Newbie(to here) with a Bren demilled kit

You're dead right Joe. Over engineered without compromise. What makes the body even simpler to weld is the fact that it's metallurgically identical from one end to the other. So no hard spots or metallurgical nightmares to fall foul of when welding - except linear contraction after welding. But that can be calculated in mathematically. Really envious of you US owners and wish I could do/see/aid in such a project. What an experience.

I agree with Joe about that feared notion of 'body stretching' It's unfounded due to several reasons that were related a year or so ago when the subject cropped up in relation to L1A1 rifles.

As I understand it, the preferred welding method is to use a jig to preserve alignment and dimensions, with copper backing blocks at the weld sites. TIG preferred, many small welds, moving from spot to spot. This to reduce warping and distortion.
Here in Canada, such a reweld is not legally possible. If a cut auto is repaired, it legally reverts to what it was before being cut to pieces. And even if it remanufactured as semi auto, that isn't acceptable - the thing is classified as a converted auto (a mg reworked to semi), which is a prohibited firearm.

As ZGB has said in another post, they are probably ex Pakistan. If anyone reading this thread has an intact serial, can they post the number.

Pakistan.......... L4's........... do we have photographic evidence of this link?

ZGB suspected they came out of Pak, and they and the Indians did get a contract from Enfield but these may be or may not be them.

Pak and India got a contract from Enfield OR do you mean Enfield got a contract from India and Pak to supply L4's? I understand that after the 1965 debacle with the Sterlings and c.60,000 L8 conversion kits, India never did another deal with Enfield. If Pak used L4's there'd be footage of them used in the 1972 war with India.

The surplus arms market is a bizarre thing........many times specific information is simply not available. ESPECIALLY the kind that historically inclined creatures covet.

In almost every surplus military gun auction/sale that I've been part of, even tangentially, the most that is put up is something along the lines of ".....here it is, do you want it or not?". Most of the lots, especially again, lots of things like vintage machine guns are being disposed of to blacken the trail of just where they came from, where they've been, by whom or when, etc. What you see is all you get to make your story out of.

Then add in the buyers from places like SARCO, who make a distinct habit of buying the most atrocious lots of anything offered, anywhere, and you really can't say any more other than what/where/when you just acquired THAT lot from just then.

Lastly, throw in the often random and stupid national-level regulatory schemes involved, and you can have quite a bit more than just a mystery on your hands when it comes to try and assign any provable "historical" context to the story of any particular gun.

The "Russian Thompson trove" of several years back is a prime example- by all known and provable documentations, provenances, and official histories.....every one of those unissued TSMG's was manufactured in one or more of the old Soviet countries. The official paperwork says so.

Another favorite of mine is the tale of the Steyr MG-74's that found their way over here in the middle 90's. I have one, one of 101 reportedly, that came to me in unfired, unissued condition. Everyone knows that officially the Austrians just simply do not export arms like that, it doesn't happen. Asked about, they officially deny those guns existence (how many pictures do you want to see??). Then one day in early 1982, there was this cargo ship that got intercepted in the South Atlantic.......about to make port in this little island area called the "Malvinas", or to you guys, the "Falklands". Found aboard and diverted back to the UK were a quantity of brand new MG-74 guns, among other party favors. Ooooops........

So off into the UK arms dealer world they went, eventually imported here much later. Officially, these guns were "Made in the UK". Official paperwork says so.

Good luck trying to figure who "officially" got what, when, or HOW. More to the point is so much of this stuff is purposely arranged to obscure and obfuscate exactly the fine little details we here would love to nail down as provenances.

-TomH

It would really help if some of the serial numbers of the L4s could be confirmed. I believe the SARCO kits came from the same source as the UK ones a few years back.

With regards to the Atlantic Conveyor, more kit was written off against that loss then actually went down on the ship. It was seen as a way to tidy up people's inventories.

Had a couple of people give me their numbers.

Ue65A5196

UE65A4492

Both look pretty much unused since conversion and retain the red rectangular 7.62 markings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brit plumber

With regards to the Atlantic Conveyor, more kit was written off against that loss then actually went down on the ship. It was seen as a way to tidy up people's inventories.

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Thats where one of the Second Engineers I sailed with learnt to swim.......