m1 carbine

[jagen heie]

okay my dad has an m1 carbine made by plainfield. it was given to him by a friend shortly before his death. after firing it for awhile the bolt messed up and meeds replaced. ive found them at around 75-80 buks. unfortunately it also messed up the area bolt slides in. father says the guides are broken about half way in. and any other bolt put in would quickly break as well. trying to get it fixed in part of a deal to get the gun from him.

okay a few questions

1. what is that part actually called. cant replace it without actually knowing what im trying to get.

2. is this an easy replacement or will i need to find a gunsmith to do it?

3. is this worth fixing up or should it be kept for memories and a replacement bought?

 

[PDL]

A quick google search on M1 Carbine schematic turned up a number of hits.

This one seemed like it would be useful to you.
.30 cal. Carbine Nomenclature

 

[s&wchad]

It sounds like you need a new bolt and receiver. Planfield, like Universal, made commercial carbines for the civilian market built on cast receivers. They did not produce guns for the military. The earlier guns were made with mostly surplus parts, but they went to aftermarket parts when the supplies dried up. You could have a gunsmith install a new receiver and bolt, but I think I would retire it and look for a genuine US gun that came through the CMP while they're still readily available.

If you get another carbine or have that one repaired, make sure you keep the bolt lugs and channels well greased.

 

[jagen heie]

thnx for advice

 

[Faulkner]

I have assembled a number complete M1 carbines from parts over the years. It is indeed the receiver that needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, that is the most expensive part of the carbine. Plainfield carbines, being commercially manufactured, don't hold the value of USGI carbines, but the good news is what USGI parts on on your carbine could be of value if parted out. I've actually taken mixed part USGI carbines and parted them out for twice the value I paid for the entire gun.

 

[jagen heie]

Yeah I noticed that myself but as its an heirloom gun it'll just collect dust if I don't fixil it

 

[charlie sherrill]

Hang it on the wall and look at it. It will cost more than what it's worth to repair it. Kinda like fixing the transmission on a 200,000 mile Yugo.

 

[m1gunner]

I have bought receivers from the CMP in the past. Don't know if there are any available at this time, but it would be worth checking.

Also, the receivers do pop up from time to time on the gun auction sites. Bolts are easy to find.

You might go over to Jousters and post a WTB ad for the parts you want. Go with a GI receiver and bolt and your breakage problems will be no more.

 

[jagen heie]

Okay. Ill look. Id like to fix it even if I don't get it. Just because its a great rifle and I miss shooting it. In order for me to get it from him id have to be able to fix it for less than. 200 though

 

[310Pilot]

Back when they made them, Plainfield copies of the M-1 Carbine did not have a stellar reputation for reliability or longevity, due to the cast receivers and low grade metals used in production of other parts. Also, IIRC, they differed dimensionally from many GI specs, and many parts were not interchangeable. When a Plainfield carbine came through the doors of my gun shop for repair, we simply did not offer to work on it. If parts could be obtained (remember, GI spec components often did not fit the Plainfield guns), in all probability, we would see the gun come back in a few weeks, suffering from the same problem (receivers and bolts were the most common breakage), and we would then be on the hook to repair, again, problems caused by poor manufacturing. I highly recommend you retire the gun and cherish it as a family keepsake. If you want an M-1 Carbine to shoot, get a GI gun from the CMP, or find one at a LGS, but don't get another Plainfield.

 

[jagen heie]

Yeah that's the general vibe I've been getting. Thnx for the advice

 

[o3rugby1]

Welcome to the cracked bolt club.

 

[austintexas]

If you go on the Gun Parts web site and look up your manufacture and model of M1 carbine they usually have a schematic and a price list. you should be able to identify your broken parts from the schematic.

SWCA 892

 

[Faulkner]

Okay. Ill look. Id like to fix it even if I don't get it. Just because its a great rifle and I miss shooting it. In order for me to get it from him id have to be able to fix it for less than. 200 though

Not likely to happen. You might be able to find a decent receiver for $300 and the bolt will cost you another $100+.

Then you'll have to pay someone to remove the old barrel without damaging it and re-install it on the replacement receiver and head space it . . . probably another $75 to $100. (Let a gunsmith do this, if you don't have a M1 carbine receiver wrench it's real easy to damage the receiver when installing a barrel.)

I'd be real impressed if you could repair this one for less than $450.00.