Well here's a few pics of my 601 clone I have been working on.  The buffer and buffer tube are wrong and I'm thinking of seeing if I can get somebody to machine off the A2 updates and magazine fence to a slab side configuration but it's a work in progress.  The upper is completely 601 though and as you can see from the wear (or lack thereof) it hasn't seen many rounds down range.  I tried for a picture of the bore that didn't turn out but what I thought at first might be rust or corrosion was only dirt that came out to reveal a mint bore as well.  But enough with the talk, on to the pics!http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001433.jpg
Yeah, that lower has to be modified one of these days!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001438.jpg
Old style bolt release button.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001432.jpg
A little pain chip reveals that these were original brown handguards underneath the paint.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001430.jpg
Again, VERY little wear on the charging handle.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001420.jpg
Old style triangle charging handle again with very little wear on the finish.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001417.jpg
Early style flat plate on the ejection port cover.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001416.jpg
The "box-C" and triangle on the upper receiver.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001415.jpg
Early markings on the windage knob.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001414.jpg
An "M1" stamp on the barrel forward of the sight base.  The "W" on the barrel was so lightly stamped you can barely see it and didn't photograph well.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q236/USMCGruntUSAFCATM/P1001407.jpg
Everything field stripped and laid out on a cleaning/inspection cloth.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That thing is almost perfect!! What do you do in the AF?? I've never seen furnature like that! Mine looks like crap, and I thought I was lucky to have it!

I'm a combat arms instructor.  We do all the weapons inspections, repairs and train the the Air Force how to shoot.  So when it comes to doing inspections, if you can swap out old parts like this from parts of you own weapon (USGI parts only though), not many people have a problem with it since nothing is going missing or coming back with some funky aftermarket part, especially when you are doing it to help preserve a part of our history.  

VERY cool!  Some of those parts are really hard to get, like the handgaurds, the bolt catch, the port cover and that barrel. Very nice!    Wish I had some parts like that for my build. I did a slab sided lower with a removeable push pin as it's highlight. Now you need a slab sided lower with a removeable take down pin!

Very cool!!!!  

Glad you were able to save those parts.

Great pictures, and you can see a detail unique to 601's.  On the early rifles Colt heavily grit blasted the receivers prior to anodizing.  Later models were only lightly and unevenly blasted prior to anodizing.