Is this a CZ 75 pre-B and what's it worth?

[Redcoat3340]

My LGS has this for sale and I've had it put on the shelf in my name. I'll be picking it up on the weekend.
But as I'm not terribly familiar with CZs (I just recently picked up a 75 SAO and liked it enough to want DA/SA) I thought I'd ask here.
From a quick peek at the internet I think I have a pre-B in stainless. Yes?
It's got FO front sight; a really sweet trigger breaking around 4 lbs. SA and probably no more than 6 in DA. One sided safety, and the pictures match other pre-B pics I've seen.
They are asking $450 but there may be a bit of wiggle room on price. Bore is good and it's clean.
I'm not wild about the grips but that's easily fixed.
Serial number is Z1756 and I'll be trying to look that up to see if it gives me a clue on date of manufacture.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Date of manufacture should be on the oval stamped on the slide just above the extractor. 10 form 2010, 95 for 1995 etc. I can see a number there in the picture, but can't read it.

It is indeed a Pre-B CZ-75, but it looks like a transitional one (not the recurved trigger guard instead of the full curve and the new model safety)... and I'm suspicious about it being stainless. Looks like someone polished of the polycoat. A true stainless one shout have the dot above the safety colored in red. The slide stop lever and safety being black are also suspicious... but CZ has done that before, so it's not necessarily wrong.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

As noted above, it's a transitional pre-B (the date is in the oval but I couldn't read it on the screen). I've never seen a silver polycoat on a pre-B or B model here in the U.S. but that type of (silver polycoat) finish was talked about as a replacement for the satin nickel finish. It may have been used in Europe.

The finish does look a bit like a matte hard chrome finish, and Action Arms imported a number of CZ in different finishes, including hard chrome. (It may also have been refinished by a prior owner.) Stainless was a much later development., not introduced until just 7 or years ago. The grips are also after-market.

With a "transitional" pre-B you've got most of the features of a B model (except for the firing pin block) which means that most of the parts are interchangeable with current models. It can have a pretty good trigger; if its not already good, it can be improved with very little gunsmithing work. The newer, higher capacity magazines should work well in a transitional model, but won't work in the older pre-Bs.

The price isn't bad, and even though I no longer buy pre-B, that one might tempt me..

 

[jonnyc]

It's marked "CZECH REPUBLIC", so it was made after January 1, 1993......if that helps.

 

[armoredman]

Imported through Interarms, that puppy is a PreB by far.

 

[Redcoat3340]

Many thanks to all who posted. You are most generous with your time and expertise.

So...here's what I think I've learned about this gun (which I will be buying.)

1994 Transitional (between original 75 and 75B). No firing pin block (so no roll pin on the cocking serrations). It ain't stainless. (I should have realized that, it isn't heavy enough ala a S&W 5906). Probably either the polycoat was buffed off (unlikely) or some sort of silver polycoat which has been reported being used in Europe or some sort of Ceracote, but it doesn't feel like that to me. As it has a partial import roll mark "Houston TX" it's probably the European coating.

Made after Jan 1, 1993 as it says "Czech Republic" and as the front sight can be replaced (and was) that further confirms it's a transitional model.

Unfortunately it comes with just one mag. But apparently my 75 SA mags will fit as will current production mags.

So that's about it. More, better pictures when I pick it up on Friday.

I'm liking this one so far.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Any of the magazines for the standard 75B-based guns should work. (The mags in your 75B SA are no different than the mags in the standard 75B DA/SA, with or without decocker.)

If it's silver polycoat, yours will be the FIRST I've ever actually heard of in the real world. (I've only heard of that finish mentioned as a possible alternative to satin nickel -- and the general response to the idea was not very good.) I suspect it's been refinished. It could be hard chrome. (I think you've posted this on the CZ Forum, too, and it will be interesting to see what responses you get, there.)

Looking inside (grips off, etc.) might give you an idea, and the older polycoat is less durable than whats on current CZs, so some solvent applied (like carb cleaner) under the grips might give you a clue. (The polycoat formula has continued to evolve like the guns, and it's much more durable now than it was 10-15 years ago.

 

[tipoc]

It's been refinished. Looks like hard chrome.

 

[CNobbe]

looks like silver duracoat. $450 IMO is a bit much. You can find surplus 75s (pre-B) for $300-350.

 

[Redcoat3340]

CNobbe….I'll look for some of these. I loves to save $$$.
Problem out here in WA state is in addition to shipping ($30) and FFL ($25), we have to pay a 10% state sales tax on dealer guns from out of state (we have no state income tax, sales taxes fund the government)...so that adds $75 to $80 to the price @ $350.
If I buy at LGS and do even a partial trade my guy doesn't charge me tax...so all I pay is the price of the gun. Which in this case is $450 and instead of buying sight unseen, I've had a chance to look it over.

 

[bannockburn]

Redcoat3340

I'm thinking it might have been refinished in silver polycoat. Doesn't quite look like hard chrome plating to me. My Beretta Model 70S was hard chrome plated by Ron Mahovsky of Metalife and looks more like stainless than what's on your CZ 75. Let us know how it checks out when you get it home.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Here's a STUNNING picture of a hard-chromed CZ Compact from the CZ Forum. Love this gun! (I had a satin-nickel Compact for a while.)

The photographer plays a bigger role in making good pictures than most realize and getting the right lighting for the photo shoot. And, as I've said before, I've never seen a silver polycoated CZ.

• That said, I just learned on the CZ forum that there was a small run of silver-polycoated CZ RAMIs 6-7 years ago, and few again, more recently, so CZ is doing SOME silver-polycoat finishes -- on RAMIs, if nothing else. I don't know of anyone who could do THAT (silver) finish here in the U.S., however.

Someone else (on the CZ Forum) said that CZ Custom can refinish polycoat finishes -- but I suspect they don't do silver. Maybe we'll get an answer on that soon.
I have seen a number of matte hard-chrome. They look different than the high gloss hardchrome or matte stainless CZs, and as far as I know there were NO stainless pre-Bs.)

A Duracoat (or similar) finish will look a lot like matte hard chrome. Just knowing whether the gun in question was a Action Arms import might be a clue, as Action Arms did import some hard-chromed pre-Bs.

P.S.: Looking at the original photos again, the markings on the gun aren't as CRISP as the hard-chromed guns in the photos below -- which are very crisp. That would make me think the gun has been refinished with a spray-on finish, maybe something like Duracoat.
​

Here's another image of another, that I think is also hard-chromed. There was no description of this one, but there have been very few stainless Compacts that have made it to the U.S., and all that I've seen or heard of were much more glossy.

 

[tipoc]

P.S.: Looking at the original photos again, the markings on the gun aren't as CRISP as the hard-chromed guns in the photos below -- which are very crisp. That would make me think the gun has been refinished with a spray-on finish, maybe something like Duracoat.

The gun's been polished and refinished and the worn stampings, with rounded edges, and the possibility of pitting underneath the finish (near the logo on the right hand side of the slide) are what led me to think that and think of hard chrome which was popular back when this particular gun was still new. Maybe not hard chrome but also not a CZ factory finish. IMHO.

 

[CCR]

Looks a lot like it was buffed out creating the rounding and then sprayed with Duracoat

 

[bannockburn]

Walt Sherrill

P.S.: Looking at the original photos again, the markings on the gun aren't as CRISP as the hard-chromed guns in the photos below -- which are very crisp. That would make me think the gun has been refinished with a spray-on finish, maybe something like Duracoat.

That's pretty much what I thought when I looked at the photos of the CZ 75. I have had a few guns hard chrome plated and all of them had the same crisp markings and lettering as my Beretta Model 70S as well as the CZ 75 Compact you have photos of.

 

[hemiram]

It's hard to tell with the bad pics, but it looks nickel to me. If the pics didn't look like the ones my just retired cell phone took, it would help.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I hadn't thought about this when I responded above, but one clue would be to examine the internals.

With hardchrome, the inside of the frame is generally hard-chromed, and some refinishers also hard-chrome the other internal parts (fire control components) after the gun is disassembled.

Hard chrome is a very slick (high lubricity) finish and the trigger is often much smoother after refinishing (even though an extra finish layer has been added to an already smooth metal.)

• If the inside of the gun (grip, dust cover and around the first control assembly), seem to be finished in the same manner, it's probably hard chrome. Otherwise its probably a spray-on and heated finish. Nothing wrong with those finishes, but they're not as smooth or as durable as hard-chrome.

Most of the spray-on finishes -- there are exceptions -- are NOT nearly as slick as hard chrome, and those finishes are seldom applied to the internal parts. Robar and a few others do finish some of the internal components, especially when using Teflon in the finish.