American Classic II...Two and half months later

[Dolomite_supafly]

It has been about two and a half months since I posted this thread so I thought I would give an update on how things are going.

The gun is still going strong and I am still very, very pleased with the gun. Since buying the gun the only thing that I HAD to replace was the extractor. It was out of spec as far as length goes and the nose was not properly contoured. I also replaced the internals like the sear, disconnect, trigger and sear spring. I also replaced the beavertail, mainspring and mainspring cup. Nothing was wrong with the factory pieces but because this was going to be my EDC gun I wanted to replce the MIM parts with known good parts. All this was done within a week of purchasing the gun.

Since then I have no less than 500 trouble free rounds down the tube and most being on the hotter side. And since replacing the extractor I have had ZERO issues. Even with the out of spec extractor I had no issues while firing, just when clearing a loaded round form the chamber. The gun is still as tight and accurate as day one. I even got a comment a few weeks ago about how smooth and tight the gun was.

My only real complaint I have about the gun is that the bluing is thin. I realize EDC isn't exactly gentle on a firearm but to already have shiny, silver areas of wear is a bit unerving. I am going to be coating the pistol soon to take care of that problem. It really isn't a problem that would affect its function.

Other than that the gun is great. And even with the bluing issue I still feel this is a great value. Mechanically the gun compares to guns that cost much more. And even though I added $100 worth of parts it is still a tremendous value.

In the end, would I recommend the gun? I do every chance I get.

Would I buy another? Without a doubt.

Dolomite

[Ebow1]

Yeah. I'm having trouble with the extractor on mine. Put around 200 rounds downrange at the new GnL and had a couple FTEs. Other then that everything seems to be great.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Yeah. I'm having trouble with the extractor on mine. Put around 200 rounds downrange at the new GnL and had a couple FTEs. Other then that everything seems to be great.

Look at the nose of the extractor. It should be angled and not square.

If it isn't kind of rounded and somewhat thin you may need to hit it with a file or some sandpaper. After you have it contoured patially insert the extractor and put a little pressure on the part sticking out opposite to the extractor hook. You are trying to tighten it up a little. If the extractor is already a snug fit to put it in then there is not need to do this but if the extractor falls in or out of place it needs to be done. After that bevel the edges like in the link below.

What was happeneing with mine is the extractor nose wasn't going deep enough into the groove at the rim of the cartridge. This was causing the cartridge to sit farther forward that it needed to be. As long as the ejected round was an empty it was fine but a loaded round was too long to clear the port.

Here is a good site with some decent information about tweaking a 1911.

1911 Reliability Secrets

Dolomite

[East_TN_Patriot]

I saw one of these in a local shop about a month ago. I was impressed with the quality considering the price. Glad to see that it's doing ok for you.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I saw one of these in a local shop about a month ago. I was impressed with the quality considering the price. Glad to see that it's doing ok for you.

I couldn't be happier. It has went bang every single time and is very accurate. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another or recommend it.

Dolomite

[eapking]

Mind saying what your TCO is on it now that you've done the upgrades?

[Dolomite_supafly]

It cost me $20 to replace the part that had to be replaced, the extractor. I could have sent it in for repair but I didn't want to wait and it is an easy part to install. The rest of the parts cost another $60 or so and those were to replace the MIM parts used inside. The MIM parts could have easily lasted a long time without issue and some smiths are reporting the MIM parts fail at about the same rate as forged or machined parts. Personally I can't see a cluster of metal fuzed together being as strong as a solid peice that is machined or forged and that is why I replaced the parts.

There are plenty of high end guns who are using MIM parts. Springfield (which is also forged in Brazil) does, Kimber does (almost 100% of the internals are MIM), S&W does, Para Does, STI does, Taurus does and even Colt, who pioneered the technology, does. The only production 1911 on the market that has zero MIM parts is the Sig 1911. It is a process that was developed to reduce costs.

MIM parts work well except when you get through the surface or at least that is what I have been told. MIM is surface hardened as part of the bonding process and when you work through the surface they parts wear quickly, again according to what I have been told.

For those who have no intentions of modifying their 1911 internals there is no need to replace the MIM parts unless they fail, which may never happen. But if you do replace parts and they had to be filled to fit, which is almost always required, then you need to replace those parts. It is possible to take a bone stock gun and improve the trigger without replacing any parts. A little tweaking of the springs as well as the use of a good grease go a long way towards making the gun's trigger feel better.

All guns have their positives and negatives but as long as you have a good foundation you are going to have a decent gun in the end. The American Classic has a very tight slide to frame fit. It is tighter than my COlt and was tighter than the RIA's I compared it to before buying it. I knew that as long as those two parts fit together well I could build the gun into a decent performer. I haven't had to replace anything to improve accuracy because it is a very accurate gun becaues the barrel to bushing fit is extremely tight and the barrel locks up tightly.

Dolomite

[Dolomite_supafly]

For those of you who asked:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/handguns/49750-pictures-thin-bluing-metro-arms-pistol-those-who-asked-56k-beware.html#post645572

Dolomite