Type 38 carbine arsenal rebuild?

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02-17-2018, 11:37 AM
clift13

Type 38 carbine arsenal rebuild?

Hello everyone I just got a type 38 carbine that is a bit of a mystery to me. After taking the rifle apart I noticed that none of the numbers on the receiver which are 136416 made at the Koishikawa arsenal match the other parts. However the number 53 is stamped on all the other parts of the rifle minus the bolt which I know is common. The number 53 is also stamped on the bottom of the reciever leaving me to beleive that this was put together by a arsenal instead of some guy putting 2 rifles together. There is also 2 small kanji stamps on the receiver next to the serial number which I think is some form of force matching the reciever. Have any of you guys incountered a rebuild like this before? Any information would be great thanks.

Kevin
02-17-2018, 03:28 PM
bob q

it was matched by the assembly number [ 53 ] , not the serial number . All early T-38's were done like that .
02-17-2018, 03:46 PM
clift13

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob q

it was matched by the assembly number [ 53 ] , not the serial number . All early T-38's were done like that .

Thats strange they did it like that. Can you still use the serial number on the reciever to determine its manufacture date. I looked it up on line and I guessed the date around the mid to late 20s by dividing the number of years it was made into the production numbers. Im sure production numbers weren't the same every year so Im sure my system is off. Any chance you might have a better idea when it was made.