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Just picked this 1954 Colt Sistema. The Argentine Colts have an interesting history. They are generally considered the only 1911 made outside of Hartford that is still a colt. Here is some background taken from various reference books. In 1923, Argentina adopted an armaments bill that would eliminate Argentine dependency on foreign arms. Under this bill, the Argentine Congress authorized appropriations for a military modernization program and prepared the infrastructure for a domestic arms industry. In accordance with the new law, an aircraft factory was established in 1927, a munitions factory in 1933, a small steel mill in 1934, and a small arms factory in 1936, all of which were managed by Argentine army officers. In 1927, the Argentine Commission for Foreign Acquisitions negotiated a contract with Colt for the manufacture of M1911A1 .45 caliber self-loading pistols specially marked and serial numbered in a separate series, and secured a licensing agreement giving the Argentine government the right to manufacture these pistols. The agreement specified: 1) that Colt would manufacture 10,000 Colt automatic pistols, caliber .45, “Ejercito Argentino Modelo 1927,†for the Argentine Army; 2) that the complete knowledge base for future production of the pistols in Argentina, including drawings, manufacturing instructions, material specifications, tool requirements, etc., would be transferred to Argentine control; and 3) that Argentine technicians would be trained in manufacturing operations and inspection. For production of Colt 1911A1's in Argentina, Colt engineers supervised the set-up of the production equipment, which was acquired from the Fritz Werner company in Germany, a maker of arms-manufacturing machinery still in business today. From 1927 to 1942, 14,000 Sistema pistols (from “Sistema Colt,†indicating “made on the Colt system (machinery)†were produced at the Esteban de Luca Arsenal in Buenos Aires, S/N’s 10,001 – 24,000(*), the serial numbers continuing from the Hartford run. In 1941, after a decade of planning, Argentines established a large and diversified military-industrial complex under the overall supervision of the Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares (D.G.F.M.), the “Military Manufacturing Agency.†Similar to the US Ordnance Department, the agency was run by the military and military officers managed the manufacturing plants. Among other products, this agency would eventually, through contractual agreements, oversee the production of identical copies of Colt’s M1911-A1, Browning’s Hi Power, and FN’s FAL rifle. In 1945, after construction of the state-owned Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles (F.M.A.P.), “Small Arms Factory†in Rosario, Santa Fe (250 miles from Buenos Aires), assembly of Sistemas was transferred to the new plant and another 88,494 pistols were produced through 1966. This factory was named for Domingo Matheu, a 19th century military official who was active in the early development of the nation’s arms industry. Today FMAP manufactures a wide range of small arms and ammunition and is known in the industry as “FM.†The Rosario arsenal closed in 1991 and much of its production was transferred to FMAP’s Fray Luis Beltran arsenal, about 15 miles from Rosario. Sistema Colts were manufactured in accordance with Colt's 1927 drawings. They were identical to US military M1911-A1 pistols except for 6 minor cosmetic differences, and parts were interchangeable. The differences were: a) the markings, the grips, c) a black oxide bluing, d) a sharp edge on the rear of the hammer, e) a sharp edge on the heel of the grip safety, f) indented checkering on the mainspring housing. They made these for various military, government and police agencies. The ones with the Argentine crest were made for government agencies. This on is Stamped C.F.S. That stands for Consejo Federal de Seguridad or Federal Council of Security/Safety(Federal Internal Security). Other markings include the Army, Air Force, Navy and Border Patrol. This one has the wrong grips on it. I do have a period correct set of grips on the way. Other than that it is pretty great shape. Tight fit and feels just like a Colt as it should. I gave it a good cleaning and just need to get it out to the range.

Closed

Been scarce around here because of school, work, and this demonic pond project. Cheapest bid from a contractor was quoted at $4,000 +/- (which we all know would have been 25% more after they started). Highest bid was $11,000. I said screw a bunch of that, watched some videos on youtube and figured out how to do it myself. The pond was just trashy looking, it had probably close to 5 tons of river boulders piled up around the edge (contractor was probably laughing all the way to the bank after installing it). My disabled ass removed literally everything except a single boulder (can't move it, it's too big - used a 7" stone cutter to cut rings around it, drilled holes, used a sledge and chisels, and even (literally) melted a bit behind a 70# jackhammer and the damn thing wouldn't crack). Employing some neighbors for plan B on it Wednesday. Brought in 2 tons of flat rock to replace it with. Anywho, in at a total of $825 for everything and that includes some new tools/toys I had to buy. Looks pretty good now, just needs some plants to soften it up and some in the pond to provide shade for the koi. This is it mid-project (forgot to take before pic) And today: No more projects this year. Am done with doing anything except mowing lol.

I kinda like them original if possible. Although they are all fun to enjoy. The folks that are into the rat rods can really be imaginative. Many of those would be bears to actually drive anywhere. This a Rambler Cross Country Classic 770 I've been working on for a while. 1964 model. It's fairly stock and in "as found" condition other than the chrome reverse wheels and the air suspension. I was against the air ride initially, wanting to keep it stock. But once I got around to the suspension I discovered all the springs were shot and new ones were going to have to be custom made which was a bit pricey. The air ride is kinda neat and was fun to figure out and install. The car actually handles a lot better than with the old springs. Ramblers are sort of an odd duck, but guess I am too. Seems like a lot of folks had one, their neighbor had one, or they remember someone in their family having one, but not many around these days. Never really caught on as a collector car. Oh well, it's still fun.

I had a 1964 Rambler Classic wagon back when it was just a used car. I was the second owner but the first one drove it for 10 years in NY salt before he sold it to me. It was a great car, it had 3 on the tree and the 6cyl. I had to pop rivet a piece of galvanize over a hole in the top of the driver side fender to keep road spray from hitting the windshield. I got a few years out of it when I couldn't afford anything newer with a son on the way and house payments. Even used it as a camper a couple of times with the fold down seats that made into a bed. Still have old cars but as a collector. Two Crosleys a 49 Wagon that I bought when I was 13, that is in need of its third going through and a 51 FarmOroad. Then my big vehicle is a 50 Ford F1 stake bed. Jim...

The Bowman is good stuff. If you get the hankerin to try a higher priced option try the John J Bowman single barrel, it's excellent.

My current bottles, (that I am drinking)...I am really liking the Bowman Brothers....

yes, it's kinda weird, getting in and no seat belts, no head rests. Actually the front seats do have belts but the back seat and the one in the rear that faces out the back window don't have any. We had a Ramber when I was growing up as well. A four door 61 model. Had a metal dashboard. I recall laying on the back package shelf in the rear window and riding. Those were the days.

My Mom had that exact car when I grew up, spent my younger years in the back without seat belts and I'm still here!!

Option 4: Shoot it and if the accuracy is what it should be just leave it alone.

#3 is my pick!!! Congrats on the steal or buy!

Sometimes the PS4 "forgets" its settings. Check under the audio options and verify the mic is set to headset.

My tool box is minuscule compared to our shop mechanic. And he is fixing to get a bigger tool box again.

A friend of mine gave me this revolver since it looked like it was too far gone to consider any kind of repair cost. The hammer & trigger spring was shot along with all the other springs. Cylinder timing was toast. After looking it over, I found it had a bore that was incredibly nice and the cylinders chambered up the 32-20 rounds nicely as that was one of the calibers these were popular in. Well between those 2 things, I thought I'd have at it. The internals were more Colt than S&W but the V spring looked like a 12 year old make it from scratch. The lock work had no provision to rebound the firing pin back into the safe position with the trigger let off. So, since I had a pair of new S&W M+P hammer & trigger in the drawer, I decided to do a S&W lock work transplant. The frame needed to be drilled for a trigger rebound slide spring post that would get welded in and the frame needed to have a notch cut for a S&W hammer spring along with a D&T for a strain screw. The rest was tweeking the frame and cylinder star after replacing all the springs. Here is the challenge S&W parts The original lock work Here the S&W parts are in place All the screws were so badly buggared up I ground out the driver slots, mig welded them up and recut a new screw driver slot in all the frame screw heads Now the BIG disappointment. After getting the action to work exactly like a basic S&W M10, I found the 32-20 were all key holeing the target! I guess that's what happens when you shoot a 312 bullet in a 329 bore! The gun is actually a 8mm Lebel M94 cartridge. You can see the fire formed casings in this shot After all this work, My friend wants to buy it back......... Off it goes! What are friends for?

Well here's the what the Easter bunny brought me. Gen II PA 10 Took off the Magpul grip and put the obligatory Hogue's on. Added a bipod adaptor Vortex Diamond Back 3-12

Except some of us like our guns to be old as well ....

For those of y'all complimenting dude on keeping his cool, I think what really happened here got missed. I spent over a dozen years working with the public in customer service. That dude has just been in the service industry long enough to have beat down by it that he just didn't care if he got shot. That's what working with the public in the service sector does to you. He didn't have nerves of steel, he just had zero ####s.

Pretty much anything will work as long as you would be able to integrate user accounts automatically from the forum to the system. Adding in a layer of having to sign up for a new service will definitely keep people out. Most people around here are not tech savvy, nor do they ever care to be.