The first is of the left side of the weapon. Doesn't show much detail but I will say that the revolver has a four digit serial number (2393) on the frame but no date code. It appears to have been a kit that was only partially finished but then shot in it's partially finished state.
The next photo shows the left grip. The purchaser (who is not Starbuck125 who simply got the pistol in a box of stuff at a sale) did not finish the grips to much extent. They are somewhat contours to the frame but the final product is anything but smooth. Every screw in the pistol is loose. The nipples were tight but I was able to remove all but one with a nipple wrench and a little fortitude.
The next photo shows the muzzle with the missing latch, site, and spring and toggle in the loading lever. When I received the revolver, the wedge had been installed upside down. The spring leaf was missing. The cylinder is corroded and the barrel was never finished. The bore is troubling but I think it can be cleaned up to a shootable condition. The plunger in the loading lever has been filed fo some reason and will probably need replacing.
The final shot shows the really troubling facets. You can see that the pistol is at half cock and the bolt is retracted. Good, right? Wrong!...The bolt does not move at all. You can also see that the hand is retracted. It also does not move. I found no lubrication on the arbor which is ever so slightly loose. The locating pins are missing. You cansee by the impressions of the cylinder on the recoil shield that the pistol has been fired.
The hammer goes to half cock and full cock at what appear to be the right positions so I think the hammer and trigger are okay.
There is an awful lot wrong with this pistol but I am personally thrilled to get it. I am going to start ordering parts for it today. I am certain that I will encounter significant difficulty in obtaining OEM parts as ASM has been out of business for a long time. I have been through the various stockers of ASM parts at length on another project and very few parts remain. The few that do remain are more or less interchangeable with Pietta.
At this writing I know I need an internals kit, a sight, the latch assembly for the loading lever, the wedge, the locating pins, which I will probably make, and probably a plunger. One good thing is that I already have a perfect specimen of this very pistol to use as a model and possible test bed. I also have many of these parts in either new or very good condition in my parts supply.
I was working on an 1858 Remington as my next project but I think that may move to second place in favor of this pistol.
More later.