Are Italian made 1851 parts compatible with a original 1851 colt

T

TheCanuckCowboy

Inactive
Hello everyone, hope your all doing well and staying safe. I have a quick question for you all. I recently bought a old colt 1851 that was made in 1863 by the serial number, it’s in ok condition but has been re finished and is not very collectible. My thought were to have it completely redone with new barrel and all new parts excluding the frame, all my American friends may think this it mad but if I were to just go out and buy a Italian copy it would mean I would have to get a different license and be limited in its storage and use, most early black powder guns are exempt from this rule. So to get to the point, will Italian made parts work with the colt and if not why? Thank hope you all have a good week
 
In a word, no.

There have been quite a few Italian manufacturers of reproduction 1851 Navy revolvers since the 1950's and as a general rule, parts from one manufacturer will not fit another manufacturer's revolver. Even one manufacturer's parts from, say ~1970 will not fit a revolver made today by the same manufacturer.

Uberti and Pietta started using CNC machining ~2000. Prior to that date they contracted with smaller Italian manufacturers for some parts, so there were variations. I recently acquired a Pietta 1851 Navy .36 4-screw CFS revolver date code AZ/1990. The differences between it and one of my newer Pietta 1851 Navy revolvers CP/2016 include the hammer, hand, bolt, trigger/bolt spring, the bolt-cut length in the frame, and the entire 3-piece grip frame (TG, BS, and wood).

I suppose you could attempt to fit modern parts to mid-19th century revolvers, but no parts will be a drop-in fit. I would suggest setting up a separate bank account for this project because it will involve a lot of trial, error, trial, error and will consume quite a few $.

(Edit: I have also heard that it is very difficult for Canadians to procure parts from suppliers in the US, but I don't know that for a fact.)

Best of luck to you!

Regards,

Jim
 
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Some Uberti parts interchange. Check out https://www.youtube.com/user/capandball/videos where he compares original to clones I have a friend who shoots an 1860 original that has little to no rifleing and shoots surprisingly well. Remember the originals have gain twist rifleing, only available on a few expensive target Remington New Model Army.
Save the old parts for some future "collector".
 
I repaired an original Colt 1849 for a friend several years ago. It needed a hand, and I used an Uberti part for an 1851 clone that I got from VTI Gun Parts. But a hand is different from a barrel. What I have been told (but have not been able to verify) is that the Italian clones use a different barrel thread than the original Colts -- and different from each other. If you do get an Italian replacement barrel, you might have to get it rethreaded.
 
Centurian said:
A threaded barrel for a Colt? Which model?
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Not threaded at the muzzle, as for a suppressor. Threaded where the barrel screws into the frame.

And, of course, I was thinking 1873 when I wrote that. My bad. Not applicable to the 1851.
 
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