Colt Viper....chop and refinish or not?

[magsnubby]

I have my dad's old Colt Viper that he bought new from Monkey Wards in 1978. It cost him $180 otd. It was carried a lot and shot very little.

It has a lot of wear and scratches on it. it's worse than the pictures show. And i'm guessing here, but probably not more than 3K rounds through it. I'm thinking about either having the barrel cut down to 2 1/2" or buying a Dick Special barrel (i found another Viper barrel for $67) then having it refinished in something like hard chrome.

Yes? No? Maybe?

[Bobula]

I have a sw 15-2 that was my grandpas issued gun. He can tell where every scratch, bump, and scuff came from. It's an heirloom, I'd leave it alone.

[magsnubby]

A few more.

[Oceanbob]

Those were nice little revolvers back then..

I have my dad's old Colt Viper that he bought new from Monkey Wards in 1978. It cost him $180 otd. It was carried a lot and shot very little.

It has a lot of wear and scratches on it. it's worse than the pictures show. And i'm guessing here, but probably not more than 3K rounds through it. I'm thinking about either having the barrel cut down to 2 1/2" or buying a Dick Special barrel (i found another Viper barrel for $67) then having it refinished in something like hard chrome.

Yes? No? Maybe?

Like anything else you spend money on, it's doubtful you will recover a new barrel (or cut barrel) and a hard chome job. Then new grips, some nicer sites....more money..LOL...Then its worth $439....

My first question would be how is the Timing..?..Does it lock up tight..? Then go from there.

If it was an older COLT PYTHON, sure..spend the $. You will get it back.

Hobbies like collecting guns and restoring guns is expensive. If you accept that, then do it.

[Army]

Don't cut it. If you want a shorter gun, save your money and buy one. Altering a hand-me-down from Dad seems almost illegal

The wear looks like honest holster wear, if it's not rusting in those places, I wouldn't worry about it. While not a truly collectable piece (yet), it should have enough sentimental value to keep it as is. For sure, some hard-core Colt Snake collector is sweating and cringing at your suggestions

[magsnubby]

I have a sw 15-2 that was my grandpas issued gun. He can tell where every scratch, bump, and scuff came from. It's an heirloom, I'd leave it alone.

I have all of his guns including the S&W M&P he bought used in 1941.

My first question would be how is the Timing..?..Does it lock up tight..? Then go from there.

Hobbies like collecting guns and restoring guns is expensive. If you accept that, then do it.

Timing and lock up are just like the day he brought it. I hear you on the money part. My main interest is building cars. I'm currently rebuilding my T-Bucket and building a '56 Chevy.

Don't cut it. If you want a shorter gun, save your money and buy one. Altering a hand-me-down from Dad seems almost illegal

I have two other snubbies. His Taurus 85 and a no dash S&W 60 that i've had some work done on. As far as altering the gun Dad loved guns but he also looked at them as tools made for a specific job.

[Merc1138]

Personally I'd leave it alone, maybe even try to get the appropriate holster if you don't already have it. And he's right it is a tool, but from the sounds of it, still seems to work just fine, why fiddle with it?

[hawkeye]

I have my dad's old Colt Viper that he bought new from Monkey Wards in 1978. It cost him $180 otd. It was carried a lot and shot very little.

It has a lot of wear and scratches on it. it's worse than the pictures show. And i'm guessing here, but probably not more than 3K rounds through it. I'm thinking about either having the barrel cut down to 2 1/2" or buying a Dick Special barrel (i found another Viper barrel for $67) then having it refinished in something like hard chrome.

Yes? No? Maybe?

Leave it alone... Just buy some ammo and save the money you would have spent towards restoration on a different handgun. Leave it as a family heirloom and it will mean much more to you in the future... Dings, scratches and spots give a gun character... A conversation piece...

[Will Goes Boing]

Keep it the way it is... especially since it was your dad's. If you want a nice new looking gun go buy a new one.

[xibunkrlilkidsx]

Leave it alone. Its called character.