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The Phoenix Project: The Resurrection of a Colt Trooper MK III

4K views 12 replies 2 participants last post by  TINCANBANDIT 
#1 ·
I have another project gun that I hope to take from pitted ugliness to redemption. This one was in a house fire and the finish was destroyed, rusted and pitted. This is a 1978 vintage Colt Trooper Mk III in .357 Mag





Now before anyone tries to tell me that this gun is un-shootable due to the heat exposure, I will ask you to do some research...look up Charcoal Bluing or better yet Color Case Hardening...

The grips on this gun were blistered, but not charred, which means the temperature did not get above 400 degrees. Hardly enough to hurt the steel. The internal parts, including the springs were intact and showed no signs of warping or loss of life.

stay tuned. this will be a long ride
 
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#2 ·
some close-ups of the pitting that we are dealing with



The bore looked like a sewer pipe.....



and the cylinder was not salvageable (the pitting around the stop notches was too deep, any attempt to remove the pitting would make the gun unsafe)



So my 1st step is to find the parts necessary to bring the gun back to safe functioning
 
#4 ·
After searching the online gun forums, gun auction sites and ebay I came up with this excellent condition Trooper MkV barrel (with the optional vented rib!) for $40



I also found a local guy who had a drawer full of NOS parts, I scored a side plate, cylinder latch, hammer and internal parts and springs as well as brand new screws! all for $80,
no more worries about losing the roll marks



Then we were lucky enough to score a good condition cylinder (also from fleabay) for $49

 
#8 ·
working with revolvers can be difficult, you need to keep the round edges round and the square edges sharp, all while avoiding screw holes, roll marks and rivets
note how I have not yet sanded the side plate where the Colt rampart logo is, that will come when we get to the 1000+ grit level, this is a 600 grit



Once I had most everything sanded to the 600 grit level I installed the new barrel and checked for fit. I got it perfectly square and level, the cylinder gap is a bit tight, but I can deal with that later



I then sand blasted the top of the frame and barrel





the factory did this to prevent glare in the sight picture

 
#9 ·
TINCANBANDIT,
GREAT project!! I have a 1969 MK III that fortunately is in pristine condition. I love shooting this thing!
Your work is looking really good! I'm sure when you are done you will have a GREAT shooter there, that will give you even more satisfaction knowing what it was like when you got it!!
 
#10 ·
TINCANBANDIT,
GREAT project!! I have a 1969 MK III that fortunately is in pristine condition. I love shooting this thing!
Your work is looking really good! I'm sure when you are done you will have a GREAT shooter there, that will give you even more satisfaction knowing what it was like when you got it!!
Thanks!

More photos

fitting the ejector to the new cylinder




polishing the transition of the ejector star and chamber openings



polishing the ejector for smooth operation



I also cleaned up the face of the cylinder

 
#11 ·
While the cylinder looked good with bluing on it, after removing the bluing we could see some small pits



after sanding, this is a 600 grit finish



The small parts needed work too, even the ejector rod & rear sight had pitting



I chucked the ejector rod into my drill and sanded it with emory cloth



The rear sight was made of a soft material, not sure if it is going to look very good, I'll see if I can find a used one for a reasonable price

 
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