Sarco 1911 Frame Gunsmith Specials

[Kilroy08]

I saw that Sarco has another batch of 1911 frames in that are listed as gunsmith
specials due to some undisclosed manufacturing defect.

I'm very tempted to order one but I would like to know if any one else has purchased a frame
from this or previous batches that Sarco has offered.

As a machinist, I've become pretty adept at unscrewing my own screw ups. However, when it comes
to someone else's act of zigging instead of zagging, things get interesting.

[wv109323]

I would guess that the frames are Essex due to the high amount of Essex parts they sell. I don't know your expertise level but there are few things on a 1911 frame that can not be fixed but if the OEM thought it was non-profitable to correct then....

[seagiant]

Hi,
Yes buyer beware! However SARCO does get the cast Rock Island frames from the Phillipines and they are good to go, even though they sale quickly because of Gunsmith pre-orders waiting on a shipment to come in! I would call and ask about those!

[jmsj]

If possible I would try to find out what the "manufacturing defect" is.
Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing w/ Armscor frames. I have built many guns from the Rock Island bare frames (4) and frame/slide and barrel kits (5) from Sarco and in the process of doing another frame/slide and barrel kit build currently.
But the last batch of bare frames that a friend of mine bought (these were not "Gunsmith specials") were marked used on the tags (although the frames looked new), the channel where the mainspring housing was out of spec for width, the cut in the frame under the sear spring was a different length on each of the 3 frames he bought and the holes for the plunger tube stake legs on one frame were slightly too far to the rear. Regarding the plunger tube staking legs, I had to slightly grind down my staking tool for the first time ever to be able to get the tool to clear the frame and centered in the hole on the staking leg.
Before we started working on the frames my friend called Sarco and they told him to send pictures of the problems. He can't attach photos so I contacted Sarco via email, asked questions about the frame anomalies and sent pictures of the issues and a copy of their invoice. They never responded to any of our attempts to contact them.
So Buyer beware because Customer service at Sarco is not very good.
Good Luck, jmsj

[monadnock#5]

I will bet dollars to doughnuts that assemblers on the assembly line those frames were intended for don't know anything anything more about gunsmithing than the typical Champaign, Il HS graduate. Which is to say "zippo!". If the assembly won't fit in the template once tab A has been folded, pasted and inserted into slot B, the whole train off the tracks.

For the right price, I'd roll the dice.

[Kilroy08]

Thank you for all the input. I think I'll just hang on to my money for the time being and wait until I've got the cash for one of the Armscor frames.

I'd rather buy once and be done with it.

[mtgrs737]

I would save up the extra cash and buy a quality frame as the rest of the build will be affected by a poor quality frame. Many years ago now I built up a 45 on a Crown City frame, I had to fight that frame to get everything to fit. It would never feed correctly no mater what I did to it. If your time is worth anything I would skip it.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Call Remsport! https://www.1911addicts.com/threads/remsport-frame-and-slide.697/