Custom 1911 Cost?

[S&WMan]

Indeed the 1911 in 9MM is a rare breed. I'm not sure why as I would love to have a nice target version myself.
This Springfield Armory would be perfect for me. Too bad we can't buy them in the PRM.
http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?version=22
Good luck with your build. Let us know how it progresses and pics when it's done.

 

[Mass-diver]

It would probably be cheaper to have a 9mm barrel fitted to an S&W 1911.

Anyone ever do this? Estimate on cost, other issues?

 

[Hanwei]

I spoke with Mike LaRocca when i was picking up my Officers ACP I had him do some work on... and told him about our group buy.

I asked him for a general quote... say... the cost for parts and labor... for him to take one of our group buy 1911's and make it go bang, with nothing special done to them...

He said to feel free to pass this general quote on to the rest of the forum... so...

For a set of "good" parts (You supply the slide and frame, he supplies everything else...and not the cheap parts, but good quality parts) = ~ $450. And labor is another $150-250.

So you're looking at ~$600-700 just for parts and labor to make it go bang. That doesn't include finishing (blueing/hard chroming, etc)

 

[Mass-diver]

I spoke with Mike LaRocca when i was picking up my Officers ACP I had him do some work on... and told him about our group buy.

For a set of "good" parts (You supply the slide and frame, he supplies everything else...and not the cheap parts, but good quality parts) = ~ $450. And labor is another $150-250.

That seems like a very good price, especially for the labor.

 

[Hanwei]

That seems like a very good price, especially for the labor.

just to be clear... the above quote is assuming the slide and frame have already been fitted... and has already had the sight cuts cut... BEFORE being given to Mike.

But... definitely give Mike a call to discuss your specific build... and to get a more detailed quote.

I just wanted to give everyone a general idea of the minimum cost to make your NES 1911 go bang.

~$550 for the NES Slide and Frame, fitted, blah blah from Caspian.
~$700 for LaRocca to acquire the parts and make it shoot.

So you should assume ~$1200 just to have an NES 1911 that shoots.

 

[gonzoga51]

I had Greg Derr build me a 1911 Caspian Commander-stainless. Very happy with Greg A++

Based on my experience: yes it can run you $2K+, but you can also probably do it for $1K or maybe even less as is mentioned. Like anything alot depends on what you really want.

Personally I chose several options for my slide & frame from Caspian that made these components an expensinve starting point like some engraving, custom serial #, checkering, magwell, etc-for me the gun is something I will keep forever and my sons will probably fight over some day

So if you want to personalize it or trick-it-out a 1911 is just like a car or anything else: you want a stroker kit, dual-quads and a bitchin
set of mags -it is something you can spend alot on.

At the same time, whether it is through the group buy or specials Caspian offers you can get a slide and frame for $500 +/- in some cases. It may have been mentioned but Caspian has a sister company they link to off their web site named Foster Industries where they sell frame/slide overruns and blems for even less in some cases. Other resources have been mentioned here-Point here being you can get a slide/frame cheaper and have a gunsmith build you a great/accurate pistol without a $2-3K investment. If you are comfortable doing your own fitting/smithing you can save even more.

As far as putting a 9mm top end on your .45 this is also another option I would talk to a gunsmith about. You could also buy multiple slides and talk to the smith about building top ends in .45, 9mm and .40 for your frame.

I would advise that if you are going to use a gunsmith like Greg Derr or any of the others recommended on this site, you talk to them first, they can give you input on the options available-particularly any machining to the frame and slide. IMO one of the biggest factors in cost can be deciding if you have a specific use in mind such as competition shooting, carry or just for fun.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

You could also buy multiple slides and talk to the smith about building top ends in .45, 9mm and .40 for your frame.

It's problematic to fit multiple slides to the same frame since the lapping process involves removal of miniscule amounts of material from both slide and frame. If you're going to go this route, investigat the SVI interchangeable breechface slide - but remember, barrel fitting will still need to be done.