Back in the early 1990's I purchased a Uzi parts kit with the intention of building myself the most iconic firearm of my youth. Back then Uzi SMG parts kits were a dime a dozen and readily available for less than $100 from just about every parts dealer and I was able to handpick my kit from a cardboard box filled with plastic bags holding an entire kit. Well I learned shortly after getting the kit that my building it into a working rifle was going to cost me more than I could afford and required more tools and skills than my 20 something could manage. So I stored the kit away and completely forgot about it. Over the years I have moved all across the country and eliminated a metric ton of stuff for each move and figured I had discarded the kit.
This past fall when I was cleaning up my garage, I found an old toolbox that I hadn't set eyes on in over 20 years. I was absolutely shocked when I opened it and found my old Uzi parts kit! Given the change in the Administration and the worry over our 2nd Amendment rights being assaulted with a new wave of legislation, I decided no time was better than to finally finish off the kit. I ordered a semi-auto fully welded receiver, bolt, grip panels and barrel from McKays and started the build and no time I had a working Uzi carbine pistol. The only thing was, the finish was a mish mash of colors and I decided I needed to finish it all in one color. Looking at all the refinishing options I decided I wanted a parkerized finish and reached out on this forum for recommendations. Lucky for me Len @HistoricArms, LLC stepped in and offered to take on my refinishing job. So this past weekend I stopped by Len's shop and he did a fantastic job and all the parts are uniform in color and not a blemish was to be found.
Len is a heck of a guy and I enjoyed speaking with him about all things guns, his relationship with various TV shows and his generosity for letting me handle and fire some of his NFA firearms. I am already planning out my next build with him for another parts kit that I found squirreled away in that old red tool box. Until then, I submitted a form 1 so I could make my Uzi into the rifle I always wanted.
Anyways, I wanted to give a shout out to the Hometown forum for putting me in contact with Len and thanks to @HistoricArms for doing such a fabulous job.
Not sure how to post photos so I will bare with me.
Before photos [
After photos