I had another look at the Arisaka this evening.
It has what seems to be a nice hot tank bluing. The finish on the receiver is still nice and deep as is the the under side of the barrel out of the stock. The top of the barrel is covered with surface rust. It does not have open sites although there are two thin notches across the barrel just back from the muzzle. The barrel is about 22". The crown doesn't look bad and the rifling is clearly visible at the crown. The bore is dirty but the rifling looks decent. It has a side mounted safety that looks like sheet metal. It extends up from inside of the stock and folds over to the outside of the gun. It is hard to maneuver but does seem to work. The stock is nicely checkered at the forend and grip with tight diamond's. The grip has a black cap and there is a rubber recoil pad with "White Line" on the bottom. The pad is rock hard. The Chrysanthemum is still there. The caliber is 6.5 Jap. according to the shop owner. The rifle is on consignment. There is no information about the history. They are willing to contact the owner with an offer as the rifle has been at the shop for at least a month.
As I mentioned in my first post, I have a background with sporterizing military rifles but have no experience with the Arisaka's.
Is this worth tinkering with?
Thanks
Issac