is there any reason not to convert a stainless AMT 1911 frame to a 10mm pistol? other than swapping the slide & barrel and maybe the magazine. is there anything else involved? reason I ask is that the .45's slide is worn where the slide stop engages and won't lock open. I looked into replacing it and thought if I were going to spend that $, might as well make it a 10mm. ;D any suggestions?
Thats it. Slide, barrel and magazine.
Of course, all the fitting is in the slide to the frame and the barrel to the slide/frame. Good news though...The magazine is a drop in part at least 50% of the time :P
Also, the feed ramp is cut to a different angle on 10mm frame and the ejector is also different. You may or may not have feed and ejection issues.
Having said that, I used my .45 frame before I got a dedicated frame for my DE slide and it worked fine.
thanks for the replies. after posting this, I did some more research and see that it isn't that big of a deal to do, just a big deal of $ to do it. :)) looks like a project that will have to wait for a little better financial times for me. :( from what I see, I could almost buy a complete 10mm pistol for what the conversion costs. :o
You could easily get a RIA for what you would pay for a Caspian slide and Kart barrel.
A while back e-sarco or one of the other parts houses was clearing out a bunch of P16-40 slides and barrels. That might make the project workable. THough that was some time ago.
I converted my Springfield Mil Spec 45 acp to accept a 10mm upper using one of the Para Ordnance 40/10 slides from Sarco. As long as the slide goes on the frame, you are good to go.
I used a "drop in" 10mm barrel from Numrich that required finish reaming.
You might not need to change the ejector, but most 1911 10mm guns use a 38 Super. If you use the 38 Super ejector, and want to continue using the 45 acp slide, the slide will need to be modified to fit over the ejector.
Main Spring (Hammer Spring) should be upped to 25#, a Flat Bottom Firing Pin Stop should be added, and the recoil spring should be upped to at least 18 1/2#.
All in all, about $300 in parts.
Be aware that I have gotten two of the Para Ordnance 40/10 slides in Commander length. One worked just fine. One needed milling work because the rail cuts weren't wide enough for the frame.