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So, a while back (some of you may remember the discussion on this very forum), I decided to get into the 1911 game. After doing some research, I eventually decided that I was interested in a fairly basic gun along the lines of one of a Colt Series 70 - Government size, no firing pin block, etc. After looking around for a couple of different roughly equivalent models like the STI Spartan and the inexplicably rare SR1911, I finally managed to find a decent deal on one of these:

Unfortunately, the 1911 disease does not end there - like the AR-15, half of the fun of having one is picking up all of the extra options, right? In fact, that was one of the things that I found attractive about the 1911 platform in the first place; I've done a fair bit of metalworking and machining in the past, and I'm a compulsive tinkerer. I've owned many items - everything from Nerf guns to computers - that I've gradually replaced components on until I wound up with something almost completely different from what I started with. I figure that I'll eventually wind up doing the same thing with the 1911.

Actually, that's what I spent entirely too much of my time this afternoon doing - based on picking up and holding a few different models, I prefer the straight mainspring housing over the arched ones; so, after much weeping and groaning and gnashing of teeth, I managed to get the replacement mainspring housing installed today. But now, I'm kind of at a loss for what to do next.

Here's where I need help. There's a vast plethora of options out there, and I don't really know what I'm doing (yet, anyway - the educational benefits are always a nice side-effect of this kind of project). Since there are plenty of people on the forum who are way more knowledgeable and experienced with 1911s than I am, I figured that I'd start up a running discussion wherein I ask y'all for suggestions and probably ask a whole lot of stupid questions. So, here we are.

A couple of complications: it recently occurred to me that I'm probably going about this the wrong way, because I'd like to avoid making any permanent alterations to integral parts of the gun in order to preserve its value (I probably should have picked up a lower-end pistol or just built one from scratch in the first place, but it's liable to take me a while to find the time and money for each incremental improvement, and I wanted to make sure that I had a good shooter in the meantime; besides, I've always had a weakness for Colts). First mistake to learn from, I guess. I don't know if that's even remotely feasible, but it is a general guideline that I'm trying to work towards right now. In other words, drop-in parts or any replacements that fit to the current frame/slide are good; anything that requires machining of the frame is something I'd prefer to stay away from, at least for now. Since I'll probably wind up replacing a lot of the existing parts, that doesn't mean that I'm totally ruling out making permanent modifications to some parts, it just means that I'd prefer to make the modifications to a replacement.

Case in point, I was looking at picking up some night sights, but most of the models that I like use dovetail front mounts, and the current front sight is staked; I could pick up a replacement slide, fit it to the current frame, and get it machined for a dovetailed front sight... but then the current barrel wouldn't be fitted to the new slide correctly, and I'd need a new one of those, too.... bleagh. It poses a unique logistical problem that I'm frankly too dumb to figure out.

So, uh... help? Suggestions? Advice? Snide remarks?

"We have long maintained that the only accessories that a 1911 needs are a trigger you can manage, sights that you can see, and a dehorning job." — Jeff Cooper

Amen Col. Cooper

The best thing you can buy for a 1911 IMO is AMMO! Just shoot it and enjoy!

A cylinder and slide trigger kit is usually a drop in kit that will make a huge improvement in trigger pull.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=5502 ... _PULL_KITS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As AndyC said, they are not many drop in parts. The parts may work but not necessarily be the best they can be. Sears are one of the worst for not fitting right. They will go in and catch the hooks but you would need to know how well they are catching. C&L carry can really suck if you only have half a hook engaging and the safety slips off. I have seen maybe one to two sears engage properly out of dozens of installs. Fortunately they are usually too long and have too much engagement so they are safe, just hard and/or gritty. The pins to check this on the specific pistol are real cheap and worth the buy. Pistols can have variations in the hole spacing as well so i like to check them on their future pistol instead of a standard block.
Drop in beavertails need to be fitted as well but you can get lucky more often, usually they don't fit right at the tang but thats just cosmetic. Compare Colts crap drop in tail for a GI model to a Les Baer or Kimber and you will see the difference in appearance. Customizing is part of the fun in a 1911, I have a safe full of them and no two are even remotely alike.
New night sights should affect the value as long as it is done right. Dovetailed front is a great option as you can change the sights later yourself then when they die or you want the latest style. Adjustable rear sights can be a whole new ball game as they probably will need several places machined and possibly the slide tapped for the height adjustment screw.
The MSH is one of the easier replacements to do and most drop right in but I have had several I had to file on the MSH rails as the hole was off by a few 10k of an inch. It doesnt take much to not work, this stuff fits tight!
ASK plenty of questions before touching a file, dont ruin your Colt! Put the Dremel away, they take too much off too fast, IMO most gunsmithing is by hand and time consuming. This board has a lot of experts on it.

Jeff Cooper wrote:We have long maintained that the only accessories that a 1911 needs are a trigger you can manage, sights that you can see, and a dehorning job.

Actually, that's mostly what I'm looking at. Years of staring at computer screens for a living has not been kind to my eyes, and the GI sights aren't terribly visible in the first place. Especially the stainless ones, for some reason, though that might just me me (I kind of have some issues with color vision).

Thanks for the excellent advice, AndyC, jason237m, and rm9792. Relative lack of gunsmithing experience aside, I've done enough machining to know that there are very few drop-in anythings for anything. I've both hand-machined and CNCed interlocking parts to fairly high tolerances, but no matter how precise your math is, you're pretty much always going to have to do some filing when it comes time to fit everything together. And yes, that means filing - I've learned the dremel lesson the hard way a couple of times. So, I'm under no illusions there; in fact, that new MSH was supposed to be a "drop-in" part, and I spent most of an afternoon on fitting. Even then, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I got a little impatient and frustrated and wound up leaving a few unnecessary tool marks (at least they're not outwardly visible once it's installed, and I can replace the MSH again later for pretty cheap).

So yeah, non "drop-in" parts are fine, as long as they don't require machining of the frame or slide. I may bend that rule a bit as time goes on, but like I said, that's kind of my goal at this point. I'll consider Andy's point about the dovetail cuts and the value of the gun; in the meantime, I've done some looking, and it does look like at least Trijicon makes staked night sights. What I'd ideally like to do is put on a luminescent front sight with a plain rear sight. I have some misgivings about the separate purchase of the two sight units that that's likely to entail, but I guess I'll just do my homework to make sure that all the dimensions match before buying anything. And yeah, I'll definitely have to track down a good smith to do that part. Suggestions about any of that? For the question about the smith, I'm in Houston (Clear Lake area, but I'd be willing to drive a bit for good work).