I'm kicking around the idea of building UZIs on IWI kits with quality US-made receivers.  I can make them in pistol configuration or with a 16" barrel and Sig brace.  The price would be well below the Uzi Pro ($1,000ish).

Mini-Uzi FTW!!!!

sold my iwi uzi like a idiot and miss it everyday so... I want one and will be watching this thread..

Confused, are you licensed to make and sell, or you want these for yourself?

Demand is not too high since the Century UZI can be had for around $600.

I assembled one from a ready welded McKay receiver. Not much to it.

 
I have an 07 FFL.






I hear consistently bad things about Century, which is why I was thinking of offering an alternative in the same price range with better quality control.






Plus, it gives me an excuse to make and enjoy a full auto version for a dealer sales sample.




 

I would be in for a mini Uzi pistol at a  reasonable price. With the ability to attach a sling and possibly an optic and some time down the road sbr it.

I would be in for a mini Uzi pistol, but it seems that stocks (once sbr'd) aren't too easy to find.

A mini UZI would make me open my pocketbook.

It doesn't have to be the original stock but it would be a great opportunity for some one to fabricate one or make some modernizations to the mini Uzi.

The mini is the obvious favorite and, of course, it's the hardest and most expensive kit to get ahold of.

The only source I can find for mini kits is Numrich and they'll cost me over $600 without a barrel or receiver repair section.  On top of that, It would be a reweld.


Vector is selling rewelded Mini UZIs for $1,250 so I could probably come in closer to $1,000 on them.  The word on Vectors is that some work and some don't.

Could you do a cut down modle? I'm not sure what all you would have to do but I think if you can get a regular size to cut down and have it run maybe some thing like a reverse stretch? Could that work? Or maybe cut some weight out?

 
The original Mini Uzis from Vector were just full size models cut down and rewelded to size so it's certainly doable.




The trick is buying all the other parts without it becoming a $1000 plus gun.


 

Numrich does not have Mini kits, those are micro kits. Mini kits have not been available for a while now....

Fair enough. I figured I would ask, (you don't know till you ask) motto. I just don't know what all gose in to building an Uzi, other than its a stamped sheet metal style like the akm.

I have my Form1 in right now to SBR my UZI Pro pistol.  I would be interested in a 16" mini if it had the factory folder on it as I would submit a Form1 to SBR that. Not interested in a Mini pistol with a sig brace though.

I would be VERY interested in a full size UZI as an SBR candidate in the $1000 range IF it worked properly. I have a Century UZI that works most of the time but is finicky about mags and ammunition. It also suffers from off-center primer strikes and a barrel that needed to be shimmed in order to allow the bolt to make proper contact with the trunion.

 
Sounds like a lot of quality control problems.  It seems like Century UZI's are a total crap shoot and Vectors aren't much better.


I'm thinking full size Uzi's will be more like the sub-$800 range.

I would pay sub 800 for a full size UZI that worked well. A chrome lined barrel would be cool too.

While i agree with you in part. There a working prototype of yours out there?  If so what's your turn around time from start to finish? You going to have them ready for sale, or do another of those go fund me , prepay deals?
I ask as i've seen products "offered" without an actual try it out beta model. The  folks behind it raise money and products seem to go by the wayside.  Shadow Ops and Frontier Precision  Ammo come to mind. There's others who have come and gone.
What would separate you from everyone else?

 
Well, I could tell you what separates me from everyone else but since you are clearly the skeptical type, I'll wait until I have videos for proof.


I'm not here asking for your money.  I'm simply asking if people are interested in buying UZIs or not so I know if it's worth pursuing.

Yes, I am very interested.

I would be interested in a full-size Uzi (Model A) type carbine...  With only the serial number on the Left-Side of the receiver, like on a real IMI Uzi...  Also, the serial number to be either stamped in or engraved for a slightly more authentic "retro" look.  I've seen the current "dot-engraving" on a few Uzi carbines and they look ugly as hell!!  And all the manufacturer's information placed on the Right-Side and as small as legally possible.

If the makings and other QC issues, like the fit/finish, were top-tier, I would easily pay $800/$900 for one.

I don't think that a Mini Uzi isn't possible due to the lack of Mini Uzi parts in the country.

Out of curiosity, would it be possible to import a special run of Uzi carbine full/mini "IMI/IWI" receivers from Israel and have them reworked in the US??

+1 I would be super interested..

+1

I looked at the Century offering but the QC problems turned me away, almost did a NDS/McKay self-build but the availability of the bolt group shut that down, and Vector is too expensive (at least for the full size) for what it is.  (Are they still using the wrong-looking receivers too?)

Compatibility with Green Mountain or other easily-sourced barrels for SBRing would be nice.

McKay picked up Nodaks's UZI bolt and receiver productions. They are nice quality, and you can build one for under 800. With the ready welded receiver, the hardest part of the whole thing is parkerizing.

Oh, I know, it was at the time I was most interested in building one the McKay bolts were on infinite back order and I wasn't interested in starting a build that would be almost done except for one part that if had to obsessively watch for because a bunch of other people wanted it too.

I haven't looked at them lately as I haven't had the time to competently tackle a self build.

I would definitely be interested in a full sized UZI as an SBR candidate.  Could you engrave my trust and state before the finish is applied?

Actually, despite Century's horrible reputation for screwing up just about everything it makes or assembles, their semi-auto UZI receivers are much closer to IMI spec than the Group Industries receivers used in some of the Vector Arms builds.  Vector heat treated the Group Industries receivers, which warped them, and they didn't always get them properly straightened, which caused feed issues due to barrel alignment problems.  

On the other hand, the UZI design (semi or full auto) is very simple, so provided the receiver is straight, there's not much that can't be fixed fairly easily.  That makes the CAI UC9 a lot less risky than most CAI built firearms, particularly given their generally decent receivers.

Failure to feed and failure to fire issues often result from underpowered ammunition that leaves the bolt rebounding too slowly to strip the top round out of a nearly full magazine.  The Uzi likes fairly warm loaded ammunition.  You don't need +P or +P+ loads (the Uzi is strong enough for them, but it will increase wear), but light to medium loads may not be enough for reliable cycling.  

A loose barrel nut is also a common cause of a failure to fire.  If the nut has lost some teeth on the back edge you'll want to replace it, and similarly, if the front edge of the barrel nut catch is no longer square you'll want to replace it as well.  If you can hear the catch engaging the teeth when you tighten the nut, you're doing it wrong, and wearing out the parts - keep the catch all the way back until the nut is tight.  Both parts are readily available but for a quick fix you can use a copper, steel or even rubber gasket to take up space and get the catch to engage unbroken teeth on the barrel nut.

One issue I've seen on some Century UC9s is inadequate clearance between the bolt and receiver top cover plate, which slows the bolt and causes feed issues.  You need between .005 and .015 clearance along the length of the cover above the bolt to prevent the bolt from dragging on the cover.  It's an easy fix if you have access to some fairly simple tools.  A couple blocks of wood and a rubber mallet work in a pinch, but if you have access to a drill press, you can place the ends of the plate on blocks of wood and use the drill press to press down on a small block of wood in the middle of the cover plate to bow it slightly to increase clearance.  Don't go crazy - you don't want more than .015" clearance.

Much less commonly, you may encounter cracked trunion welds on an Uzi, which increases the headspace and can cause a failure to fire, but a gunsmith can re-weld it with not much time or expense involved.

Ejection problems are most often due to a loose ejector, due to a loose rivet, and it can be snugged up with a hammer, a punch and a suitable piece of metal to use as a bucking bar under the rivet.

Extraction problems are usually fixed with the replacement of the extractor with a proper 9mm, semi-auto profiled extractor.

It can take a couple hundred rounds for moving parts to get comfortable with each other, and Uzis also like to be run wet (and it doesn't hurt to grease the shiny spots), but once broken in, when properly lubricated and with suitable ammunition, they tend to be reliable weapons.  



   

I'm gonna be building an UZI parts kit myself very shortly, Since all the parts are back instock at McKay.

Something like this would be interesting

I'd buy one to SBR.

That's good to know. I've had a Group Ind reciever for a long time. Never got around to building it up.

I'd be interested in a full size with a 16" barrel and folding stock, possibly interested in a pistol if that's not possible.

What would your price be?

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