Universal M1 carbine, 3rd generation. Restoration of a dangerous P.O.S., advice?

[jjtroy912]

I traded a magazine and some ammo for this 3rd generation Universal M1 carbine. This generation is most infamous as being a P.O.S. (personal object shooter ) with the potential to shoot out of battery. However I have personal reasons for wanting this specific firearm.
The problems, water damage on stock, badly rusted butt plate, receiver and barrel do not sit flush in the stock (causing magazine release to catch on stock), stripped rear receiver retention screw, bent front sight, and a general need for a good cleaning and new springs.

I've already jumped in, field stripped, cleaned, and attempted to remove the front sight. I removed the sight set screw and gave it a few whacks with a hammer and punch but no dice. Oddly the bent sight has no damage/ tooling marks and seems impossible to bend back, making me wonder if it was bent from factory.

That's all I had time for today. I'll keep updating. Any advice or suggestions are welcomed.

 

[Go Devil]

I suggest posting some pictures.

 

[KoopaKGB]

I've already jumped in, field stripped, cleaned, and attempted to remove the front site. I removed the site set screw and gave it a few whacks with a hammer and punch but no dice. Oddly the bent site has no damage/ tooling marks and seems impossible to bend back, making me wonder if it was bent from factory.

That's all I had time for today. I'll keep updating. Any advice or suggestions are welcomed.

I'm not sure what you're asking. It sounds like you knew what you were getting into when you traded for this "POS" and part of the fun is that you enjoy working on it/fixing it up. If you're asking about removing the front sight then I'd suggest leaving wrapping the sight up inside a plastic baggy filled with penetrating oil for 24 hours and then try to remove it again. Also a picture is worth a thousand words as they say.
So post a few thousand words worth of pictures here so we can get a better idea with that the damage is.

 

[jjtroy912]

Finally some pics, I was on the phone when I did the original post and it wasn't cooperating with my photos. After a little more research on the front site I confirmed that there is nothing else holding the site in place other than rust/time, or maybe glue if someone else got to it first. So Penetrating oil and some more beating, we'll see how it goes. I cannot find a new replacement front sight, so once I get it off I'll either keep working on bending it or maybe modify the ears to look better. Unless someone out there knows where I can get a new sight.

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[DoggyDaddy]

Finally some pics, I was on the phone when I did the original post and it wasn't cooperating with my photos. After a little more research on the front site I confirmed that there is nothing else holding the site in place other than rust/time, or maybe glue if someone else got to it first. So Penetrating oil and some more beating, we'll see how it goes. I cannot find a new replacement front site, so once I get it off I'll either keep working on bending it or maybe modify the ears to look better. Unless someone out there knows where I can get a new site.
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Here you go... Fulton Armory | M1 Carbine Parts They carry just about anything you would need. One caveat though... Fulton carries USGI/compatible parts, so not all may work on your Universal. I would think that the front sight probably would though. You could always call them to ask.

Phone: (301) 490-9485 (Mon-Thursday 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM EST)
Fax: (301) 490-9547

Email: info@fulton-armory.com

 

[SSGSAD]

Here you go... Fulton Armory | M1 Carbine Parts They carry just about anything you would need. One caveat though... Fulton carries USGI/compatible parts, so not all may work on your Universal. I would think that the front sight probably would though. You could always call them to ask.

Phone:(301) 490-9485 (Mon-Thursday 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM EST)
Fax: (301) 490-9547

Email: info@fulton-armory.com

Tagged for interest...

 

[jjtroy912]

Unfortunately most of the USGI parts won't work. The usgi front sight is held in by a pin and the later universals are a set screw. Firearm Parts & Accessories | Military Surplus | Numrich Gun Parts has a decent parts selection for the universal, but the front site is sold out. I found another post on here from several years ago looking for a front sight, and they said gun parts corp was sold out then. So maybe they'll get them back in stock but I'm not optimistic. Thanks

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Unfortunately most of the USGI parts won't work. The usgi front site is held in by a pin and the later universals are a set screw. Firearm Parts & Accessories | Military Surplus | Numrich Gun Parts has a decent parts selection for the universal, but the front site is sold out. I found another post on here from several years ago looking for a front site, and they said gun parts corp was sold out then. So maybe they'll get them back in stock but I'm not optimistic. Thanks

Well rats... it was worth a shot. Maybe you could find one on ebay or gunbroker or something?

 

[CarmelHP]

Didn't Sarco end up with the Universal/Plainfield parts inventory?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Didn't Sarco end up with the Universal/Plainfield parts inventory?

I just checked their site, and it looks like all USGI stuff with the exception of a butt plate that has "Commercial" in parentheses next to it. I assume that's for a Universal or Plainfield. Maybe they sold all they had?

 

[jjtroy912]

View attachment 22164 Stripped the stock. Still some unfix-able damage at the butt so I'm gonna bust into some arts and crafts time to mask it. Ordered a bunch of new springs and a receiver retention screw from gunpartscorp.com . I also managed to bend the front site back to an acceptable (not perfect but acceptable) position. I ended up with a tooling mark on it (sloppy workmanship) so I think I might take a whack at re-bluing. I'm going to get to work real soon on some engraving and artwork on this stock since it'll take no time to reassemble once the parts come in. I'm wondering if using some fine grit sandpaper on the receiver (where the bolt slides) will make the bolt travel smoother. Maybe too smooth is a bad thing???? Thanks for the helping with the front sight search and saving me time. I think at this point I'm just going to call it what it is (cheap) and forget about replacing it. I didn't have any luck getting it off using penetrating oil anyways, so.... oh well and ONWARD>>>

 

[Patriot3]

That's a fun little gun. I know many people have said they hated the universal m1 carbines, but the one I had was very fun to shoot and did not jam very much although it did at times. I sold it eventually, but it was a good gun. If I was you and depending if are wanting to keep it I'd invest in some ammo and leave it as a beater upper

 

[DoggyDaddy]

jjtroy, if you're planning on disassembling the bolt (to replace ejector spring, extractor, extractor spring), save yourself some headaches and buy a bolt disassembly tool. Trust me, it's worth every penny (about 40 bucks from Numrich). I know that parts aren't interchangeable between the Universal and USGI, but I would think the bolt assemblies would be similar enough that the tool would work. Numrich may be able to confirm before you order though.

 

[ShootnCut]

I had a Universal back in the late 70's. I wanted to make it look more "military" so I decided to install a military barrel band/bayonet lug on it. If I remember correctly I used a gear puller to pull the front sight off. Then I discovered that the military band was too small in diameter for the larger diameter barrel the rifle had. So I used a grinder to open up the inside of the band until it fit. (What a PITA.) I also sanded down the stock and rubbed it with linseed oil to get the finish I wanted. All in all it looked pretty nice when I got done. And I don't remember ever having any feeding problems with in. But it joined that long list of guns that "went" and I have no memory of where.

 

[schafe]

I consider these commercial M1 carbines to be a great way to experience the look and feel of shooting the much more expensive military wartime carbine.
The Universal I had was a 3rd generation, and cycled properly, having no cracks in the slide (as many do). It taught me just what the WWll guys felt when using the M1 carbine, (and taught me that I needed to add a military version to my collection!)I would take it out on veterans day and Memorial day, etc., to honor my deceased WWll Veteran father , as I now do with my Inland carbine.

I gifted that Universal to my son-in-law, so now we can go out occasionally, and "shoot the carbines".

 

[jjtroy912]

Finally got a chance to get a little more work done on it! More engraving to come as soon as I regain feeling in my wrist.

 

[jjtroy912]

Well, it sure has been a long time, but here's some progress. I've got all the springs i need to finish rebuilding her and she'll probably be up on the wall as a display piece held up by my first deer's hooves like she were an old muzzle-loader soon.

 

[Thor]

jjtroy, if you're planning on disassembling the bolt (to replace ejector spring, extractor, extractor spring), save yourself some headaches and buy a bolt disassembly tool. Trust me, it's worth every penny (about 40 bucks from Numrich). I know that parts aren't interchangeable between the Universal and USGI, but I would think the bolt assemblies would be similar enough that the tool would work. Numrich may be able to confirm before you order though.

This is good advice...from someone who has done it both ways...

 

[Thor]

Nicely done OP.

 

[Thor]

Have you had a chance to take it to the range and see how it runs?