I really do love Cosmoline, its a mess, and nasty to handle, but it is the gun-world equivalent to cabonite! Your greasy gear is most likely completely untouched by time under that brown crud. I also like it because it forces you to get an intimate understanding of your gear as you strip it down and clean every nook and cranny. I use the minneral spirits method and today it was magazines for my L1A1.
As I was scrubbing off cosmoline I discovered an oval with two hebrew letters in it. Did a little research and discovered that the Century L1A1 Sporters are built on metric receivers hence why they’re eating from the metric Israeli mags. Interesting. Still means it’ll likely take a smith to get this crappy stock replaced with a military-proper one.
Tho it means that most of the paratrooper FALs I’ve seen are Metric rifles, if someday the Massachusetts assault weapons ban is repealed I won’t have to mark all my mags to avoid confusion.
Jesus this FAL rabbit hole is SO much deeper than I thought! Its both amusing and overwhelming at the same time!
I recommend putting the Indiana Jones theme song on loop and let it run in the background while you “de-Cosmoline”. Who knows what other rare and unusual treasures you might find!
When I was cleaning the Ak I had the radio on a local political station on, tho I don’t hear much I’m so in the cosmoline zone.
Dr. Jones probably doesn’t hear the music either.
The folding stock part is on the LOWER. You can put a Belgian para LOWER on an issue British L1A1 UPPER. The UPPER is the gun here, not like on an AR.
Lowers are completely interchangeable between all FAL variations. Some parts IN the lowers are not compatible BETWEEN lowers. Israeli selectors and Inch triggers are obvious examples. Inch iron sights are slightly taller than metric, but the rear sight assembly is interchangeable.
Converting to a para config is really a swap complete lower job. Then you need a para top cover. If you don’t want to have your upper machined to accept the para top cover’s nose; you need a no-nose para top cover. Even if I was not going to do a para conversion, I think I would change to a metric lower just because there are more options for the stocks and HTS. YMMV.
An interesting thing about inch uppers, they accept metric magazine just fine for the most part. I had an L1A1 made from a parts kit jut before the Clinton AWB; it accepted metric mags without problems.
Yeah, I more-or-less have the gyst of that part. ATM a folding stock would be AWB foul, but when these dark days are over; I’ll just buy another gun, because two is one, and one is none. Or maybe at that time the FNH SCAR-17 will be more affordable…tho maybe I won’t want one then…