www.MG42.us

Hey guys! I just bought an IMA receiver. Will it do the job (reweld into a SA)?

The rusty back pieces?

You still need a camming section, should section and barrel bushing guide section.

Yeah, I know they look like crap, if anyone has bought IMA, then please tell me how your pieces looked. Kirk, what do you mean by "should section and barrel bushing guide section."? Also, I was planning on fabricating the camming section. More info on the IMA pieces, or if anybody has built their S/A with them (or believes that I can). Also, I doubt that the receiver pieces will overlap, though I requested that they hand select overlapping peices, so I am prepared to do alot of fabrication.

yeah, mine have some surface rust too. I'll try to get some pictures and post them. Still, it beats the ones I didn't have before, and the ones we may not be able to get anymore in the future, so it's all relative, I guess.

I agree, thats why I snapped them up ASAP. If anything, I can use them for reference on fabricating whole new receivers, or working with BRP sheet metal.

plus, at the very least, these do have the waffen amps and the original codes and SN on them, which when finished is a nice touch of history that the repos do not. That way, it is a restored historical weapon (albeit modified to be legal and using some replacement metal ) and that adds to the cool factor, if not to the collectability outright. For what we will have in these projects when finished, that helps.

Ha, ha you are right! I am so caught up with reactivating my gun that I forgot that the receiver pieces are sold as historical memorabilia "wink wink." Also, my gun will look rather odd with Waffen markings displayed big and beautiful, then with the Yugo crest on my top cover (I have a yugo M53).

Yeah, I bought one of the Yugo kits too (got mine from SOG) but I've yet to find the crest on my top cover. All I've found so far is a 4 number marking in front of the rear catch. Wonder if they sent me a German kit by mistake? how prevelant is that crest supposed to be, and where exactly is it located?

I wish I had my parts kit right here, but I'm in school, so I guess I am content I don't! Anyways, my Yugo crest is right on top of the cover, right above the latch I believe. As for prevalence, I think the Yugo's crested everything they could get their hands on; which includes Soviet M44's and captured K98's, so I don't think a crest on the Yugo Mg3 is rare at all. Can't help you with much else.

Hey, I'm not knocking the IMA pieces. I own one set and will be ordering another set soon. That's how I know about the rust. A few minutes with a rotary wire brush, after I had removed the cut rails, had mine nice and shiny.

The "shroud" (spelling corrected) section is the section that contains the barrel, sights and barrel door. These usually come with the parts kit. For many latecomers, that is the only receiver section they have.

The "barrel guide sleeve is the milled piece the barrel bushing, booster and flash hider connect to. This part is press fit into the sheet metal reciever, just in front of the front sight. If you have the shroud section that is torched just in front of the front sight, you have a piece of it. When you grind off the slag, you will have to punch out the remains. It will just be a ring of metal with notches in it.

If you start with the shroud, you get the rear pieces from IMA, the trunnion section from somebody here and have to track down the barrel guide bushing. Northridge (I think), had them, but ran out. A member here has one of mine to use as a model and may be making copies for sale soon:

Thanks for the very informative response! That diagram is sweet! Ok, everything is fine now, my questions are answered, just one more question: Can the IMA pieces be used for the semi build? Kirk, if you wanted to, could you? Also about the missing front end of the rear receiver; is it a complicated part to fabricate? I was going to cut and trim steel plates, weld them to the receiver, and weld it to the shroud (after cutting out the slots for the trunion to lock in).

Demontrooper wrote:Thanks for the very informative response! That diagram is sweet! Ok, everything is fine now, my questions are answered, just one more question: Can the IMA pieces be used for the semi build? Kirk, if you wanted to, could you? Also about the missing front end of the rear receiver; is it a complicated part to fabricate? I was going to cut and trim steel plates, weld them to the receiver, and weld it to the shroud (after cutting out the slots for the trunion to lock in).

yes it's complicated. what you are tring to undertake is about as complicated as a mg42 reweld can get. To be able to fab a barrel support you will need at the minium a lathe and a shaper or possibly a keyway broach.

what you have can be used to build a working firearm but add in the fact that you are also trying to fab from scratch 2 of the key sections (you cant get these wrong or it wont work) and you have increased the difficulty level exponentially

cam section



IMA rec scrap




BRP rear, cam section and front barrel support

Cpt_Kirks wrote: A member here has one of mine to use as a model and may be making copies for sale soon:

Hi. How much is your friend wanting to sell them for, and when does he plan on having them ready?

Also, where in Tennessee are you? I live in Columbia, and would love to meet up with other people around here doing the same project to see how theirs are done.

My barrel shroud includes about half of that smaller cam piece that you have, it is cut right in front of that little dimple on top, and that is why I have hope. I have exact dimensions of the slope etc, so I just have to fab that part. Like I said, the trunion with the top cover and feed tray lock onto the barrel shroud when I close the barrel door, and it is pretty snug. I can at least use that to test fit as I go along. Now, I DO KNOW THAT THIS PART OF THE RECEIVER CANNOT BE F*CKED UP, and I will do my best to stick with the blueprints, but why do you make it seem so important; how does that part of the gun help out in the feed process or whatever it does? BTW, where did you get those receiver pieces?

dagobert wrote:

Cpt_Kirks wrote: A member here has one of mine to use as a model and may be making copies for sale soon:

Hi. How much is your friend wanting to sell them for, and when does he plan on having them ready?

Also, where in Tennessee are you? I live in Columbia, and would love to meet up with other people around here doing the same project to see how theirs are done.

I don't know yet about the copies. He is still working on them.

I live in Lakeland, in Shelby county. This Saturday would be a very good time. The Camden, TN MG shoot is this weekend: http://www.tftc-inc.com/events.html

I'll be there, Tanker and Drover will be there. We will have a new built post sample FA MG42 and maybe a SA.

Outstanding! I don't suppose anyone planning on attending might have a barrel shroud end repair piece and a receiver cam center section there for sale too? That way I'd know how much cash to bring with me.

Demontrooper wrote:Yeah, I know they look like crap, if anyone has bought IMA, then please tell me how your pieces looked. Kirk, what do you mean by "should section and barrel bushing guide section."? Also, I was planning on fabricating the camming section. More info on the IMA pieces, or if anybody has built their S/A with them (or believes that I can). Also, I doubt that the receiver pieces will overlap, though I requested that they hand select overlapping peices, so I am prepared to do alot of fabrication.

I ordered the standard $135 one and a $195 1943 special select, they both had rusty areas around the torch cuts which are not a big deal since I just got them for the rear markings, the standard $135 one I got was a "cra" code which was solid and with some pitting. The special select 1943 was the 'dfb' code with very clear markings and really nice bluing on the rear piece. Just like photo listed on the ima site.

dagobert wrote:Outstanding! I don't suppose anyone planning on attending might have a barrel shroud end repair piece and a receiver cam center section there for sale too? That way I'd know how much cash to bring with me.

They might, I can check.

bob2800cs wrote:

Demontrooper wrote:Yeah, I know they look like crap, if anyone has bought IMA, then please tell me how your pieces looked. Kirk, what do you mean by "should section and barrel bushing guide section."? Also, I was planning on fabricating the camming section. More info on the IMA pieces, or if anybody has built their S/A with them (or believes that I can). Also, I doubt that the receiver pieces will overlap, though I requested that they hand select overlapping peices, so I am prepared to do alot of fabrication.

I ordered the standard $135 one and a $195 1943 special select, they both had rusty areas around the torch cuts which are not a big deal since I just got them for the rear markings, the standard $135 one I got was a "cra" code which was solid and with some pitting. The special select 1943 was the 'dfb' code with very clear markings and really nice bluing on the rear piece. Just like photo listed on the ima site.

When you torch metal you are oxidizing it. Unless you slap some oil on it, it is going to rust. As long as it's only a little surface rust, no big deal.

Well, you guys who ordered these IMA pieces seem satisfied, I will post a review or something when I get mine. I am already planning how to restore and reweld them into the semi configuration, but it may take a long time before I even start the project. Have fun at that MG shoot for those of you attending it, and start a new post when those camming pieces are ready to sell (could you also consider documenting the construction of those camming pieces like Pirate did the construction of his gun?)