My very first true custom pistol was a full-house Swenson gun built on a large letter Series 70 Colt. By the time the gun made it into my hands Swenson had already passed on but this pistol was the beginning for me and my first foray into the custom gun market, as in a true custom build as opposed to the semi-customs that were already in my handgun battery.
This was to be the first of many Swenson Colts to cross my path and this particular gun was a bought from a gentleman that lived in same Fall Brook neighborhood as Swenson. The pistol was an “unfired” example that was original converted in the mid-‘80s and featured all the marquee Swenson modifications as well as a Bar-Sto barrel. In addition to being the beginning of my custom 1911 adventure it was also a catalyst to my interest in the work of Armand Swenson. Since that first purchase I have owned and examined many, many Swenson guns along with collecting a fair amount of literature, products, and photographs associated with this important maker. So when presented with the opportunity to refurbish a Swenson gun saying my interest was once again perked would be an understatement.
The gun pictured here was originally built in by Swenson in the early 1970’s at his shop in Gardena. At some point between then and now the gun was refinished in a two-tone Rogard over NP3. Once it made it into the current owner’s hands he wanted to have the gun refurbished in a manner that would have been consistent with Swenson’s work and finished in matte hard chrome. I was very pleased to get the call.
For the most part the gun was sound but there were a few fixes that were needed, chief among them was a bit of barrel work. During the original conversion by Swenson the muzzle end of the barrel was sleeved and the factory Colt barrel bushing was bored out to fit the new and very large barrel OD that was created by adding the barrel sleeve. The work was done long before the use of oversized aftermarket barrels and under normal circumstances the sleeve would probably have lasted forever but the soft solder Swenson used didn’t stand up to having the existing finish stripped. A new barrel sleeve was added and this time silver soldered to the barrel. The barrel OD at the muzzle was then turned down to a useable diameter and the barrel was re-crowned. I discarded the barrel bushing that was originally fit by Swenson due mostly to the
very large ID needed to fit the original Swenson installed barrel sleeve. I replaced the old bushing with an oversized EGW barrel bushing that I cut down and finished in the same manner I’ve seen over and over again on Swenson Colts.
New springs and pins were of course in order and the roll-marks were re-engraved in order to insure their prominence under the matte hard chrome finish. The thumb safety (an original hand-made Swenson part) was re-fit, a light reliability job was performed, a new plunger tube and stock bushings installed, and the K-frame rear sight was re-built. A flat 30lpi checkered MSH was also installed at the owners request and after the application of hard chrome the front sight, which is silver soldered in place, was re-serrated and finished in cold blue as Swenson would have done.
Before sending the gun home to its owner I got to spend a day out on the range with the pistol. The shooting and the test target serve as a good reminder of not only the innovation of Swenson’s work but also how it has endured. It may not be perfect by today’s standards but importance certainly cannot be overlooked.
Enough prose, enjoy the before and after pictures...
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