People confuse universals with plainfields.
Must be an early one as all the later ones were silver soldered on
From about 1974 to 1980 Universal Firearms accepted special orders from various government agencies, both here and abroad. Law enforcement, prisons, and others occasionally wished to purchase .30 caliber carbines with features different than Universals current production hybrid carbines. The features ordered varied with some of these contracts. The most common and visible feature was a slide absent the hole for the right bolt lug and having a slide stop pin to hold the slide back and bolt open. The receivers were machined with a deep hole for a single recoil spring and recoil spring guide. The outward appearance was a redux of the carbines Universal manufactured prior to their change to their hybrid design at s/n 100,000.
The redux carbines appear sporadically throughout the 300,000 serial number series. The lowest seen so far is s/n 308241. The highest has been s/n 398102.
The parts used depended on the particular contract. All observed so far have had the Universal Firearms aluminum rectangular trigger housing and trigger group. The slide is interchangeable with a GI slide. Some have the Universal bolt with the internal firing pin, some have a GI style bolt with a floating firing pin.
The floating firing pin in the GI style bolt required a cut in the receiver bridge below the rear of the closed bolt (see the 5th photo below). The cut restrained the forward movement of the firing pin until the bolt lugs rotated into the locked position. Redux carbines having a GI style bolt with a floating firing pin should have the receiver cut. Redux receivers having the Universal bolt with internal firing may or may not have this cut. A redux receiver that has the cut should be compatible with a surplus GI bolt group. However, before firing a redux carbine with a replacement bolt the carbine, barrel, and bolt should be inspected by a competent gunsmith to make sure the three will work together safely.
from the website i linked early. your carbine appears to be a universal single recoil spring REDUX version
The redux carbines appear sporadically throughout the 300,000 serial number series. The lowest seen so far is s/n 308241. The highest has been s/n 398102.
The parts used depended on the particular contract. All observed so far have had the Universal Firearms aluminum rectangular trigger housing and trigger group. The slide is interchangeable with a GI slide. Some have the Universal bolt with the internal firing pin, some have a GI style bolt with a floating firing pin.
The floating firing pin in the GI style bolt required a cut in the receiver bridge below the rear of the closed bolt (see the 5th photo below). The cut restrained the forward movement of the firing pin until the bolt lugs rotated into the locked position. Redux carbines having a GI style bolt with a floating firing pin should have the receiver cut. Redux receivers having the Universal bolt with internal firing may or may not have this cut. A redux receiver that has the cut should be compatible with a surplus GI bolt group. However, before firing a redux carbine with a replacement bolt the carbine, barrel, and bolt should be inspected by a competent gunsmith to make sure the three will work together safely.
from the website i linked early. your carbine appears to be a universal single recoil spring REDUX version
I was looking at the first article on Universal. I’m not sure what the date ranges are, but I’m pretty sure a 57xx serial number is pretty early.
IIRC, didn't Universal get Plainfield until the late seventies or something? I don't remember, I'll have to go back and read up.
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Iver Johnson, not Universal
It was Christian In Action who bought Iver Johnson in the late seventies or early eighties and moved it to Arkansas. They had a pet Governor there who let them build weapons and ship them via their Mena import/export operation. Weird how those blue folks always end up where there’s a cut to be had. I guess the red ones aren’t that smart...
the broken gas block defiantly isn't gi but the piston and nut are. the broken gas block isn't like the one on my two spring universal either. the barrel fits the description on page II of the website as a REDUX model. it is possible as from the website that a gi barrel may fit but i am unsure if your slide will work so you may need a barrel and a slide both gi. is your firing pin the floating type with the tang that sticks down?
Yes, the firing pin is the floating type with the tang. From the article you linked to, the Redux models were in the 300xxx serial number range. I think this one is a very early sample. It does have the adjustable rear sight, the heat shield stock band is the bayonet type, the fire control group is the early pinched type with the rotating safety switch before they went to the rectangular one. According to that website the very early ones were 99-100% compatible with GI carbines. Guess I need to disturb the dust on the precision tool box and start mapping it out.
It’s hard to tell in the picture, but it looks like the tappet block had broken and been re welded before. I’ll drag it out and try to get some better pictures. Right now it’s like I put up a photo of a whatles eye and asked you to describe the rest of it.
if it is a redux model the gas block would have been welded on at the factory. says heliarc welding.
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