Moose, once you've gotten the pin out (and it is a tapered pin, so be careful on how you install it), you may have a problem getting the front sight base off the barrel stub.  The front sight base is a press fit (very close tolerance) and you may have some rust under the sight base too.  Liquid Wrench or Break Free won't cut it when it comes to loosening these parts.  Go to www.kanolabs.com and order some Kroil from them.  Get the spray aerosol can and the gallon can of the stuff.  Kroil is a penetrant that is specifically designed to seep into gaps as small as 2 millionth of an inch and is designed to cut rust.  Once you have your Kroil, soak the parts in it and let sit for a couple of days.  Try and see if you can press the barrel stub off.  If the stub is not cooperating, try this method: heat the sight base with a hand torch and then use spray Kroil to squirt into the crack between the sight base and barrel.  As the parts cool, the Kroil will get sucked into the gap between the barrel and sight base by capillary action.  Let sit overnight and the parts should separate when you press them apart.  When you press the sight base off, make sure that you push it towards the cut where the sling swivel attaches (that is, towards where the muzzle used to be).  Otherwise, you're trying to press in the wrong direction and it won't work.

 

The gas regulator on the L1A1 is a slip fit on the front sight base and is retained by a C-ring.  Make sure that you have this C-ring removed before you attempt to take the gas regulator off the sight base.  If the regulator is frozen -- that is, you cannot turn it either way to open or close it -- the Kroil needs to be applied here also, the same way as you did for the sight base and barrel.

 

The bolt hold open is solved by one of two ways:  (1) Install a suitable pin so the magazine follower can lock the bolt back on the last shot -- that's what the hole is for in the Aussie bolt hold open (BHO) you have.  (2) Replace the Aussie BHO with a metric-pattern BHO.  I prefer the metric Type B with the wide release.  I have the metric-pattern wide release BHO on four of my Commonwealth replicas.  Try Gun Parts Guy or GunThings.com or DS Arms for the wide release BHO.  If you have a problem, e-mail me directly.

 

 

From: moose

Sent: 7/22/2008 8:53 PM

it's an aussie kit going by what you just told me.,  I.O is sending me another gas tube nut and a pistol grip, no charge. everything else looks awesome, the bore on the barrel was pristine, too bad its last date was with a cutting torch, my barrel i ordered is on back order, 30 to 60 days?  who knows, i cant seem to get the gas block off of the old barrel piece there is only one pin in it and i have it soaking in break free for a couple days now, and i can't get the nut that screws into the gas regulator to come off yet other than that everything cleaned up great and came right apart, any guidance will be greatly appreciated , thanks, Moose

 

From: MasterGunner

Sent: 7/22/2008 7:10 PM

What kind of parts did you get in the kit?  Are they British or Aussie?   How to tell:    If Brit, they have all sorts of National Stock Numbers stamped on them, such as: 1005-99-123-4567.  The 99 is the country code that identifies the UK.   If Aussie, most parts are unmarked or may contain a partial NSN.  If you see something like 1005-66-123-4567, then this is an Aussie part.  The Aussie country code is 66.   Another way to determine the source of your parts:   If Brit, the lower receiver will be marked on the LH lower rear with the manufacturer (UE or UB and year 62 -- e.g., UB 62).  The serial number range follows the pattern: A123456.   If Aussie, the lower receiver will be marked on the RH side midway between the bottom of the rear sight dovetail and the bottom of the receiver: AD6512345.  AD stands for Australian Defence, 65 identifies the year, and the last five digits are the serial number.   If you have a mix of numbers, then you have both Brit and Aussie.  Don't worry, they're all interchangeable.   Regarding the 5 slot vs. 3 slot flash eliminators, only the Brits used both 5 and 3 slot models.  The Aussie used the 5 slot.  The Brits felt that the 3 slot was stronger, worked as well as or better than the 5 slot, and was less prone to develop cracks than the 5 slot.  The Brits changed from 5 slot to 3 slot when L1A1's went through Factory Through Repair (FTR) in the 1970's when the plastic furniture was introduced.

 

From: moose

Sent: 7/19/2008 11:01 AM

hey gunner, i got my parts kit yesterday,  everything looks really good except they broke the pistol grip, i think they are gonna send me another one, the flashidder i got with it is one with 5 short slots near the end, is that the one you said didnt work very well?  still waiting on the barrel.  ah, the anticipation of the U.P.S guy coming they probably think i'm always happy, i'm always grinning like an old dog when they get here.  lol