[jm1911c]

Okay, so I broke down and bought another Springfield .45 auto, never mind that the first one I had was a turd, but that is a different story. This one is pretty darn good as far as fit and finish goes, the only real issue is some significant vertical play in the forward portion of the slide.
I bought this one with the idea of setting it up as a semi-retro/semi modern .45.
The plan is to add sights I can see, Cylinder&Slide " Marine Corps" lock work and a long solid trigger (the trigger in the gun is one I had lying around), a flat mainspring housing and magwell, and maybe add an extended ejector. The thing I hate about the gun is the grip safety, but I do not want to go with a full beaver tail since I want to keep a spur hammer on it. I have found two safeties that might work, but before I spend any money I wanted to see if anyone else had any experience with them.

Midway USA: http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=639454

Brownells: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=25170&title=1911%20AUTO%20GRIP%20SAFETY

I really want to avoid any unsightly gaps, if at all possible, and while I have fitted Ed Brown beaver tails in the past, I really do not want to modify the frame (at least not yet...I also plan to undercut the trigger guard at a later date, as well as fix that play in the slide).

 

[usmcmp]

Looks good really like the look with out FCS. Sorry I can't help you with the grip safety.

 

[jm1911c]

Yea, I bought this one because of it's simplicity, and I won't feel bad about modifying it to suit me. Unlike the Colt MKIV Series 70 gun I have thus far been able to talk myself out of....
I dug out an old Springfield Armory SS grip safety I had stashed away and have started to re-shape it a bit to better fit my hand. It makes a big difference, but I still have a bit of work to do on it.

 

[AutoMag]

Very nice jm!!!:smile:

 

[SSGN_Doc]

Nice GI. I picked up an old pre '90s Springer with the intention of only making mods that it needed. So far I'm happy with just trigger work, a new barrel bushing, and Millet sights that I can see. I'll be raising the front strap a bit and fitting a beaver tail and commander hammer in the near future.

I tried one of the Kings beavertails that was a "drop-in" for the Springers. It had a huge gap.

 

[Hylander]

Nice GI
I think you find that all So called Drop in GS will have a big Gap on the GI and Mil-Spec Springers, their Tangs are shorter than the others.
That is why I cut my Mil-Spec for an S&A BTGS with .220 Radius.

 

[jm1911c]

Thanks guys, that is what I was afraid of...the gaps that is. I think for now I will finish re-shaping that SS factory grip safety, and go from there.

 

[flamefighter451]

Is that the original trigger? My GI has a shorter, parkerized trigger.

 

[MP3Mogul]

Very nice looking pistola!

 

[jm1911c]

Is that the original trigger? My GI has a shorter, parkerized trigger.

The trigger in mine is one that came out of an SW1911.

 

[SgtGing]

I too have a GI model. After savoring the stock military goodness for a year or so, I got the bug to customize it some. I am NOT a gunsmith by any means. I added the following parts: Wilson value line hammer, Wilson drop in beavertail grip safety (if you use the commander model, the gap is much smaller than the govt model), Masen serrated flat mainspring housing with
Wilson internals, Wilson speed chute mag well (clips over grip bushings), Wilson metal checkered front strap (line of epoxy to keep in from shifting), Slim tech grips, a Colt extended thumb safety, Wilson one piece guide rod, Wilson long three hole trigger, and MGW three dot sights. The grip safety and trigger required some fitting and I had a gunsmith install the staked in front sight. It turned out to be a reliable and accurate shooter.

 

[Slow Dancer]

Nice GI. I hope it gives you years of good service. Mine is accurate and reliable. I am thinking it about "customizing" my GI model. I would like to get a more authentic looking set of grips. I think some fairly plain wood grips would be ok, although there are some really nice grips out there. The only thing I do not really like is the "U.S." on the grips. I am not sure why they did that; the real government had plain grips.

 

[jm1911c]

I should probably mention that I traded this recently and got a Colt WWI reproduction, I just couldn't resist. The Colt was just too pretty.