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Cylinder Interchangeability

2K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  dogface6 
#1 ·
This is my first post as a new member. I recently bought a late 3rd generation 45 Long Colt that was sold to me with a second cylinder for 45 ACP. The second cylinder was not advertised as having been original to the gun. However, it appears to be a 2nd generation cylinder. I am hesitant to use this cylinder in a 3rd generation because both the gun and the extra cylinder are way too nice to risk. I have seen a post on this forum saying a 2nd gen cylinder is usable in 3rd gen gun, but other sources say the 2nd gen hand must also be used.

What is the educated opinion on interchangeability? If I need a 3rd gen 45 ACP cylinder, is there any source for them?
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the forum. Post pictures of the back end, the "star" or ratchet teeth, of the 2 cylinders for everyone to take a look at. If the ACP looks the same as the 3rd gen, then it is also probably a 3rd. If not then it may indeed be a 2nd. I think that 2nd gens will have a rampant colt stamped on the back face. Finding 3rd gen cylinders of any chambering is difficult from what I can tell.
 
#4 ·
The 'hand' is different for a 2nd gen gun/cylinder, but I believe a few people have said the 2nd gen cylinder may function in a 3rd gen SAA without changing the hand.
Certainly, if you change the hand in your 3rd gen gun to a 2nd gen type when you change the cylinder to the 45 acp, it should work.
 
#5 ·
Attached are pictures of both cylinders. The seller, who seems to be a very advanced collector of Colt SAAs got back to me and said that this particular second generation 45 ACP cylinder works in this particular 3rd generation gun. There seems to be a degree of randomness in the interchangeability between generations and he even had a 3rd generation cylinder that operated well in a first generation gun.

The appearance of the two cylinders is quite a bit different so I was concerned that the arm and ratchet contact would not be correct even though the cylinder turns normally and locks when the hammer is drawn back. I want to avoid damage to both the hand and the 45 ACP cylinder since these parts are expensive and hard to find. Has anyone had luck recently finding a 3rd generation 45 ACP cylinder with a removable bushing?
 

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#6 ·
Check ebay for 45 ACP cylinders. Use that as your search term. In the last two months there have been two for sale in good shape. You'll get results for various items, including cylinders for non-Colt replicas, but now and then you'll get lucky. Final bid price for one was $225, the other $275. The third gens are easier to identify because of the triangular ratchet teeth. Finding one with the removable bushing is the hard part, but if you do find one you can have it modified to accept the full length bushing. This was a project of mine that lasted about a year and a half. Typically right after I finished I saw genuine 3rd gen Colt 45 ACP cylinders popping up everywhere. When you have enough posts check the "want to sell" section here. That's where I got one of them
 
#7 ·
Those are definitely two different generation cylinders. One is a 2nd and one is a 3rd.

I personally would not use the 2nd gen cylinder in a 3rd gen without changing the hand, and that is if it is possible as I am not sure. Just because different generation cylinders will fit into different generation guns and function does not mean that they are ok to operate and shoot like that. I can't believe that is ok to do and not how they were designed. For instance, if you look at your 2nd gen cylinder, it looks like the ratchet teeth are getting 'seat' marks in them. It kind of looks like dents in the teeth in the picture. That may be from the 3rd gen hand.

If I were you, I would buy a 3rd gen cylinder to fit to your gun and sell the 2nd gen to fund it.
 
#8 ·
PLB, you note the cylinder advances and locks up just fine (Timing). What about the other areas of proper fit ? Very importantly, cylinder to bore alignment, head-space, end-play, and bore/cylinder gap ?
Any scoring marks or scraps on the a c p cylinder when you cock it several times ?
 
#9 ·
Sometimes older cylinders DO work in 3rd generation guns like my 1992 .44 special. I stuck a 1st generation .44 Special cylinder in it for the hell of it and lo and behold!, it indexed perfectly and the removable bushing was a better fit. 2nd gen worked, too, of course. Maybe it was just a fluke but I'm not the only one on here who experienced this.
 
#10 ·
Even though the seemingly knowledgeable man who sold it to me thinks the second generation cylinder will work OK, I remain dubious. I was lucky enough to get a NOS 3rd generation 45 ACP cylinder for a reasonable price on Ebay. Unfortunately it is the early kind without the removable bushing and it is blue rather than nickle. Comparing it to the 45 LC cylinder original to the gun it , it looks like trimming the bushing about 0.015" will give it a fit identical to the original. Is there a reasonable way to get it nickle plated?
 
#11 ·
The problem with plating is matching it with existing plating color.

It's almost guaranteed that it won't be a color match.

As to fitting - 'back in the day' - John Kopec offered a .45ACP cylinder made from bored-out .357 Magnum and .44 cylinders.

At the time, I had .45 Ball up to my knees, so I was really interested, so I called him and ordered one.

Eddie Janis did this work, and it showed up one day, to be hidden by my wife as a present (she did this with a set of one-piece walnuts that I bought through Ray Meibaum that Jim Martin did, too - I really like that Colt...).

It fit perfectly.

It also fit my 1st,2d and other 3d Generations perfectly, as well.

To say I was surprised was putting it mildly, but I'm pretty happy.

Today, I shoot .45 S&W, and that mimics .45ACP.
 
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