Norincos and aftermarket parts?

[1911-A1]

My Norinco 1911-A1 is probably the most reliable 1911 I've ever owned. The TRP has even given me a few feeding issues, so I've thought about adding a few things to the Norc to make it a little more shootable. The sights are still lousy, being only marginally better than USGIs, and the safety is the older 1911 (non-A1) style, and is pretty sharp. I've also heard that while the frames and slides are tough steel, the internals wear out faster than average, so I was considering changing out the guts for Ed Brown, Wilson, etc.

Has anyone had any problems fitting parts to Norinco guns?

-Sights
-Safety
-Possibly beavertail
-Internals
-Bluing

[markm]

I too had an amazingly reliable Norinco. Back when you could get them for $275.

I did everything to that gun. Much of it myself... I think I had the front sight dove tailed in. But they're pretty upgrade friendly.

[Chuck]

Customized Norc.
A bit hard in the front sight area.
No surprises.

[CAVDOC]

Nice work from chuck as usual. One of the HUgE issues with 1911's is people take a functional gun and tinker with it until it is an unreliable scrap heap. If your gun is 100% reliable your best bet is to get new sights and keep everything else as is. With every internal part replacement you roll the dice on making your gun less reliable
I speak of this when people try to drop I parts without expert help which usually ends very badly.
Send the gun to a reputable 1911 smith and it would probably be fine. There is an endless stream of threads on the web about changing a few parts in a previous reliable gun ( 1911 is king of this with the glock a close second) and then posting how the gun no longer runs

[19852]

I have heard that the Norc is made of very tough steel. Any truth to that?

[Chuck]

I've worked on a few Norcs.
They are made of good steel, I don't think
any 'tougher' than a Colt or Springfield.

[Gary1911A1]

The only parts I found that weren't interchangeable were the grip screws and grip bushings. I bet they were metric.

[straitR]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Better sights, makes total sense, but if it feeds reliably and shoots well, leave it alone and enjoy it. If you're bored and need a project, go find a project gun. That said, if you just have to tinker with the Norinco, I would send it to Rogers.

Chuck, amazing work, as usual.

[1911-A1]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Better sights, makes total sense, but if it feeds reliably and shoots well, leave it alone and enjoy it. If you're bored and need a project, go find a project gun. That said, if you just have to tinker with the Norinco, I would send it to Rogers.

Chuck, amazing work, as usual.

Yeah, I agree. Better sights, a new safety and maybe a new bluing are all it really needs.

Anyone know if they have 1911 Ameriglo Hackathorn sights out yet? I have them on my Glocks and love them.

[Col. H. Stinkmeaner]

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I've never seen anything like that before. What is that wild grip thing setup called?