Hey guys,

I've come across an M16A1 upper that looks to have had the front pivot lug opened up to accept an SP1 lower. Otherwise it appears undamaged and usable.

What would be the preferred method of repair for damage of this nature? I haven't gotten the upper yet but, I expect the price to be $50 or less. What do you all think an upper with the described damage is worth? I would want to get this fixed properly so the repair would have to cheap enough to make it worth while. I was thinking maybe that alumaloy stuff.

Thoughts?

M60joe wanted $100 to convert a SP1 to small hole....You might check Victor at US Anodizing.

You may be able to put one of the bushing adapters in and let it be.

Weld and re-drill?

My opinion is, this is about the only (affordable) way to handle it. Any other method will have more money into the upper than it's worth. Even if it's something uber-special, the collectability has been shot because it's been drilled.

Here is a pretty crappy photo of it.

Bail on it, bail on it now if you can.

It looks like the rear hole was drilled too.  I'd save a few more pennies and save yourself the headache.

There's no commitment yet. I asked for more pictures. The seller claims he got it on a complete rifle and that is is usable save for the front lug.

Bail

Bail.

I would bail too since everything else is stripped.

I wouldn't go over $25 shipped in the condition it is in.

Forget it. It should be easy to find a better one elsewhere.

I would pass on that. Stripped and drilled is a no go, just not worth it.

I wouldn't even pay that. I've with everyone else, OP. Look around for another one, preferably not stripped.

Definitely a problem. Pass.

Eject.With a quickness.

 Get a better one.

I wouldn't even pay that. I'm with everyone else, OP. Look around for another one, preferably not stripped.

Addiction does make one purchase pieces they can do without.  In my haste I bought 8 auto sear pins not to long ago for .50ea as hammer and trigger pins.  Seller had so many large pin Colt parts I just screwed up.  Think I was still pumping adrenalin from the $2 dimple take down pin I had found. At least you can bail.  Will save you coins in the long run.  Nice humpers project but not worth very much.

I would use a bushing and use super glue gel to hold it in place.  My GAU-5P clone is an SP1 upper.  That's what I did.

OK, so your going for the ultra cheap method. Thats what this upper is suitable for. The kind where nobody cares as long as it will fire. Find a bushing and some two part epoxy and glue it in. NEVER I repeat NEVER Spend any money on this. It is good money after bad. If you must have a Colt upper, go shopping for one on the EE. Cost will be about $200. If you want new and can tolerate off brand goodness, patronize NDS, they really  are quite good and affordable.  You will spend more money to repair this than you would to replace it. It's just not worth it for something that is so easily replaced.

I guess I should have clarified that I would only pay the 25 if I was looking for a project upper and was going to wind up possibly ruining it anyway.

So for a valuable retro build, NO I would not pay for it either.

Dude, this is not a problem.  Just build 8 AR's with auto sears.  You can sell them for way more than the cost of the parts.

And if you can wind up the trial in a year, you can be out by 2093!


To the OP: Here is what that receiver needs for a retro build.

1. Measure the pinholes (they may not be to SP1 spec, but to something close. Since the gun was bubba'd in the first place, you need to be concerned about whether or no the walls are parellel.

2. See if you can get aluminum rod in this OD to match the holes' ID. If not, ream the holes with a straight reamer to a tight fit on the rod you can get, or (less optimum) turn down the rod to match the holes for a tight fit. It should be just too tight to really go in. the rod should be longer than the lug is wide to allow easy manipulation.

3. Use the hot-cold trick to make the parts fit, test fit and remove.

4. Prepare silver solder (not common electronic solder). You can get it and instructions from Brownell's of course. Heat the silver solder with a propane torch. Dunk the frozen pins in the solder and zang them into the heated lug before they can expand too much. Apply more heat, and if needed, more solder.

4. Cut the excess pins off. Grind any remaining protrusions flush.

5. You are now ready to set up and drill and ream new, milspec holes.

6. When completely drilled, and test fit on a lower, the upper needs to be re-anodized. You can strip it yourself with lye, per John Thomas (take extreme care with this caustic which can cause permanent irreversible eye damage if you get it in your eyes). You can also anodize it yourself, but anodizing is a fairly complicated process with special equipment needed for best results, and a lot of ways for things to go wrong. Most people send it to pros. I expect professional anodizing will cost you $50. The anodizing will cover both the lug and the rod but will probably not cover the solder.

As you can see, this is something that is only a good idea for an extremely rare upper.

THanks for all the comments and info. I know that A1 uppers are not rare and I'm not really looking for one either. I just happened across this one and wondered if a cheap and easy repair was possible. Obviously its not worth the time and money.