You can buy a new one from Midway:

Colt Grip Safety 1911 Government, Colt New Agent, Colt Delta Elite,

This is an original factory replacement part from Colt. Factory replacement parts are manufactured with the same specifications and are made with the...

www.midwayusa.com

 

Thanks dsk for the reply and link. I saw that one but thought it was for series 70 1911’s. Mine is series 80.

 

No 70 vs 80 differences in the grip safety.

Not sure what you mean by "Rat-tail" grip safety , but if your Combat Elite has a ring or Commander style hammer , the GS shown will not work.

 

Thank you mkk41 for the reply and information.

 

S70 (pre-S80) and S80 grip safeties are different.
The "finger" that extends forward to engage the trigger is thinned considerably for S80, so the earlier grip safeties won't work without modification.
The standard government grip safety is incompatible with Commander hammers.

 

S70 (pre-S80) and S80 grip safeties are different.
The "finger" that extends forward to engage the trigger is thinned considerably for S80, so the earlier grip safeties won't work without modification.
The standard government grip safety is incompatible with Commander hammers.

Good point , but those I've seen manufactured after the Ser.80 intro were thin and will fit either.

 

My combat elite has a standard spur hammer and the commander style grip safety. It looks like the one pictured below.

 

My combat elite has a standard spur hammer and the commander style safety.

Hmmm , me thinks a picture of your pistola is needed. Pics of Combat Elite I'm finding show a Commander style hammer and ''beavertail'' GS.

Standard Commander GS vs Ser.80 Comm. Officers GS.

A standard spur hammer with either would seem strange and likely cause hammer bite. Sounds like someone swapped the hammer.

If you enlarge the Ser.80 pic , you can see the area that needs to be thinned.

 

Thank you all for the responses and good information. The very first examples from Colt were released with spur hammers. Later examples had the rounded hammer.

 

Interesting , a quick search is showing some with spur hammers and some with round hammers. Some say Combat Elite , seemingly added to the right side of a standard Ser.80 GM slide , some roll marked as a distinct model on the left.

I'm not up on all the various models Colt released since they came out with the Ser.80. But hat's the great thing about this forum , we can learn something new every time.

 

Unless the new "Series 70" Colts use a grip safety different from other Colts, all stainless Colt grip safeties will be Series 80.

 

Colt no longer makes Series 70 exclusive parts. Grip safeties, firing pins, extractors and FP stops are all now cut for S80 but are backwards compatible with Series 70 and earlier guns. It's been that way for at least the past 20 years or so.

As others have said, the earliest Combat Elites had a spur hammer but it was changed to a Commander-type hammer around 1988 or so.

 

I love this forum, such a awesome place for information surrounding 1911’s and Colts. Here is a picture of the combat elite in question. The only thing I added was a pair of original Simonich Gunner Grips. This particular variation was manufactured in 1986. I believe it was the first year Colt introduced this model.

 

Nice-looking piece. I don't blame you though for wanting a standard GI grip safety as the rat-tail serves no purpose and looks a little odd.

I used to have one myself, after years of trying to find one just so I could have the gun that Ahhhnold used in Terminator 2. Then I later found out it wasn't a Combat Elite but a hybrid with a Colt slide and a Detonics frame.

 

Even Kimber makes their firing pin, firing pin stop, and grip safety in the Series 80 style and has done so since 1998.
Makes you wonder.

- Ivan.

 

Of course Kimber makes their extractors and firind pins with clearance for a firing pin block...Kimbers come with their Swartz firing pin safety, which needs the same cuts/clearance. The grip safety is not an S80 one, but rather one with an extra leg for the Swartz setup.

Edited to add, and the handful of models they made (and not sure if they still make) without the firing pin safety, will use the same parts because they don't have any functional impact without the firing pin block slide components installed..

 

The affected parts for a Series II Kimber are not interchangeable with a Series 80 Colt. Completely different firing pin safety system.

 

The cuts on the firing pin are not the same for Series 80 and Swartz. My firing pin has BOTH cuts though neither safety is installed in my Kimber gun.
There is no extra leg on either Kimber grip safety I have though both have a narrow section to clear S80 firing pin levers.

My understanding was that the top of the single arm of the grip safety was used to deactivate the Swartz safety.

- Ivan.

 

I could never understand why Colt issued those early CEs with mismatched grip safeties and hammers (spur hammer w/commander grip safety). Did they think it looked cool somehow? I know the CEs that were manufactured later in the '80s finally had the commander style hammers.

 

Probably the brainchild of the same genius who decided to sell them with wraparound grips that covered up the front strap serrations.

 

Interesting. I never knew the Combat Elite came in all stanless. I thought they were all blue over SS to match the "race guns" of the day.

 

The pistol in the first post is not a Combat Elite but a standard Government Model. The OP was simply using the picture for comparison's sake.

 

So let me ask a silly question as I’m a little confused. What is the differences between a series 80 safety and a Swartz type safety. I understand the basic differences between a series 70 & 80 just not what determines a Swartz type.

The only non-70’s 1911 gun I have is my Sig Sauer STX which many here don’t consider a Sig as a 1911. I did stone and deburr all the firing and safety components which along with a trigger job with my TRS fixture gave it as good a feeling trigger as any I’ve felt.

So can someone give me a simple explanation?

 

In a nutshell, the series 80 firing pin safety is disengaged with the trigger. The Swartz firing pin safety - which was initially invented by a Colt engineer in the 1930s with the last name Swartz - is disengaged with the grip safety.

 

According to Clawson, "as a result of the Swartz design, a loaded pistol could be carried safely because the firing pin was blocked from movement until the pistol was properly gripped".

 

Swartz system:

Colt Series 80: