Three questions concerning the 1894 Marlin. Let me preface by saying I had one fall into my lap (free!), and never having owned one am pretty much in the dark about them. It is an early one, pre-1900, .44-40 carbine, minus the wood and with a positively rotten bore- but complete otherwise, in very nice condition and functions slicker than grease on a door knob. Full restoration is contemplated, but that may devolve into "throw it together and make a hunter/shooter/plinker out of it".
First, are modern 1894 barrels interchangeable with vintage ones? (Given the usual concerns of headspacing, etc. encountered when rebarreling any rifle.) Mainly concerned with threads being the same in this regard.
Second, if I stumble onto a .38-40 barrel, or any other caliber they have been offered in, how big of a deal is it to modify/replace feed mechanism parts, and are magazine tubes caliber specific?
Lastly, if question #2 is satisfied, how viable are the real early ones for conversion to a modern magnum pistol cartridge (.357, .41, .44)? I'm guessing it wouldn't be prudent given 120 year old metallurgy, but I don't know for a fact. Obviously I'm feeling my way through options before making a final determination as to the gun's fate.
In that vein, anybody know of a decent barrel floating around?
Thanks!