1936 Lithgow.

Being a fan of Enfield rifles a few years ago I found a pretty beat up No1 Mk III in a local gun store. It had seen a lot of abuse and neglect in it years but appealed to me. Had the magazine cutoff in place and is stamped Lithgow 1936. I brought it home for $200.00 and put aside as a eventual project which is where I am now. I have taken it apart for a badly needed cleaning. Reciever and barrel numbers match but finish is rough. Looks to be dated on the barrel 2.40 and bore is rough but rifling is strong. Many parts seem to be original and are stamped MA. Other parts look to be non Australian. Nose cap is cut for stacking swivel which I have been told is incorrect and the ears are not rounded but squared off. Trigger guard has provision for a swivel. Trigger not marked etc. etc. Forestock and hand guards seem to be Australian and I have shimmed the copper draws for a nice snug fit. Butt stock might be off a Mk4 as there is no cutout for the safety.

So I am starting to put this back together. I can get Australian parts to replace the non Australian marked parts from Springfield Sporters. Looks like most will be marked BA or OA. I have also found a butt stock cartouched Lithgow but dated 1943. It also has a green band painted around it which I have read is not a really terrible thing.

So other than for personal satisfaction would you guys replace the non Australian parts with Australian parts even with the OA and BA stamps? Or am I just creating a bigger hodge podge of mismatched parts than I started with? I do know that this rifle will never be a collectors item and replacing those parts are not going to increase the value by much. Just for some reason seems to be a right thing to do to me.

Actually a 1936 dated Lithgow will always have some collectable value because it's a rare action date. Not suggesting you've got some holy grail, but the 30's dates are the harder to find because of the limited numbers they were made. Take some photos of what you have now so we can see it. Maybe it has some legitimacy as it is and you might be trying to reverse its history.
For the record, 1936 Lithgow were made with piling swivel. Yours sounds like it was probably assembled in 1940, rifles still had piling swivel at this point in time.

It's been through lots of time and hard to say who did what. Changing parts at this point becomes a very expensive venture.

Guys, wouldn't squared off ears be a sign of an Ishapore made nose cap?

Square ears is definitely an RFI nose cap. I have a 1923 Lithgow in my project rack that is out of Indian service and very similar but in decent shape inside and out. The nose cap on it is an earlier RFI part with the round "ears".

Reciever

More photos of what came with rifle when purchased. The copper plates or draws I have shimmed. Also repaired some small cracks and built up the breakout around the king bolt bushing. Used acraglass.

If you want to restore at least the nosecap, there's a 1935 Lithgow nosecap on eBay right now. Probably your only chance ever to get one

Butt stock that came with.

Anything on the other face of the butt? It looks like Queensland maple that would have been correct on that rifle, possibly the original butt. Looking more like a restored sporter.