Colt Series 80 Problem

[schmeky]

I have a Colt Series 80 I bought new in .38 Super. I had it converted to 9mm with a new Fusion match barrel and match bushing. I replaced the trigger with a new Greider Match adjustable trigger and the sear was cleaned up to produce a crisp 4# trigger pull. This has been one of my best pistols.

Today, it began to mis-fire. The primer strikes were very light. I removed the firing pin (FP) and found the FP shoulder was badly peened. The corresponding safetly plunger had a bright wear ring that correlates to the peening on the FP. Obviously, the FP plunger is not being raised up sufficiently. What's the best way to fix this? Remove the FP safety components and install a replacement spacer where the frame pivot components reside and delete the FP plunger group? I have noticed one of the FP pivots is numbered (3), so are there differently numbered items that alter the geometry to restore proper operation? I like having the FP saftey in place. I do not want to send it to Colt.

 

[BBBBill]

Your match trigger has a trigger stop that is preventing the trigger from going to the rear far enough to raise the plunger lever high enough to disengage the FP plunger. The bane of trigger jobs on S80s. Since you say you like the extra parts........It can be fixed. The key is to get adequate lift prior to the sear disengaging the hammer. You can clean up the peen marks on the FP and plunger or install new parts if not comfortable with that. The trigger lever (little one) can be heated and reshaped to provide more lift sooner. Other folks will TIG, then file the lever to accomplish the same thing. I believe that there was a thread with pics on the 1911 forum demonstrating the process.

...And here it is.
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=172204

 

[schmeky]

Bill,

Thank you very much. This addresses the issue to a "T". I now need to determine the best approach for dealing with this problem. There would most likely be no problem if the pistol was left the way Colt designed it.

It was apparent the plunger was not being lifted sufficiently to adequetly clear the FP. Great info.

 

[buzz_knox]

There would most likely be no problem if the pistol was left the way Colt designed it.

There's no guarantee of that. Series 80s straight from the factory have problems with the firing pin safety. If the timing isn't flawless, they can beat themselves apart. A friend has a Series 80 (worked over by the Custom Shop no less) which had a catastrophic failure of the safety system.

 

[Drail]

If it was mine I would simply convert to Series 70. Brownell's has the part you need. Having a nice clean trigger is more important than a lawyer designed firing pin block. And I have seen many factory Colt's with Series 80 problems.

 

[schmeky]

Drail,

After consideration, I did just that, ordered the slot filler from Brownell's. I'll keep the OEM trigger and safety parts. But from here on out, it will have a Series 70 style firing pin arrangement.

In the 30+ years of shooting Series 70 type 1911's, I have never had any firing mechanism problem, ever. This is a first for me. And a last.

 

[Drail]

John Browning would be proud. In the words of Forrest Gump "That's one less thing!"

 

[BBBBill]

I prefer the S70 configuration, but have no problem with a properly timed S80. Just be aware that you have a non-captive half cock shelf with the S80 hammer instead of a captive half cock notch with an S70 type.

 

[Devon]

I had the exact same problem with my combat commander when I replaced the trigger. I reshaped the lever and polished the plunger a far as I dared, all is well now.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Rumor has it the slot filler is not a hard use part -

Rumor has it the slot filler is not a hard use part - a search will find issues and extended discussion.

- certainly at one time the slot filler existed to allow easy manipulation of the fire control parts while making adjustments to the sear/hammer interface. The slot filler did not have the toughness/hardness to resist wear and deformation. The slot filler itself has over time caused problems.

Properly setup the series 80 has few drawbacks though I must confess none of my pistols have firing pin safeties.

The hot tip for a while was very much to regularly examine the slot filler - somewhat after the manner of say a plastic buffer - for wear and to be prepared to replace the slot filler from time to time under high round count hard use.

It may be the slot filler as sold these days is good for a lifetime of hard use but I wouldn't count on it without some additional and new information.

 

[Kruzr]

I replaced the trigger with a new Greider Match adjustable trigger

This addresses the issue to a "T". I now need to determine the best approach for dealing with this problem. There would most likely be no problem if the pistol was left the way Colt designed it.

It was apparent the plunger was not being lifted sufficiently to adequetly clear the FP. Great info.

The way to address it is to simply back out the overtravel screw. I ran into the same issue when I replaced the trigger on my Gold Cup.

 

[steveracer]

You don't really need the slot filler. It just makes reassembly a little easier. I just left the plunger out, changed the other parts to pre-80 parts, and never had a problem. maybe 12,000 rounds so far.

 

[log man]

Note now Colt only uses the plunger lever marked "N" and it gives more lift then the others. The "N" came about when the factory triggers had an over-travel screw. What's funny the people at Colt customer service don't even know this.

LOG