Are these good to go? I'm looking for one to keep in a classic car, which is also a convertible. So the price is very appealing.

Anyone with any experience on these?

Thanks.

They just plain work.  No frills.  Decent price.  RIA supports them well in the case something is amiss.

I've had good luck with RIAs, my GI was a 9mm, as much as I've read about complaining about reliability in 9mm 1911s mine never choked once. Even with Checkmate mags.

The tiny GI sights just plain suck though, and just about all the aftermarket sights require milling of the GI slide. The cost of that work will get you in to a nice TAC II. i painted my front sight blade but was still difficult to shoot for accuracy.

I think the older TAC models were closer to the basic GI version but had Novak sights. one of those with some nice retro walnut grips would be an option.

Sights: look up "1911 mil spec blade style 70  series white dot set" from seller whitetail1911. (ETA: on eBay)
They replace GI sights and are big blocky white dots. The cool thing is you can still use your rear sight to rack the slide one handed, something you can't do with novaks.
I got a sight staker from Brownells and I've done several 1911 sight swaps now. I've also used Maryland gun works (mgw) sights from Brownells, they fit GI cut slides as well, but took a lot of filing to fit.
I prefere the GI look. If you want all the tactical features, the tac model is about $450. I got one of those also, great gun as well.

I have had both 9MM and 45 and they went bang every time, nothing fancy about them but for the price what can you expect.

They tend to be good guns.

I just purchased the RIA 1911 51431.  I fired it for the first time this weekend.  I shot 300 rounds of 230-grain FMJ with no issues.  Mine came with 2 sets of grips, black rubber ones, and the plain wooden set.  I did not like firing it with the wooden grips.  They're kind of thick so I switched them out with the rubber grips and it was so much more comfortable to shoot with.  I think the only difference between your model and mine is mine came with the skeletonized trigger and hammer and Novack style rear sights.  Mine also came with a full-length guide rod. I read and watched a lot of reviews on RIA 1911 before buying mine.  I love mine and will fire 200 more rounds to finish the break-in period.

I’ve got the 5” barrel 1911 RIA pistol with the small military sights and flat back strap.  I really like mine and I put a set of Pearce rubber grips on mine plus a little red paint on the front sight.   Very good pistol I’ve had mine around 10 years.

In the photo below, the RIA GI is on the left, ATI GI in the middle, and my first 1911 build on the right. Let me say right off that I have had zero issues with function and reliability with any of them, so either the RIA or ATI could be an accurate reliable weapon - that has been my experience with both. However, neither are even close to a GI 1911 in my opinion.



As you look at the RIA. you notice the trigger guard is swept back, the trigger is more of a 1911 trigger and not an A1, the thumb safety is commercial style, not military, and the MSH is flat and not arched. On the other side you would see a competition cut ejection port, not military. On the ATI, the sights and trigger are more 1911 style, and not A1, the tab on the thumb safety is larger than GI, and on the other side, the ejection port is cut low and not GI spec. I'm ignoring the grips, although the RIA grip screws and bushings are shorter than GI. The RIA was my carry, until I replaced it with the one on the right.

The clones that look more correct externally, (Auto Ord and Inland) are incorrect internally (series 80 safety), and the others correct internally, have external differences. Being a bit OCD, and wanting a 1911A1 like I carried in the Army, I built my own.





It has post war hardened replacement slide and chrome lined barrel, but otherwise GI surplus parts for a wartime Remington. What you will do just depends on how close to the real deal you want to get with the budget, time and skill you want to bring to the project.

If you get it, don’t leave it unlocked in your car. A rash of vehicle break-ins in Nashville has netted the thieves many guns, and they are now armed.

I would recommend spending a little more on one with better sights.  Otherwise the Rock is pretty solid.