Ballester Molina "1911"

[Skiddz]

Neighbor's father-in-law passed away recently and while cleaning out his house, he found a Ballester Molina "1911" with a note that says, "Not Serviceable. Parts Required."

I did some digging and it turns out it was probably manufactured in 1953 based on the serial number and overall, is in very good condition but could use a cleaning. I did a quick field strip of it to see if there was anything obvious and I don't see anything glaringly wrong.

All function checks are normal, it feeds and extracts just fine. I don't have any snap caps in .45 ACP so I can't check to see if the firing pin is..umm.. firing properly, but otherwise it appears to be functional.

I'm going to take it to a gunsmith just to be sure, but anyone have any experience with these things who might be able to tell me common (if any) failure points?

Related question: Good gunsmiths in North San Diego County? (Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos...)

Thx!

[XDseb]

To check for a proper functioning firing pin i usually drop a bic pen or a #2 pencil into the barrel and pull the trigger. If it works the pen or pencil flies out.

[Skiddz]

Just pulled it all apart again. Firing pin looks good under a magnifying glass as does the extractor. I loaded up 7 rounds and worked the action manually. It chambered and extracted all 7 with no problem.

I scrubbed the bolt face clean and looked at it with a light and magnifying glass. I don't see any damage or wear. The surface rust that was in the barrel came out with a couple passes of a brass brush and 4 or 5 patches soaked in solvent. I don't see any barrel damage and the feed ramp looks almost new. Springs are all good and the guide rod has no blemishes.

Pulled the grips and everything in the lower looks to be in very good shape. Took some pipe cleaners and solvent to all the nooks and crannies and gave it a few minutes to penetrate and then wiped/blew it all clean. Quick lube and reassembled it. It seems to cycle just fine.

Wondering if I should just try a couple rounds through it and see what happens. Maybe wear a pair of thick leather gloves just in case?

[Tacit Blue]

Dude.... I have one of those also. My extractor broke, that is a weak part. Mines turned into a paperweight as nobody has parts for them anymore.....

If yours breaks let's swap parts lol. I'm sure nothing is as rare as the " extractor"..


I'm local in S.D. also too.

[Skiddz]

Nope, no B in the serial number. This one is evidently one of the last ones made. Serial number is in the mid-107,000 range and based on my research, they ended somewhere in the 108,000 range.

Extractor and firing pin are in excellent shape as are all the springs. Wondering if the disconnector is bad. I've read that it's not a common problem, but it can be an issue. I guess I'll have to break out the punches and tear down the lower-end and see what's up.

I'm tempted to pop the bullet off a cartridge, dump the powder and see if it'll set off the primer and then maybe see if it'll run a round or two.

One thing I just discovered while doing some reading about these things.. This one is stamped "C.F.S." on the right side of the slide, partially obscuring where it's stamped "POLICIA FEDERAL". Evidently, this particular example was used by the Consejo Federal Seguridad - a reportedly "bad news" secret police organization. The more I read about it, the more I want to buy it from my neighbor.

[Skiddz]

Quickie pic of the BM. Still haven't tried to fire it... Sure is pretty.