[DEFIANT]

First, Welcome back Mark, glad to have you back !!

Well after a little over a month I got my New series 70 back from Colt. It was sent in for a couple reasons.
The off center drilled spring tube and it was throwing the brass right back into my forehead.
The brass was hitting the inside of the ejection port.
I sent it in and Colt wrote me a letter saying they would be replacing the slide, grips and adjusting it so it wouldn't throw the brass back.
I unwrapped it and inspected the work.
The new slide looks very nice. Good roll marks, well polished and aligned.
However, similar to what "Mike Papa" posted, the slide and frame are not flush at the rear. Mine is opposite from his though, my slide sits just a tiny bit further back from the frame, not forward of it. Also my extractor is not flush with the frame at the rear, it is recessed in a bit.
As for the extraction issue, the cases hitting me in the forehead, I'll have to wait a few days until I have some range time. BUT....it doesn't look good. There are brass marks, from Colt test firing, on the inside edge of the slide and on the top of the slide just where they were before, which makes me think it will throw them just like it did before, we'll see.
Overall, Colt's service was excellent.

One final question,
What can be done about the fit of the slide and frame ? will it affect the function of the pistol ?

 

[Bluetooth]

I know it is to late and the damage has already been done, they did find the problem in the line albeit a bit tardy. It was on two machines one of the first ops is a gun drill that rough drills the hole, about half way through the line is a CNC machine that does the relief cuts in the front of the slides, worn pads on the fixture, poor operator attention to quality, sometimes magnified by an over zealous polisher. On a case by case basis send them back to be evaluated and the slide will be replaced if it does not meet factory specs. I will forward this thread to the appropriate people.

Mark, thank you for posting. I have to order blind from my dealer and have been holding off buying another S70. Can you give us the starting serial numbers that are "safe" to start buying for the various models?

 

[Mike Papa]

Well, this thread is still less than 30 days old, so I hope it is ok to continue here, rather than starting all over again. I still have not decided what to do with my new S70 stainless with slide/frame fit off at the rear (see earlier post). Me and DEFIANT both seem to have this problem, and no one has ever really said is this a mechanical and safety problem or strictly cosmetic? Is it safe to shoot? If too much metal has been removed from barrel feet, would a new drop in barrel correct this? Is there a drop-in barrel or would they all require firing? After 20 years in the Military Police, I'm used to all the parts being drop-in Should I send my pistol back for 30-60 days if all I need is a new barrel which drops in??? Patience is not one of my better virtues when it comes to new guns, but I still have not shot this one as I ponder my options. HELP!!!

 

[Eric]

I sent my Commander back last week for the spring tube issue. I also addressed that I would prefer not getting any of the other problems back with my pistol. I will sit here silently and hope that I get back a 100% Colt Commander without any of the monor problems they have been having lately.

 

[DEFIANT]

Well, I shipped mine back to Colt again today. I spoke with Mark and he sent me a FedEx call tag.
I enclosed a letter detailing everything once again and all I can do now is wait and hope.
Honestly I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand I'm thankful that Mark and Colt have stepped up and are trying to make it right but on the other hand I really feel like I'm being petty or too picky.
I just want my Colt right.

 

[DHart]

In time you'll have a Colt you are thrilled with and this stuff will disappear as a faded memory... hang in there...

 

[Mike Papa]

DEFIANT -
Good luck with round two, Mark sounds like he will do his best too make it right. I'm still undecided what route to take.

 

[Caleb]

I just Fed Ex'd my two Colts out. One for a off centered plug tube and the other ones front sight fell off, slide doesn't remain open after last round, and frame is not even at the rear. I hope Colt makes it right. Good luck to all. C

 

[farscott]

The off-center spring plug hole in the slide is not something new to Colt. Today I saw an ORM 1991, serial number 27189xx, with the spring plug hole bored noticeably off center. The hole is bored toward the ejection port side of the pistol.

 

[invssgt]

Exactly. A $400 Springfield Mil-Spec doesn't have these kinds of defects. Nor does an Auto Ordinance, a Norinco, or for that matter a Rock Island!

Don't back off from that, DSK- you nailed it. I have been building, rebuilding and tinkering with 1911's for a shade over 30 years. I have worked on, owned and used Colts, Springfields, Essex's, Auto Ords, AMT's, Rock Islands and I'm sure a few others that slip my mind at the moment.

Now I'm going to de-rail this threada bit, so I will apologize in advance. Just keep in mind that the general topic is quality control by manufacturers of 1911- with Colt being the plank-owner of the design. DSK's statements are relevant, as I'm about to illustrate.

I got the urge to do another "semi-build" again this winter, and after much consideration I decided to start with a WWII Auto Ord. I hate angled serrations, etc. and wanted the base gun as GI as possible. The finished product is going to be reminiscent of the old "hardball guns" of the '70's; high-profile fixed sights, basic accuracy and reliability work, and not much else. I wanted to have about $500 in it when I got done.

After pricing various base guns, and reading up on the significant QC improvements by Auto Ord since “the Kahr change” I decided to add them to the list of possible base guns for the project. The fact A/O guns are American made was a substantial consideration. Soon after I found a local dealer with a new WWII model, which had seen some rough handling by prospective customers. This particular dealer knows me well and has no problem with me tearing down an prospective purchase.

The barrel was nothing to write home about, but was serviceable. The thumb safety was all but inoperable, requiring two hands to get it into the “safe” position. The extractor wobbled around like a loose tooth. But the frame, slide and incidentals were perfect- as good or better than the WWII guns I have had ahold of. Negotiations were opened to see how cheap I could score a new-in-the-box 1911. In the end, I bought it for a shade over $300- about what I would have paid for a basic parked frame, slide and GI barrel, including shipping, taxes and FFL fees.

I took my new prize, serial # AOA052XX, home for a deep inspection. Slide and frame fit were GI in every respect, and aside from a poorly-polished spot at the front of the slide, finish was good. The holes and ports in the frame were crisply done, and were perfect by A1 blueprint specs. The rails on both parts looked good.

I found an old GI safety in the parts bin, and fitted it until it snicked on and off like it should. I slapped the gun back together and loaded the mag with Wolf hardball, and started to hand-cycle the gun. It choked on the 3rd round. I cleared it and started again, and it tossed out all but the last round. I reloaded the mag and repeated, only to be rewarded with a fail-to-eject every time. With the gun cleared and locked open, I wiggled the ejector. Another loose tooth. Further inspection revealed that the front stud of the ejector had broken off flush with the frame- and the break showed that it was a very poor casting to begin with. I later found out it was MIM. It had also not been clearanced for slide travel, after installation. This gun would not have fired a full magazine; it couldn’t have. No matter how good you get the frames and slide, the design requires and properly tempered and tuned extractor, and a solidly-mounted ejector to kick the empties out. It’d be kinda nice if the had safety worked properly, too.

But I knew what I was getting into, and as I said I bought this as a foundation to build on. But I have to tell you- all this talk about greatly-improved guns from Auto Ordnance is fertilizer. The envelope containing the fired case is dated in May of ‘05, and the QC on this gun is as bad as anything that ever left West Hurley. We’re right back to where we were, before the Kahr buy-out. The only difference is that the frames and slides are now much more consistent than they were before. Small parts still suck, and Brownell's will be getting an order. Buy an A/O if you’re a builder, or as a shooter if you have exceptionally good luck. But if your good fortune is that predictable, maybe you should buy lottery tickets instead!

People wonder how the 1911 got a bad rep for reliability. Stuff like this answers that question decisively. And DSK is right again- ordnance inspectors would have sent that batch of Colts back to Hartford, and somebody like Elmer Keith would have given them enough hell that it didn't happen again.

I for one am sick and tired of manufacturers charging four times what 30 years ago, and investing one-quarter of the quality control effort that they made back then. They will only get away with it if we let them.