are the frames serial #'d anywhere besides the outside of the frame?  i know someone who aquired a ww2 era 1911..but some knob filed the numbers off on the outside.  

where could he obtain a new (original?) frame.
and how much would they go for?

i told him to go this route and that it isn't worth anything right now..only in parts.

the frame is springfield armory marked (cross cannons) and the slide is colt.  i'm guessing it's a mismatch anyway.  at least he'd get a shooter out of it.

an no, i am not the owner.  i do want to help make it legal so i can shoot it though.

www.essexarms.com

There are chemical processes that enable LE to read a SN that has been scratched or ground off. I would imagine that Springfield has the same capability.

Have your buddy call Springfield & ask them their advice.

Hope this helps.

there's no way someone is going to find out what the #'s are.  they were machined off.  there's actually a depression in the frame where
they were.  the rest of the parts are still good though.

Well, hopefully your buddy won't get caught with it... owning a firearm with an obliterated serial number is a big no-no.  Obliterating it yourself is a bigger no-no.  

Hopefully that link will provide some help... I'd hate to hear your buddy had to turn it in and have it melted down...

Mechanically speaking, not legally speaking, strip the frame of ALL parts for use in the next frame, assuming it was just a cracked frame.
With the numbers ground off, that becomes a legal issue.
Finding an original WWII frame would be impractical...there are better (heat treat & finish)frames available, cheaper.
One must wonder why the #s were ground off in the first place...either stupidity or illegal activity.
If it's the latter, (and how would we know) the barrel still may be able to be traced to an unsolved crime, the breechface and extractor leaves tracable marks too.

Older commercial models had matching numbers elsewhere, even in the slide.
As it stands now, sadly, it's more of a liability than an asset, IMO.

that's what i'm telling him too.  he should get a new frame and through the other one away some place..  the pistol was given to a member of his family (60's-70's) by a vfw buddy.  i doubt anything sketchy happened with it.  just some paranoid moron had them machined off.

i don't think this one has numbers anywhere else.  it's pretty old.  

can you recommend a good frame to build with?

I'd still call Springfield & ask their advice. They may even swap it with a good frame if it's sent in along with a letter from the local LEO.

I'd try that before I junked the gun for parts.

no way would i bring this to the local leos.  first, it's not my gun..2nd they've been no help as far as signing my form 4 in the last month.  they flay out lied to me.  i do not trust them one bit.

You can believe this or not, but when numbers are stamped into metal, alum or steel it goes deep into the grain of the metal. Even if the numbers are ground off the surface John law can reveal the numbers with I believe some sort of acid ! This applys to guns, engine blocks etc!

we're not talking filed off here.  the SN was machined off.  there are actually indents into the frame, similar to the indent on a screw head.

Just have your buddy deep-six the frame and order a new Essex frame.  I wouldn't spend much to get a really good frame seeing as how you're going to be putting used parts on it.

Getting caught with that SN-less frame by the wrong people could turn into a real mess.

Inferno,

 I just carried over 150 M1911 out of depot and delivered them over here in the sandbox.  The serial number is only on the right side frame above the trigger.