Colt 1911 Ace...1978

Xfuzz · Feb 28, 2024

Picked up this clean 1978 vintage Colt Ace.
First one I have ever had.
Box and paperwork.
Hope to put a few rounds through this weekend.

dmar · Feb 28, 2024

Congratulations that’s a beauty! I’ve had my eye out for one in that kind of condition for a long time. Some day…

lihpster · Feb 28, 2024

Always wanted one. Never ran across the right one at the right time. That is a beautiful specimen! Have fun with it!

Alpo · Feb 28, 2024

Hope it came with plenty of magazines. They are hard to find.

Engine49guy · Feb 28, 2024

The Ace is a neat gun because it closely emulates the look and feel and recoil impulse of the .45 ACP Model 1911.

IIRC the secret to making it work with a real steel slide is the "Floating chamber", unfortunately that is it's weakness as well,

I have two and both run fine for a short time until the floating chamber gets dirty, once it starts to hiccup the upper has to be field stripped to clean the floating chamber.

If you haven't field stripped an Ace before pay close attention to the removal and replacement of the ejector as it can be tricky.

jc2721 · Feb 28, 2024

Use the cleanest burning copper-washed HV load you've got (I like mini-mags) and every box or so put a drop of break-free between the floating chamber and the barrel proper (disassembly not required). If you have to pry the two apart it's time to separate the floating chamber and scrub it really well--I use kroil and a piece of a "Big 45" steel wool ball wrapped around a worn out .45 bronze brush, chucked into my drill to clean out the barrel recess. Kroil and the "Big 45" (hand-power only) scrub the floating chamber. My conversion unit will go about 500 rounds before the deep cleaning.

DWalt · Feb 29, 2024

Engine49guy said:
The Ace is a neat gun because it closely emulates the look and feel and recoil impulse of the .45 ACP Model 1911.

IIRC the secret to making it work with a real steel slide is the "Floating chamber", unfortunately that is it's weakness as well,

I have two and both run fine for a short time until the floating chamber gets dirty, once it starts to hiccup the upper has to be field stripped to clean the floating chamber.

If you haven't field stripped an Ace before pay close attention to the removal and replacement of the ejector as it can be tricky.

The Ace has no floating chamber. The later Service Ace does.

Xfuzz · Feb 29, 2024

Thanks for the info....
The story:

I got this from our local Cabela's.
I had ordered a Colt SAA out of the FT. Worth
Cabela's and they shipped it my local store.
it was total parts gun. I rejected the SAA
and they had this Ace.

I had a boat-load of "points" and Cabela's give retired Law Enforcement
a 5% discount.....so I now own a Colt Ace.
No other decent Smiths or Colts were in stock.

Greyman50 · Feb 29, 2024

Many moons ago a good friend desperately needed a 1911 A-1 slide. I asked what he had to trade, he pulled out an early Colt Conversion unit so
I traded. About 2 years later a guy was walking around our gun show with a Colt 1911 that no one wanted. I looked at it and it was one of the Series 70s with a Service Model marked lower. I gave him what he wanted as I had an “ el cheapo” Ace, LOL.

22hipower · Mar 1, 2024

DWalt said:
The Ace has no floating chamber. The later Service Ace does.

True, but wouldn't a 1978 production gun be a Service Ace?

Jeff
SWCA #1457

TOM BECKWITH · Mar 2, 2024

Back in the 70s, apparently a fairly large run of the Aces was run but sales were poor. A number were purchased for the frames (lowers) and the uppers were put on the market. My friend, a Colt dealer - mostly SE Gun Shows - bought a large number of the uppers still in the pistol boxes. He sold at shows, to both dealers and customers. The one mentioned is probably one of these. As I recall, he sold a couple to me for about $50 each. I believe these could be used on all Colt frames, 45. 38 spcl, 9 mm.

Abbynormal · Mar 3, 2024

Find a nib Colt .45 Series 70 .45 ACP complete slide and sell it for 3 or 4 times what you paid for it.

CajunBass · Mar 4, 2024

I used to be a security guard at a private campground. The campground had a shooting range for the members use. I stopped one afternoon to chat with a couple of fellows who where shooting and naturally they were showing me their guns. One of them was a Colt ace, with a three digit serial number. I think it's the only one I've ever seen. I don't know if it was anything special or not but I was mildly impressed. Nice looking gun.

SuperMan · Mar 4, 2024

Very nice find...don't see very many for sale anymore and expensive when you do...

Have had mine for about 18 years. Before that had one of the rare 70s vintage round top Conversion Units that looked like a standard Government Model. At the time I had a 1968 Government Model .45 and a 1969 Super .38 both with inset BoMar sights and had the Conversion Unit matched to the two centerfire guns...ruined the collectors value but it was a lot more shootable with the better sights...

One problem you may have is finding additional magazines that will work with your gun. The one I bought was made available because the only mag that would work in the gun was the one that came with it. He purchased several magazines from MetalForm (who makes the mags for Colt) and none of them worked...he returned them and sold the gun. All my Conversion Unit mags just happen to work..

First pic is the round top CU the second is with several different .22 Conversion Units..a magazine from each at 15 yards... ACE the last two..

Bob

Colt 1911 Ace...1978

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