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Posted: 3/1/2012 1:23:19 PM EDT
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So these things never seem to be available.... However, earlier today a decent set was listed on fleabay. I hope one of you guys gets them to use on a real AR10.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150769934079 It is nice to see an original set available after all the effort that has been expended by various members trying to reproduce them. (airforcemajor, 1gewehr) This is not my auction but the seller is known to me. 
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what would a retro guy do with something like this? Looks cool but I don't understand. Unless you had one of the originals and it was for a back up. There are many guys out there with rifles or kits that lack these handguard liners. It has generally been impossible to find these parts. These liners get munched and crunched and there are a few guys out there that would consider these an upgrade for their well-used original rifle. Also, quite a few Portos had there entire handguard system replaced by one-piece plastic HG's shown in the photo below. Early on I thought these replacement HG's were made by Wilke (Canada) but I now believe that these one-piece HG's were made for the Portuguese military. Below is Malysh's Porto before he got the correct HG's. 
Peter Wilke did have some wooden HG's made up so that he could complete some of the Porto kits and rifles he sold. Below is a photo of a kit that olgunner got before he has any of his other AR10's and even before the 601. Study the photo and realize the meaning of "Wilke Wood". 
If these handguard liners were cheap and readily available I would wager that some would end up on a "retro" poodle shooter. |
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Current bid was .01 cents. I placed a few bids, it kept saying i was already outbid. I stopped at 10.00 and i was still outbid, Wonder how much the 1st bidder has already bid? I'm the high bidder at the moment (the one you bid up). I put in the max I'm willing to spend on them. Which isn't all that much in the scheme of things. I'm expecting I'll get outbid long before it gets down to those last 15 minutes of sniping. |
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Hmm, I wonder what the market is for early AR-10 handguards or a clone thereof? It would cost you $50,000 in tooling and you would sell 50-100 sets............... The thought was actaully to machine a copy of the liners out of aluminum and mold a copy of the bakelite part- would be more durable due ot the slightly heavier wall, and might be affordable on the scale of "AR-10 original handguards). But LOL, I think we also both know how the "I want one" about a product idea on the internet thing works, and there hasn't even been one of those yet in this thread! 
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This reminds me...the Portugese still using the AR-10 as their MBR? How long until they upgrade and we see lots of AR-10 kits on the market?  After their reveloution in 1974 Portugual became a democratic state and then a member of NATO shortly after they adpoted the HKG3 as their main battle rifle and their AR10s were excessed, parted and sold off. Most lowers and 'restricted' parts were destroyed selectors and bolt catches are some or the rarest AR10 parts on the planet. The AR10's furniture was not very robust and the next most rare pieces are butt stocks and HG assemblies both Sudanese and Portuguese. Wilke and Telko, Speciiality Arms and Sendra built as many AR10s as they could Peter Wilke told me he spent $300k making wood furniture so he could complete more rifles. Many have tried to make replacement furniture some good some not but the goal is the same, build more retro brown rifles. |
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It would cost you $50,000 in tooling and you would sell 50-100 sets............... When I was desparate for a set of liners I talked to two different metal worker types. Each gave me the same story. Not quite as brutal as mike_nds, but similar. Finally one of the metal worker guys did a little intervention with the statement "YOU ARE INSANE TO BE WILLING TO SPEND $1K TO REPRODUCE THESE". My friend had no appreciation for vintage rifles but hit the nail on the head when he noticed that liners are always available, but come attached to rifles. I ended up finding a NOS set of bipod liners and handguards. Moral of the story - keep looking. |
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This reminds me...the Portugese still using the AR-10 as their MBR? How long until they upgrade and we see lots of AR-10 kits on the market? All the kits that are going to be on the market have already come and gone. You don't realize that very few of these rifles were actually built. Estimates range between 6000-10,000 total of all models. Portugal got the last and best model, and bought under 5000. They were really only used by the Portuguese paratroopers. The paratroopers used the rifles a long as they could. After 1963, there were no more spare parts available. The loss of rifles through parts breakage, normal wear and tear of military operations and combat loss meant that the inventory was steadily shrinking. Eventually, they did not have enough left in service to make fielding them practical. By all reports the Portuguese paratroopers loved the AR10. It took a LOT of effort to get them to give up the remaining AR10s and accept the G3 as a replacement. If any parts kits come on the market, it will be in very small numbers. Cuba got 100 rifles that went to various pro-Marxist revolutionary groups in the 1960's. Nicaragua may still have some rifles from the several hundred they bought. Interarms bought up the Sudanese rifles in the 1970s. Many of those came into the US as parts kits. The rest were just parts. I feel very fortunate to have one. I fell in love with the rifle when I got to extensively shoot original select-fire Portuguese rifles on several occasions in the early '80's. The original AR10 is a historic piece, and due to it's scarcity will always command high prices. |
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"...quite a few Portos had there entire handguard system replaced by one-piece plastic HG's shown in the photo below. Early on I thought these replacement HG's were made by Wilke (Canada) but I now believe that these one-piece HG's were made for the Portuguese military. Below is Malysh's Porto before he got the correct HG's." http://www.sturmgewehr.com/bhinton/Armalite_AR10/AR10_LeftA.jpg When I bought my first kit from Mr. W perhaps 20 years ago or so it was basically this configuration (see the pic). In fact it came with a wooden grip that looked to me like something that belonged on a six-shooter. So I contacted him and he replaced it with a very nice black plastic repro, and in terms of the contours it is very close to the originals. So my next question was what was the origin of the handguard. Mine is just like the one in the pic, brown plastic, although I believe there are some black ones out there (don't know if the black ones have been painted). He told me he visited Portuguese armouries buying up all their AR10 parts inventories and that's where this HG came from. If that's the case it makes them somewhat interesting to me as part of the AR10 mythology and folklore. Still, I should have pressed and asked if he had any liners and plastic HG sets to swap for it. Ahhh well... |
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Final price = $260
So now we know what they are worth. Not quite unobtanium. Link to auction |
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Final price = $260 So now we know what they are worth. Not quite unobtanium. Link to auction Yeah, the end price really didn't seem bad, but they would have been worth exponentially more if they'd had the 'glass pieces, too. In trying to determine my personal max price for these, I couldn't get past the fact that they were incomplete. It would be interesting to see what the fiberglass parts would sell for without the heat shields, but the real auction to watch would be for a full 4-pc set! Still, I am anxiously awaiting the results of airforcemajor's current repro efforts. |
| I have never seen the HG inserts available before; the selling price is well below what anyone who needed a set would pay. As pointed out, AI AR10s are collectors items, and are typically complete. No AR10 owners are going to beat their rifle to the point they need to replace the liners. And, these are worthless unless one has equally rare glass handguards. I suspect the buyer didn't need them, but bought them on speculation; if you have one or more AI AR10s, $250 is nothing. |
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Final price = $260 So now we know what they are worth. Not quite unobtanium. Link to auction I think they went pretty cheep. |
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The buyer needed them and was willing to pay more than the final price. Sometimes, you just need a few more pieces to make an incorrect kit complete. This is the truth. If I already had the fiberglass shells, I would've gladly doubled the price for the heat shields. What kinda scares me is what I might be willing to pay for a lower receiver! 
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I once said that I would give a kidney for a nice full Porto handguard set. The NOS setup below cost nearly a kidney. He threw in the bipod. Olgunner - be careful what you ask for.... http://oi39.tinypic.com/23uepav.jpg Dammmn! That's the nicest set of those I've ever seen. Those are a LOT nicer than the ones on my rifle! |
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Dammmn! That's the nicest set of those I've ever seen. Those are a LOT nicer than the ones on my rifle! The NOS handguards taught me an important lesson about these bakelite pieces. I has seen and held many worn handguards and had always blamed the rough surface on erosion of the plastic due to heave use. What surprised me about the NOS handguards is that they were rough as well. The fibers at the surface caused the roughness and these fibers were exposed on new handguards. You will find that there are many types of Porto handguards as it seems that AI was constantly experimenting. So some handguards were very glossy when new, particularly the polycarbonate ones. |
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Dammmn! That's the nicest set of those I've ever seen. Those are a LOT nicer than the ones on my rifle! The NOS handguards taught me an important lesson about these bakelite pieces. I has seen and held many worn handguards and had always blamed the rough surface on erosion of the plastic due to heave use. What surprised me about the NOS handguards is that they were rough as well. The fibers at the surface caused the roughness and these fibers were exposed on new handguards. You will find that there are many types of Porto handguards as it seems that AI was constantly experimenting. So some handguards were very glossy when new, particularly the polycarbonate ones. #7671 
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