Restoration Question

[tlvaughn]

I must apologize in advance because many of you may consider this a silly question. I was discussing restoring Enfields with a few people and I was surprised at the differences of opinion on the topic.

Here is the hypothetical question we were discussing:

If you purchased a sporterized 1942 Savage No4 MkI (no star) that had been FTR'd at Faz in 1949 and wanted to restore it, would you restore it to a 1942 or 1949? Assuming the barrel had been cut down as well, would you replace it with a 1942 Savage barrel and stock or with a Faz barrel and stock?

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[lucky dog]

The way it left Fazakerley.

[limpetmine]

1949, Imho.

[jmoore]

1949, as well.

[Edward Horton]

Forget the date and just buy LVSteve "ZF" marked Enfield he is parting out and use that stock and just sand the heck out of the "ZF" marking.

[Peter Laidler]

Same as above.........

[Amatikulu]

If it had to be restored, 1949 restoration is the military configuration it was last in and is therefore a true representation of the rifles history.

However, once the barrel is cut and undoubtably the wood, the cost of such a restoration would make me not do it, but instead spend my money on buying one in original condition.

[Peter Laidler]

Restoring an original Fazakerley made, A suffix, wartime Mk1 rifle to original is a bit like restoring an East German Trabant for a classic car collection! Or am I being a little cruel?

[jmoore]

It depends on how bad East German "Bubbas" are! One day even a Trabant will be rare, but that may be a good thing....

[bradtx]

tlvaughn, If all it takes is some furniture to recover to mil-surp condition, then 1949 it is, IMHO. Still, it'll never be original again, even in FTR guise.

I like Peter's analogy to car restoration, perhaps because I've done a few myself. If one's going to put time and treasure into a project, it should be worth it.

Brad