Colt Ace

A local gunsmith, who has since passed away, claimed he had partially solved the problem of lead shaving and buildup in Colt conversions with floating chambers.

He bought a .22 finishing reamer and slightly chamfered the rifling in the barrel where the insert and barrel meet. He not only claimed it reduced the leading by 75-80%, but improved accuracy as well.

To date I have not attempted this as (1) The reamer cost a fair bit and (2) If it DOESN'T work, I don't want to be out a barrel.
 
My original Ace was a boxed pre war .22 with a .45 cal conversion kit accompanying, some years ago and of course not having any idea how valuable it would become ( like my pristine USS 1911a1) managed to trade it off. Since that time i obtained a standard Ace and like so many others put it on an Essex frame. Sure would like to see those frames again as they were reasonably priced and required only minor fitting.
 
I went on line and looked up the SN 70s4150X and even though the frame just above the SN states "COLT'S PT.F.A MFG CO.HARTFORD. CON. U.S.A."
Colt does not list that SN. In fact all of the 70 Colts from 1970 to 1976 are 70G’s And as far as I can tell the following were the only “70” used which were G
S/N 70G01001 to 70G05550 – 1970
S/N 70G05551 to 70G18000 – 1971
S/N 70G18001 to 70G34400 – 1972
S/N 70G34401 to 70G43000 – 1973
S/N 70G43001 to 70G73000 – 1974
S/N 70G73001 to 70G88900 – 1975
S/N 70G88901 to 70G99999 – 1976
:confused:
 
I believe that a 70G serial number indicates a Government model in 45 ACP. A 9mm Government model would be a 70L serial number. A 38 Super would be a 70S serial number. ACES were typically SM xxxxx serial numbers.
 
Your right Shadow72, thanks.
So my frame was built in 72 as a 38 super, now who in there right mind would dump a 38 super slide and barrel for a 22 conversion?
Sorry for the take over of this thread.

http://www.m1911.org/serno_sm.htm
Colt Model M-1911 .38 Super
Year SN
1972 70S03801
1973 70S06501
 
The gun pictured by SGMS (#19) is an original ACE, not a Service Model Ace or a conversion unit as shown by the short and low slide and the sights. The serial number is right for an ACE also (mine are 98x and 437x); obviously there will be no "SM"; that was used only on the Service Model ACE.

Note that the original ACE was never made as a conversion unit; all conversion units have the floating chamber. An ACE slide has no cutout for the ejector and cannot be installed on a standard frame without removing the ejector.

Jim
 
Note that the original ACE was never made as a conversion unit; all conversion units have the floating chamber. An ACE slide has no cutout for the ejector and cannot be installed on a standard frame without removing the ejector.
Click to expand...

Correct, but what's interesting is that the frame is drilled for an ejector.
 
FWIW, I think that with such a small production, the factory never had any actual ACE production line and never made frames designated for it. They probably set up tooling and made a batch of slides and other parts for stock, but when they had an order, they just pulled completed frames from the GM production and built however many ACE pistols they needed at the moment.

Jim
 
I would say that's a safe bet, Jim.

Quality was absolutely first rate. People wanted to keep their jobs during the depression.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top