward. Measure again. The difference is the upper lug engagement depth. What you're looking for is at least 95% or more of the total barrel lug depth on the first lug wall. It's the one that doesn't have a slot behind it. If you've got that much vertical engagement, you can use the Easy Fit. If you've got less, it's best to use the hard fit.

If your pistol is one of the early bad ones, the engagement depth will be 50% or less of the total. I've seen a couple that only provided about 30%.

Another dead giveaway is the upper barrel lugs deformed in a straight line front to back. Here's a picture to compare yours to. This damage was incurred within 200 rounds.

 

[Ravenmoon]

OEM barrel has nice square lookig lugs.

Measurments

Slide locking lugs 0.81-0.82 (removed from frame)

Barrel lugs 0.55-0.56 (out of the slide)

Barrel in slide under spring pressure 0.111-0.113 (measured from top of slide to top of barrel) Not easy to measure this with a caliper.

Barrel in slide under spring pressure with popsickle stick 0.164-0.165 (measured from top of slide to top of barrel)

So if I did this right I am getting about 0.052-0.053?? or about 93-95%

Am I ok ??

 

[1911Tuner]

Sounds like one of the good ones. You can go with a Kart Easy Fit if you so choose. You can also probably use a Storm Lake semi drop-in.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Tuner, thank you for the 1911 lesson! Glad to here my Norinco is OK for a new barrel. I will be looking at Kart and others. This Norinco is UGLY but with cost of a new 1911 made with good steel I can have a new barrel put in for way less, have great shooter and NOT have to worry about a scrach. I have shot the daylights out this gun and it has become a part of my hand. Untill this year no problems other than a few mags and springs, because I shot only ball loads, factory and mild hand loads, both jacketed and lead. Semi-wadcutters and 200 grainers, +P loads, changed everything, she broked. Must leave the 1911 at home untill the new barrel is in. My S&W 29 and 586 will make me happy till then.

Thanks, I will post when I get the 1911 back.

 

[Ravenmoon]

Follow up and end of this thread. I got a Clark barrel fitted to the slide by Clark Custom. The fit seams tight. The barrel shows scuf marks on the hood more than I like but it cycles smooth. I shot 100 rounds, ball, wadcutters and JHP. with one mag problem at 15 rounds. Went with GI mags and shooting star mags all was good. This barrel is larger at the bushing end and this larger size really makes for a tight barrel to bushing fit. The next 100 rounds should wear fit the 2 parts to perfection. The barrel and slide lugs fit like a glove, not lose and not tight. I hope I did good, more rounds will tell.

 

[gotboostvr]

I used Wilson Bullet Proof parts (where applicable), and a Storm Lake barrel on my Nork. I'm more than happy with the performance of the parts and pistol in question. I had some FTF's, but switched from Chip McCormick Shooting Star 8-rounders to some Checkmate hybrid 8-rounders and solved that problem though. Here's a picture of my Nork playing nicely with my P7 PSP...