Late Serial Model 141 Buy With Caution

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nambujim
Posts: 597
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC

Late Serial Model 141 Buy With Caution

Post by nambujim »

OK, I'm not saying ALL have problems but what I am saying is you need to be cautious of rifles made after serial 55,000. They look nice on the outside but the insides will have not only heavy machine marks but ill fit parts, and an overall lack of care seen on pre-war rifles.

I just finished work on a .35 Cal. with a serial just over 60,000 and it had so many problems with the bolt, stop, action bar, and trigger group not to mention the trigger guard had a slight warp to it which I have seen several times before. The problems to some of these guns can be caused by "bad owner disease" but this one came out of the factory with more than its share of problems.

One of the mysterious self-inflicted factory problems is "dimpling" on the action bar cover, for some reason on many of the late rifles they take something like a nail set and dimple the action bar cover in the recessed section. This section is recessed so it will clear the larger diameter barrel but in this case the dimpling was so deep it was causing the cover to bind against the barrel when the rifle was shucked. I have a VERY late 141 (only one higher serial known) and it has like seven of these dimples but none nearly as deep as the ones on this rifle.

As you know action bar covers for the 141 are difficult to find and are the most broken item on the rifle but in this case it was necessary to replace it ALONG with a complete set of prewar parts which included the bolt, stop, action bar, carrier, & magazine tube. The parts substitution was the solution but in addition work had to be done to the guard and the frame to make them slide apart in a reasonable fashion.

On the brighter side I have worked on and own some mid 60,000 serial guns and they function normally but ALL the prewar examples seem to be superior in workmanship. So buyer beware and when buying online and ask questions of the seller.

OH............one other thing, the "lever" portion of the hook/lever safety system located in the trigger guard was binding/rubbing against the trigger on the rifle described above and unlike most of these the pin did NOT want to come out and had to be removed with a nail set, once removed a little metal was taken off the lever next to the trigger, a new pin was used to secure it and it seemed good to go.

It would be best if you are going to buy a later 141, get one that is pretty well used or broken in OR at least try to handle it and test the action, trigger, and feed system.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Jim Peterson
Oscarflytyer
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2015 12:56 am

Re: Late Serial Model 141 Buy With Caution

Post by Oscarflytyer »

If I ever buy one from anyone other than you (one I own now), I think a condition is that you inspect it first!
nambujim
Posts: 597
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: Late Serial Model 141 Buy With Caution

Post by nambujim »

You are so nice..............I'll send the check out in the morning! lol

One thing I neglected to mention is that these later serial rifles also
use shims on the barrel because the fit isn't as precise as the pre war guns. There is a lot of little stuff you find like the fit of the magazine plug or the fact you have to beat apart the upper/lower because they are so tight. The list goes on...............at least you are informed of the situation.

Thanks again for the nice comment, truly appreciated!

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC
Jim Peterson
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