Putting together a circa 1960 AR15 (601 model)
I kind of got sucked into rebuilding a badly carried out 601 clone on a NoDAK lower. Trying to rebuild it as close to a circa 1960 601 Model with a later 1-12 replacement barrel as real 1-14 barrels just do not exist.
A few questions for folks who might be in the know on this:
1) Were the Air-Force AR15/M16 rifles rebuilt or just used to destruction? I mean rebuilt to M16 standards, not the later M16A2 rebuild program in the late 1990s. I am guessing Lackland had a rebuild facility but do not know if they Air Force operated depots around the world and if so , where and when such operated.
2) If so, there there any rebuild marks on the rifles like I saw on US Army rifles? For example I saw a fair number of RIA marked rifles with the date in the mid 1970s (forward side of magazine well, right ejection port cover side in the early 1980s to late 1980s. Did the Air Force have a similar policy and if so what marking were applied?
3) The rebuilt rifles from the ~1975 period in the Army had a black paint finish on finish-worn parts like the upper and lower receiver, I suspect baked on as it was impervious to LSA and CLP. Did the Air force use something similar?
4)If the old green/brown furniture was reused, was it painted black if one set of the parts (such as the triangular hand guard halves) had to be replaced or would the Air Force mix colors on the stock?
5) When rifles are rebuilt/maintained in the Army, or were there would be a list of what parts to reuse and what parts to replace (like the early buffers and the open flash hiders). While this was the case at the rebuild facilities, most unit armorer/2nd echelon rework just salvaged rifles and re-used older parts if serviceable, or so I have been told. Was this similar in the Air Force?
6) Were there any parts such as the old buffers, duckbill flash hiders, non-stainless steel gas tubes, bolt hold opens, 1-14 barrels or green/brown furniture that was replaced as a matter of policy when found in unit small arms inspections?
7) When one of the 1-14 barrels was replaced in the 1970s, where their older stocks of 1960s replacement barrels that were used? or were barrels generally requisitioned from the army or directly from colt? if there were older barrel stocks, what type? (early non chrome, chrome chamber only or chrome chamber/bore types)
Thanks to anyone who might know. I realize there will not be an exact answer, but I would like to be able to hand over the rifle to the owner with as close to a correct assembly as possible. Right now I am using this site to identify the correct parts:
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