To much work ?

[Champion of Capua]

J&G has some Yugo 24/47 on sale for $100. They work but have external rust and minor stock damage. The gentleman I spoke with said the bores might be dark but no rust.
For me, J&G is only an hour drive so I don't have to pay shipping and tax is low.
I will try to post the online photos and would love to hear if you gentleman feel these guns are worth the work that it will take to clean up.
Remember these are post war Yugos and not 98k's

 

[Champion of Capua]

More photos

 

[ColtRevolver]

No thanks.

 

[jason10mm]

If you have experience with this type of restoration and the equipment to do it (I'd think you'd need to bead blast those parts and recoat them at the bare minimum) why not? But if this would be your first foray into C&R rifles you can probably find this exact rifle in a much better condition for not much money. For a display piece I'd still try to clean it up. For a working gun, no way.

 

[Champion of Capua]

I pulled the trigger and accepted the Yugo $100 challenge.
The bolt cycles smooth with absolutely no problems, inside the barrel is coated pretty heavy with cosmoline and most of the rust appears to be cosmetic.
Today I will be breaking the gun down for a 24 hr vinegar soak. This rifle has no bluing left on it, so I won't feel guilty buffing the hell out of it. I personally don't care about pitting, once the rust is knocked off I'll hit it with some fine grit just to smooth it out and probably finish with a cold bluing on some parts.

 

[Kentos]

I look forward to seeing your progress!

 

[MichaeltheRomanHistorian]

Nice work. I'm not a long arms person (WWI small arms myself) but I always marvel at the beauty of a fellow collector working on his/her items of interest. You've done some great work on that bolt and I can't wait to see the rest! What's the condition on the stock? Is the stock still mostly decent? I'm glad you took up the challenge to salvage this piece of history.

 

[pejay66]

I think this old beauty deserves the work you are putting into her.

 

[mswofford]

I think this old beauty deserves the work you are putting into her.

Definitely! I've done some of this in the past and it's always rewarding.

 

[BSAGuy]

Very cool. You can't go wrong for $100. I enjoy doing this kind of light restoration. As long as all the work is cosmetic and no real gunsmithing required, this can be relaxing and rewarding.

 

[Wullie]

It's a shame you can't buy milsurp 8X57 for a penny a pop shipped to your door ( $5 minimum purchase req'd) these days.

I bought a milsurp BRNO 98 back in the mid-60's and burned a LOT of ammo through it. Lived out in the boonies of N TX and had a lot of fun with that old beast.

Enjoy yours. I think you got a good deal.

 

[Rasputin]

You did fine for $100, and it looks like you have a cool project to work on. After you run a few rounds through it, the bore might turn out slightly better than you thought.

 

[Champion of Capua]

Thank you for the extra motivation gentleman !
The last 2 weeks have been filled with good news and bad news. I finally got the entire gun stripped, the stock has no cracks and only a few dings.
The bolt is coming along great, the only rust was to the handle and that shouldn't be much trouble.
The bad news is the barrel. I think the rust has compromised enough that I am uncomfortable shooting it. I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm just not comfortable with a controlled explosion that close to my face with "I'm sure it will be fine".
The good news I ordered a new barrel from Numbrich for only $32 and a new trigger for $5. Actually turned out good since I always seem to have something in the cart on that site.
The hardest job will be this trigger guard, won't even open it's rusted shut.
Ive got the bolt handle and smaller pieces soaking in vinegar already, throwing the trigger guard in right now.

 

[Rasputin]

You can always replace the trigger guard assembly, unless of course its matching. To the rust off, soak it in oil for several days, then try to remove the floor plate.
Once this done, scrub the assembly down with 0000 steel wool. This will remove some of the rust without damaging your finish. If its pitted, you still have other options.

 

[oldbluelight]

Go after that floorplate with Kroil. It stinks but it will penetrate just about anything. When you get that new barrel if you're going to mount it yourself make sure you get the headspace right.

 

[Champion of Capua]

I've finished up the bolt handle, butt plate and bayonet lug.
So far I'm pretty happy with the vinegar patina, not sure if I'm going to blue.

 

[Champion of Capua]

All the small pieces are done.
Really happy with the new patina, bluing looks doubtful.
trigger guard is still soaking and just started soaking receiver.
Might hit the stock with some steel wool this weekend

 

[Wullie]

Before you go to all the trouble and more expense of mounting that new barrel, put it all back together, get a tire (unmounted), tie the rifle to the tire, tie a string to the trigger and run five rounds through it. Check the fired brass for signs of head space issues, and if all is found good, swab that barrel out and see what it looks like. Mausers don't need a perfectly shiny bore to shoot. The grooves are deep and the lands are tall. You might be surprised, I've shot several old rifles with crap looking bores and then cleaned them and there was a definite improvement.

You might also take pride in the fact that the 98 action is one of the strongest actions on the planet. It'll take a LOT more than what you've got to blow it up in your face.

 

[Rasputin]

Before you mess around with the stock, put a few pics up. I've done some work like this before, and before you start sanding, there are other ways that are far less intrusive.

 

[Champion of Capua]

Here is a shot of the rust on outside of barrel. There is a darker spot in the middle of the pic where the damage is quite a bit deeper than the rest.