What's the cheapest way to get/build a complete 1911 frame?

[1KPerDay]

I have a colt conversion unit and an Advantage arms upper that ideally I'd like to have on dedicated lowers. Is it possible to assemble a complete lower for less than a GSG .22 1911?
I assume whatever fitting is needed would be reserved for the rails as the pistols don't have barrels that lock into the slide recesses...

 

[Sovblocgunfan]

I don’t think you can do it for less than the GSG, unless you are a good parts scrounger. Thinking stripped RIA frame and Sarco GI frame parts kit here. And that’s stretching it...

 

[bannockburn]

1KPerDay

I did the same thing years ago and the best advice I can give you is don't go "cheap" with surplus parts. I bought one of those "everything you need to complete a 1911 frame" parts kit and eventually wound up replacing all of the parts with ones mostly from Colt. Big difference in quality and getting the frame up and running. Tried buying a Marvel and an Advantage Arms .22 conversion but it seemed like they were always out of stock on them. Finally found a TacSol conversion and love it's design and overall build quality.

 

[Texas10mm]

I have a colt conversion unit and an Advantage arms upper that ideally I'd like to have on dedicated lowers. Is it possible to assemble a complete lower for less than a GSG .22 1911?
I assume whatever fitting is needed would be reserved for the rails as the pistols don't have barrels that lock into the slide recesses...

You assume wrong. If you want an accurate lower with a nice trigger pull then you're going to be fitting a hammer, sear, and disconnector. Unless you buy a prefit set. I don't see how you can assemble a complete lower end for less than the cost of a GSG. A decent frame costs more than a GSG.

 

[Popoff]

I confess I know notheeng, notheeng about 22 conversions, but I can tell you about frames and frame parts. RIA-anything is a first-rate choice, but not very commonly available (try Palmetto State Armory from time to time, and Sarco). I mostly like the Caspian factory second brand, called "Foster" after the founder. They are excellent but may have minor cosmetic blemishes (polish them away) or may be warped from heat treatment a little too much for the Caspian brand (files and stones fix that too). They usually have one in any caliber in carbon for around $150 and stainless for $10 more, but even the full-branded frames from Caspian can be very reasonable at around $220. I have had excellent performance from pistols that I built with the Sarco parts baggies (even the $40 "Roto" barrels are good shooters), but it's also true that if you want a nice beavertail grip safety, or you bugger up your first attempt at fitting the thumb safety, or you'd rather have a straight mainspring housing or a skeleton hammer you're going to have to go to Brownell's or Midway or Sarco individual parts and buy post-baggie substitutes. Trigger jobs with Sarco GI parts are easy with a jig and stone and the weight is mostly a function of hand-bending the sear spring anyway. Best of luck.
Cheers,
Popoff