1911 9mm frame same as .45ACP?

[Bullwinkle]

Forgive me if this is an "obviously" stupid question, but....

Is a 9mm 1911 frame equivalent to a .45ACP frame, or are there subtle differences (like, say, the mag well's fore/aft length or the length of the grip's cross section)? I've been toying with the idea--which means I'm only thinking about it and am still a long way off from ever going forward with it (if at all)--of building a 9mm 1911 for my wife. If I can start off with a .45 frame, great, I already own a 1911 and have a starting base; if not, I might as well just buy her a complete 9mm 1911 since there's no way to buy a stripped frame-only here in CA (of which I'm aware, other than the 80% thing).

Thanks in advance for your help!

[himurax13]

Forgive me if this is an "obviously" stupid question, but....

Is a 9mm 1911 frame equivalent to a .45ACP frame, or are there subtle differences (like, say, the mag well's fore/aft length or the length of the grip's cross section)? I've been toying with the idea--which means I'm only thinking about it and am still a long way off from ever going forward with it (if at all)--of building a 9mm 1911 for my wife. If I can start off with a .45 frame, great, I already own a 1911 and have a starting base; if not, I might as well just buy her a complete 9mm 1911 since there's no way to buy a stripped frame-only here in CA (of which I'm aware, other than the 80% thing).

Thanks in advance for your help!

From what I have been told, all you need to do is switch out the ejector and place a complete upper 9mm. Then use 9mm mags and you are good to go. There is one caveat though, if your lower receiver is set up for a ramped barrel, then you will need a ramped 9mm barrel as well.

[TMC]

The bare frames are identical.

[yasushi]

I have a Colt 9mm upper that I switch between two 45acp guns and like himurax13 already indicated it's just a matter of swapping out the ejector. Also make sure your 9mm upper comes with the correct slide stop.

[Bullwinkle]

You guys/gals rock! Thank you for the info.

[mikaarce]

Can you document this and take pics of your project, Im interested also.

[Fatcat]

Forgive me if this is an "obviously" stupid question, but....

Is a 9mm 1911 frame equivalent to a .45ACP frame, or are there subtle differences (like, say, the mag well's fore/aft length or the length of the grip's cross section)? I've been toying with the idea--which means I'm only thinking about it and am still a long way off from ever going forward with it (if at all)--of building a 9mm 1911 for my wife. If I can start off with a .45 frame, great, I already own a 1911 and have a starting base; if not, I might as well just buy her a complete 9mm 1911 since there's no way to buy a stripped frame-only here in CA (of which I'm aware, other than the 80% thing).

Thanks in advance for your help!

If you are talking about a 1911 style gun that is NOT using a ramped barrel, a frame used for .45 ACP will not be able to put on a smaller caliber (9mm, .38 super, etc) upper. The .45 ACP frame's feed ramp machined deeper than one for 9mm/.38 super. There may be other fitting needed from the new slide and barrel.

A 1911 is not a Glock where you can swap top ends/frames kinda at will.

(C'mon fellow Calgunners! Don't lead this guy down the wrong path!)

Go to the 1911Forums.com to get more educated on that platform from that community.

If I find pix of the two frame types, I'll post some.

[Bullwinkle]

Thanks, Fatcat!

It's 99% likely that I would use a ramped barrel, but I certainly appreciate this information/clarification. Had a hunch deep down that there had to be something different between the two; but ramped barrel takes care of it. Excellent!

Next big problem is what color to make it. If I do it in pink, she'll disown me (at best) and probably send me to the emergency room. How does a nice metallic lavender 1911 sound? [Don't worry, purists. I'm only kidding. Stainless is fine.]

[TMC]

If you are talking about a 1911 style gun that is NOT using a ramped barrel, a frame used for .45 ACP will not be able to put on a smaller caliber (9mm, .38 super, etc) upper. The .45 ACP frame's feed ramp machined deeper than one for 9mm/.38 super. There may be other fitting needed from the new slide and barrel.

Bare 1911 frames are not caliber specific however once built into a complete gun they may have the ramp massaged to help the gun function better. You can get 1911 barrels in 9mm and 40 that do not have an integral feed ramp (however most of the higher quality barrels do). If the barrel does have an integral feedramp you will have to machine the frame.

I have built a couple of 9mm guns (with unramped 9mm barrels) from guns that were originally 45 and no changes to the feedramp area of the frame was necessary.

This is what the two different types of frames look like. The one on the left (blue) is cut for a ramped barrel, the one on the right (silver) is new and not cut for a ramped barrel but has a basic ramp machined (for a use with an unramped barrel)




This is what the different barrels look like, ramped (left) and unramped (right) both are 9mm




And here is another difference between the two barrel types, the ramped on the right fully supports the case while the one on the left does not and in really hot loads (USPSA 9mm Major or 38 Super) can allow the case to blow out resulting in something will call Superface.



And in reference to the slide stop, there used to be a difference in the profile of the rear of the stop that would hold the slide back however these days there is no difference, they are all made the same and are not caliber specific.

[savs2k]

I've never heard of a 45 going down to a 9mm for a 1911. Ive looked into it before and as the result was a 38 can be turned into a 9mm but not a 45. I know for sure the ejector needs to be swapped for a 38-9mm conversion. As far as the .45 I haven't heard of anyone doing it until this thread. I was looking into doing an 80% 9mm 1911 but it didn't look possible. Well not without alot of money and experience at least

[mikaarce]

So can one just buy an unramped 9mm barrel and put it in a 45 frame?

[TMC]

So can one just buy an unramped 9mm barrel and put it in a 45 frame?

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is you still need a complete 9mm slide assembly with correct extractor, firing pin, firing pin stop.

On the frame you need to change the ejector to a 9/38.

Then the frame needs to be fit to the slide, the ejector need to be tuned and fitted to the firing pin stop (sometimes there is interference) and barrel and ramp need to be checked so the proper gap is present (there is not supposed to be a perfect transition but a small gap)

Like fatcat said, its not a Glock, it takes fitting and tuning to make it run tight.

My advise is if you have a 45 and want a 9mm, sell the 45 and buy a 9mm. The parts alone for the conversion are about $400

[Bullwinkle]

Well now you all know why I was "toying" with the idea and not going full throttle. And after browsing for 9mm slides/barrels on the Midway & Brownell's websites, I'm getting pretty irked... I want to build a Commander sized 1911, but can only find 5" and 6".

I like the buying option over the converting, for sure... but don't exactly want to spend $1,250 (MSRP) for a SA Loaded model. If I had that kind of money I'd finish off my AR .308 build once and for all! Plus I want something more like a Para LTC 9mm--Commander length, alloy frame--which now I see isn't even listed on their website anymore, dang it! Can't win.

So it's back to the building idea. Besides, it's for my wife, so it's a labor of love kind of thing (plus the simple satisfaction of just being able to say I did it).

I'll keep the idea on the back burner. I appreciate everyone's help!!!

[wengland]

I have purchased 2 Ares Rudius frames but i can't seem to get an answer back from them as to whether they offer the 9mm 80% kit. Does anyone know if there is someplace that sells a complete low end kit for this frame?

[mikaarce]

That was my initial plan with KT frame. But it will be more work, and money. Then I got an STI Spartan in 9mm from DAS with just a little over 700. Worked flawlessly out of the box no issues up to now. Going on 2000rds. Just my 2 cents