New Member ... Restoring M1 Carbine.....

[Im_in_NH]

Greetings! Seems once upon a time I got a letter that started that way. Jim@BavarianM1Carbines.com recommended this discussion group. I am undertaking the restoration of an M1 carbine that my father stored in the cellar for the past 65+ years. It was oiled and wrapped in some old newspapers and has gone through one house fire. I've been wondering what to do with it. This year's winter project is to try to get it into working order. Hope that I can get some help along the way.
Thanks E

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[painter777]

"Hope that I can get some help along the way."

Probably more than you'd want.....



Hey E,
Welcome to Milsurps
Jim M is a highly respected member of the carbine community, a hard worker!

First things first...
I'd break it down and de-grease / De-grime all the parts.
Leave the frt and rear sights installed, along with the barrel.
Can you break it down?
We can walk you thru it if need be.

Question,
Is That A Inland Barrel?
Can you see the makers name on the receiver... under the rear sight.
If not, your serial number will help, you can X out the last 2-3 digits if you want.

Should be a fun project!!

Cheers,
Charlie-Painter777

[deldriver]

Some more pictures would be good, although the ones you provided help some. The question Charlie asked is very important about serial numbers. Are you going to refinish it or correct the rifle if the wrong parts are on it? This sounds like a great story of course as far the history with you dad and the fire too.
I too have dealt with Jim Mock before. He's a great guy and extremely helpful to boot. I had a Bavarian carbine that Jim helped with me a bunch.

Good Luck with your project.

[imarangemaster]

Who is the maker? Does it have a stock, or was it burned in the fire? Did your dar bring it home from far and distant places? WE LOVE any story that goes with carbines.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

IM,

First off welcome to the forum.
Second, was the stock destroyed in the fire? If so, Bill is offering a couple of stocks for free you pay the shipping, in the thread I listed below post #10. They will go fast, so if you need one, that might be a good starting place.

Good potbelly stock cheap

It is a lot easier to answer questions if you post pictures with your questions.

You should have a lot of fun cleaning the carbine up and taking the first shot.

Hope you enjoy doing it.

Jim

[INLAND44]

If the stock was burned off the gun, it won't be shootable but could still be a good-looking wall hanger. The test: if the springs are still okay, the gun did not get hot enough to weaken the steel. Right off the bat, I am seeing rust on most parts including springs, which does not bode well for the springs or the gun - it looks to have been heated and then hit with water, typical of a fire gun. I would begin at once to apply 'Kroil', a product of Kano Labs, Nashville, all over it, inside and out. This will help you get it apart later and soften a lot of the rust. Some of that rust is going to leave pitting. Anyway, if the recoil spring and hammer spring clean up and retain their 'springiness', I'd say you stand a chance of shooting it someday. If the springs collapse and break, they're toast as well as the heat treatment of the steel, and you have a wall-hanger.

[Im_in_NH]

I can't say where the carbine is from as my father served in the Army. His unit was stationed in both Europe during WW2 and in Japan after the war. I do not recall that the carbine ever had a stock on it. When my parent's house caught on fire we took as many things out as we could including the firearms. There wasn't any damage to speak of. Can't say the same for the house.

The carbine barrel is marked as an Inland 11-42 and the receiver # is 120736. My goal is to make it operational with as many original parts as I can restoring it to its time period. I have a book "M1 Carbine Owner's Manual" by Desert Publication so I've started reading before I pull anything apart. I've started an inventory of what is missing.

There is a significant amount of rust so I am thinking the first order of business is to take some Hoppes #9 and some 0000 steel wool to it and see what I can clean off. Probably take me the best part of the winter cleaning it up. I looked down the barrel and it looks clean.

[Im_in_NH]

For historical purposes my father served in the 97th Infantry Division

[INLAND44]

It's good to know it wasn't in the fire - that makes a huge difference. I advise against steel wool on a Parkerized gun as it tends to remove it. Use the Kroil on a toothbrush and you will see a brown liquid form which is the rust coming off. This process takes time. You really should get it as good as you can without harming anything before you make the refinishing decision. As far as the restoration, it will get complicated because the trigger housing is not Inland and it's parts may or may not be. Still, you have what may be a very important original part, the barrel band. My question is if the original carbine was blued or Parkerized. If it was blued, it will be difficult to reproduce that finish. Actually, I can't tell exactly what finish is on it now. That would be a major factor in whether to refinish or not. The stock will also be expensive, and it looks like you'll need a 'flat' bolt along with a flip sight.
I think you might be satisfied if you can get it cleaned up and functional with it's current parts (plus any repair parts) and a good Inland stock.

[Im_in_NH]

I've been on a mission to find some Kroil. Been to the local hardware store, Tractor Supply, and Home Depot. Went to their website and there is currently a Google Offer - 2 king size AeroKroil cans for $12 plus $6 for shipping. There is a disclaimer you agree to that states this is a commercial sale and the order form requires a company name. So I went ahead and ordered some.

I am avoiding the use of any brass brushes for cleaning both the outside and the barrel. I have been using some old tooth brushes to clean my firearms. I'm actually not proceeding any further until I can get the Kroil (and the holidays are over). I'll post some more pictures as I proceed. Thought I'd hold off looking for any parts until I can get it cleaned and figure out what I have to work with. Will take it to a gunsmith to have him inspect the barrel. Yes, I would be satisfied if I could get it looking like it should and functional. Am a bit nervious what might happen if the weapons band goes into effect again but will SOON be visiting some of the local gun shops to see what they might have laying around.

New to this so wondering if I should continue with this this tread?

Have a safe and happy holidays all! Ed