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ARISAKA RESTORATION
swfan601
Member Posts: 4 ✭✭
I recently acquired an Arisaka Type 99 apparently a bring back as the mum is totally intact and serial numbers on barrel, receiver, bolt and extractor match. The rifle was in pretty good shape with about 40 to 50% finish remaining. Previous owner apparently wished to sportarize and had taken the stock off and attempted to replace with an sporter. Problem: had most or I've acquired most of the parts reasonably cheap, still missing front sight assembly and forearm which, hopefully, I can locate soon. Bigest problem, previous owner apparntly bent plum shaped bolt handle down. There appears to be a silver colored deposit on top of the handle where it joins the bolt. I realize that this is a one piece unit, not soldered, and with close inspection I do not see any cracks on the underside of the handl. Question, is it possible or feasable to attempt to straighten the handle or should I leave it alone and purchase another bolt? Sorry for the long question, but I would really appreciate any expert advice.
Comments
With intact Mum and matching numbers, your T-99 was likely a battlefield pickup. And therefore would've been the most desireable in terms of collectibility. Before "Bubba" (name Milsurp collectors use for people who sporterize Milsurp rifles) got ahold of it.
As with most collecting fields, Arisaka values depend highly on originality. You could probably do a decent job on the cheap putting together a complete rifle. But if originality/collector value are important, it will be harder/more expensive.
Finding a handguard probably won't be too hard. But to do it right you'll want one that matches the finish on your stock. And some different Arisaka arsenals, or even series within same arsenal, had different shades of color finishes. You'd want to find the same Arsenal made handguard w/same finish of same or nearly same series.
As for hardware, same thing. One of the things that makes Arisaka's such an interesting collector field is the MANY variations. So you would need to do some research and learn what type of hardware was originaly used.
Example: Early rifles had front sights w/protective "ears". Later rifles had plain front sight w/o "ears".
Same w/barrel bands. Early had monopod type rear bands and 3 screw front band. Later has plain rear and 2 screw front. And late war "Last Ditch" T-99's are a whole new ball game.
It all depends on how much you are interested in originality. You could easily slap together a rifle that looks complete, but is a Frankenstein of incorrect parts that most people wouldn't notice. But it would be OBVIOUS to a collector.
If originality is of concern, w/some research and searching you could probably find a correct Arsenal/series COMPLETE stock set w/or w/o harware. And aquire the correct hardware piecemeal. (Most hardware wasn't Arsenal marked as stocks were, so as long as correct type, it would "technically" be correct.)
I would be happy to help you learn which Arsenal Series you have, and what would be the "correct" type replacement parts to aquire.
To the bolt. Alto headspace could be an issue, in my experience it seldom is w/Arisaka's. There are litterally millions of mis-matched bolt Arisaka's out there that fire just fine. In my collecting experience, I ran across only ONE headspace problem on a mismatched rifle. So the odds are that you could buy a replacement bolt and be OK. You could have it checked for safety sake. But many that might "technically" check as unsafe, actually fire just fine. The action is so strong and the tolerances so wide that the headspace has to be REAL BAD to be unsafe. Most Arisaka collectors don't bother w/gauges. They just tie the rifle down (to an old tire or whatever you can devise) and test fire using a string tied to the trigger. Listen for odd sounding report and check action/spent cases for potential problems. LIke I said, probably 90+ % of the time, it's OK or has only minor case bulging. Not a problem unless you want to reload your ammo.
I do recall that there was a guy who professionall "un-bent" bubbatised bolts. And did a respectable enough job that only advanced collectors "might" spot it. Don't recall who he is, but if you post your question on the Gunboards.com Japanese forum, (that's where the Arisaka guru's hang out) I'm sure they could tell you. IMO that would be best. But much more expensive than a mis-matched replacement.
So really it comes down to this. How much is it worth to you to do a decent restoration? To do it right could run you possibly a couple hundred dollars. Or you could slap a complete "looking" rifle together cheaper.
Like I said, happy to help w/research info. Or the guru's at Gunboards could help also.
Fatstrat@webtv.net
You'll probably have to Google search for the site and they have a pretty nice collection of stats.
To make it all original again ain't gonna be cheap and I doubt what you'll have in it you'll probably never get back. As far as personal satisfaction, well that's another story.
The previous poster hit the nail right on the head.
If it were me I'd test fire it and if ok, and I wanted a shooter, I'd go ahead and turn it into a nice sporter.
If you want a collector item log on to the Arisaka folks at surplus rifle and you can get a good idea what you might spend for another one vs. restoring what you have.
email address....<militaria@earthlink.net> If he's still around...He had at least half a dozen Arisaka's in His Shop...
This one is pretty good too... http://www.oldrifles.com/japanese.htm
As is this one: http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/japanese_markings.html
Good luck and have fun!