I was wondering what the heck kind of Norinco that was. :blink: It is my understanding that you can slap a folder on your AK as soon as the ban dies, regardless. (unless your state prohibits it) Just do it before a new, more restrictive ban replaces the old one.
Your only problem is how much damage was done to your rear reciever area when they bastardized your gun. Is it cut at an angle? Is there anything besides that tacked on backplate, preventing a standard AK stock from fitting? There is nothing a little creative welding/grinding/filing/dremel-ing can't fix! Almost...

 

Pig Pen, The reciever doesn't have any damage that I can see. It looks like a standard folder but the stamped cross looking thingy on the sides isn't there. 2 rivets that do nothing are in the exact place where a hole would be standard on an underfolder. Only thing that looks bubbatized is the welded on doublr screw top tang, which could be cut off. I'm thinking of a couple options but I don't know how much I want to put in it. If it cost more than trading it off for one that I don't have to cut up I'd be better off. Theres a shop here that has about 15 Maadi's and a few Norinco's are around. I wanted the Norinco because they are supposed to be built better. Ace modular stocks makes some componets that I may be able(I know I could, just don't know that I want to) that would work and could latter be turned into a folder with no problem. Problem with cutting the back out for a regular stock is the trunion is different on the folder than it is on a standard stock. Theres nothing to hold the stock in. The reciever is slightly angled being a folder.

 

Well that sounds rather discouraging. You'd definitely need a new rear trunion, but getting a stock to fit on one of them angle cut receivers would be a pain. I guess you could always just weld the Ace mounting thing onto the gun?(unless its aluminum) Either way, you're bubbatizing the gun even further. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you gotta figure if it's worth your trouble.

If you do decide to get one of the MAADIs, make sure you can return it if you get a stinker. (unless you feel like working on it) Rack the slide, and make sure it has a slick action and doesn't bind on the hammer, or receiver rails, then check the sights for straightness. (check bore for a live round first! ) Throw away the nasty sand and paint encrusted 5 rounder it comes with. (I needed a mallet to remove mine)

When I bought my MAADI, (Century, not Steyr) I knew nothing about AKs. Unknown to me, my particualr specimen was a total piece of junk. Front sight base was WAY off, gas block canted slightly, cleaning rod bent, gas piston bent, rear sight ladder adjustment rusted in place, hammer not even close to being in spec, receiver pinched in the middle which restricted bolt movement, and the finish looked like someone dumped dirt on the paint while it was still wet. Amazingly, it STILL WORKED PERFECTLY, I just couldn't charge it very easily, or hit paper at 10 feet with it.

Thankfully the AK-47 was designed so even a chimpanzee with a big hammer could work on it. Rather than sending it back to the morons who messed it up in the first place, I took it upon myself to right their wrongs. About $50 worth of replacement parts, and a little elbow grease later, I have a fully functioning firearm. It has performed flawlessly ever since. I also kind of like the looks of the gun. A very good copy of the older Soviet AKs once refinished.

 

Pig pen, I decided to take the easy route. I bought a Choate stock for it. Took a little fitting with the Dremel but still easier than rigging a stock of some sort for the bastard Norinco(as it's fondly known now :lol: Looks good and I'm sure it's better than the giant wood Bushhole stock I had on it. Still waiting on my Romanian to come back from the smith. I ordered a Romanian folding stock for it(install after the ban dies) Couldn't pass it up for the price $34.95. I'll pick up another Norinco or if I could ever find one, an SAR, but I'm satisfied for now. Tough break on that Maadi. I don't know that I am willing to take the chance. The ones I saw looked much worse than the WASR's and they wanted $150.00 more for them <_< I'd like to put a scope on this Norinco since I have the Choate stock but the only ones I see are the dust cover mounts, unless I want to install a side rail on it. I kinda like it witout the side rail. Just with the long stock it looks like it needs a scope.

 

Those plastic thumbhole stocks may not be genuine, but they are more comfy to use than the original AK midget pistol grips, and way better than the Chinese butthole stocks.(I actually like the Romanian version though)

Watch out with those SARs too. If you can believe it, I bought the MAADI becasue the SARs at the gunshow looked even WORST! I caught AK fever at the height of Century Arm's crap output. I think the quality of the SARs improved later on though. As for the MAADI, pick one up if you want to learn the ins and outs of Kalashnikov home gunsmithing. :huh: Seems like the WASRs are hard to beat as far as price/quality goes right now.

I'm hoping Saiga makes some normal AKs after the ban, instead of those bubbafied AKs with the hollow plastic rifle stocks. I'd like to have one in .308 and .223.

If you really don't want to slap one of those sidemount scopes on your AK, there are a couple scout mounts out there like the Ultimak. It replaces the gas tube, and clamps onto the barrel. I think ACE used to have one that mounted in the rear sight base somehow. Everyone I know just uses the sidemount though.

 

I was window shopping around for different AK stocks this afternoon, and ran into these; http://www.ironwooddesigns.com/2Aprodpage/...zAKproduct.html

Ironwood makes wooden stocks set to fit the angle cut receivers. Might be worth inquiring about those if you ever get tired of the Choate. they sure look like nice sets.
I'm sure they'll sell a lot of these after the ban goes away.

 

Hi Guys!

I'm kind of in the same boat here as I was given a Mak-90. h34r: the problem is, the buttstock is missing. I looked over at K-var.com and while they have some stock sets I'd like, they have nothing for the bastard Mak-90 stamped and round cut receiver. The only option I see is the choate or ATi dragunov stock. I'm leaning towards the Choate although I don't like either one's looks.

To address your scope mount woes, have you looked at the Ultimak? Look over at Ulimak's Website.
I ordered the M2-B for my hole laden chinese gas tube. The Ultimak rail looks great on the AK's even if you still use iron sights.
Look:

Here's a pic of what the the ugly duckling might look like with a Choate stock and Ultimak rail:

Take that ugly scope off and use something nice and it might look ok.

Ram_Rod :blink:

 

Hey Ramrod, did you check out the stocks at Ironwood? They might have a set that'll even fit your cut AK. They're wood, but they actually look pretty nice. If you're really aiming for the black tactical look, I bet some black dye and satin polyurethane would finish up these sets really nicely. h34r:
A major plus, is that the Ironwood sets are also US made. That'll help you get closer to your US parts count, if not there already.

 

You guys won't believe this. On another AK site a member tracked down my reciever by the pics I posted. Rivets patterns and cut of the reciever plus the solid back. It is an original AK bullpup reciever! I can't imagine anyone destroying a bullpup to make a MAC 90 so I hope the reciever was just laying in some Chinaman's extra pile at Norinco. There was one of these rifles on Gunbroker in the last week going for $1100, and from what I found out that was a steal. I have the Choate stock on it now but I really don't like it. If the AK was a target rifle it would be ok, but it's not. I can leagally remove the rear tang and put a muzzle break on the front for the proper length, but then I have no stock at all. After the bann dies I could turn it into an underfolder but I'm not sure of the trunions and what other changes I'd have to make. I'd really like to be able to cut the back out and put a traditional stock on it, but again I'm not sure of the trunions. If anybody knows please let me know.

 

Hey Thanks PigPen!

I looked over at Ironwood and it looks like they might just have what I was looking for. I'll verify my receiver shape and give them a call. Thanks for the tip!


Ram_Rod

:usa:

 

Bullpup receiver? I never would have guessed that. Is that thing a real (pre-ban?) bullpup, or just postban leftovers? I'm guessing the latter.

If you have a normal rear block/trunion, you're good to go. Just cut off the backplate and slap on one of those Ironwood stocks in. If you got some kind of bubbafied version of the underfolder trunion/block in your gun, you'd have to replace that with something more like this http://www.k-var.com/product.asp?0=216&1=250&3=340 if you want a standard butt-stock on the gun. Removing the original involves grinding off the two rear rivets. (if you're afraid to mess up your finish, just hacksaw through the middle of the rear block until the rivets are cut in half. Pull out with Vice-grips. They go all the way through both sides of the receiver btw) Putting in the new one involves flattening/peening the straingt end of two rivets with a hammer or rivet gun. Simple. My MAADI rivets definitely look like they used the hammer on it. :angry:

One quick note; compare the locations of the two rear rivets to the ones on your WASR. Make sure they are in the same place before you try replacing anything!!!

If Ironwood doesn't have a stock to fit the cut receivers on either of you guy's guns, maybe you can make a filler piece so you can fit regular butts on?
Take a piece of sheet metal, roughly the same thickness or a little thicker than your receivers. Fold it around the part of the stock that fits into the rifle. Trim it to fit the gap between the stock, and the angled part of the receiver. Epoxy, or use a pair of small woodscrews to attach the sheet-metal to the butt. Paint ot blue to match gun.
The filler piece should keep the stock from rocking, (especially if you shim the stock so it fits in the gun super TIGHT) and get rid of the angle-cut look to some degree! This technique should work with plastic or wood stocks, and maybe even with the ACE receiver adapter blocks for their folders.

I do not know of anyone who has tried this, but if the Ironwood angle stocks work on other guns, there is no reason this shouldn't, since it is basically the same idea, except it's perfectly custom fitted to your bastard rifles.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Pigpen, that at least gives me an option.

 

I finally cut the back and rear trunion out of my MAC 90 today. I'd rather take an ass whippin than do that again! Now I have to get a trunion and butt stock. I'm wondering if I can screw the trunion in instead of rivets. Any ideas?

 

Hahaha. Cuttin on your guns is harrowing business indeed!

Screws are fine. I know a few guys that actually built entire AK's with screws! You probably need to tap the holes in the rear trunion/rear block/thingy if you can't get a nut in there.

Go the the AK section at Gunboards, and do a search for "Screw build" or "AMD65". They should have the appropriate screw and tap sizes listed there. Some people used allen headed machine screws, and later filled in the hole in top so they looked like rivets.

 

Never should have started this project. Romanian trunion had to be ground down, but I expected that. The reciever is cut angle from the top so even after I get the trunion in I don't think a stock will fit right, even one made for an angle cut reciever. When I get it back together I'm just going to trade it in. Holes wouldn't match up for the trunion either. Now I'm going to have to re drill and have the other holes welded!

 

Ouch! Shadow, it sounds like you opened the proverbial can of worms!

I called Ironwood and they are out of stock (get it?) for at least a month. They make a Mak-90 replacement that fits the angle cut receivers. It's model #4-MA.

In the meantime, I located a Choate stock but it turned out it's for a milled receiver intstead of a stamped like mine. They make both models. I'm in the process of trying to make it work but I'm waiting on a grip screw nut that should be here today sometime. Once I get the nut, I'll be able to tell if a shim will fix the problem or if I need the model made for the stamped receiver.


Ram_Rod
:usa:

 

I've got a Choate stock back on mine. Problem with my MAC 90 reciever is it isn't a typical angle cut. It's a straight anglr from top to bottom. I never can get pics to post here but I have picks on AK-47.net under "socks for MAC 90"(should say stocks) <_< Only way I could get a stock to fit right is to have one custom made. Even after I cut the rear plate of and put a Romanian trunion in, I still have the problem of the complete angle cut. Regular angle cut doesn't start to angle till about half way down.

 

Shadow,

I got the Milled receiver model Choate stock to work with my stamped angle cut receiver. I had to hog out the tang slot a bit to get everything to ride properly in the stock but it worked fine after a couple passses with the Dremel grinder. At least it's usable now.

I wondered about cutting the bottom rail off the Choate stock to make it look a little better. I wonder if there is enough beef in the top rail to keep it from flexing? I erased the bottom rail in these pics. It looks much racier but might not be practical if it just flexes all over the place. Ideas? Opinions? PigPen?

Ram_Rod
h34r:

 

I ran over and caught the pictures of your AK, Shadow, how weird! Maybe you can get a premium on it just becasue of it's rarity? Probably not, but that's the only one I've *ever* seen like that.

RamRod; Interesting idea with that Choate. I don't know how rigid the plastic they make those out of is, but even with the lower members cut off, it can't be any worst than those single wire folding stocks they use on the AMD65. That's still not too great though.
Maybe chop the stock and modify it to look like one of the Ace, paratrooper style stocks? It would look better, less cumbersome, and be at least a little more rigid, and maybe even lighter than the original. Hose the whole thing down with truckbed liner to give it an even finish, and hide the cut marks.

 

You guys been reading my mind. I like the Ace look a like, Pigpen. I was even thinking on mine of chopping the stock off, leaving the pistol grip and the housing around the end of the reciever for fill in and support where I'm missing the rest of my reciever and putting a Romanian folder on it. I have one and it fits in the reciever. It just does't fit all the way in at the bottom because of the slant cut. I had a guy that wanted to buy it, but not after I took the rear plate out. It would be simple to put a plate back, welded to the trunion, but I guess it wouldn't be original then.
Ram Rod, check out RBU's web site. They have Krincov style paratrooper stocks, non folding, cut for a Chinese angle cut reciever for $59.95. I just talked to the guy. He has them in stock.

 

Dang Pigpen!

How about some diagrams! Woo Hoo! :lol:

I like the look of your idea. It might not be all that hard either. I was thinking if I cut the stock and it flexed too much, I could run a piece of threaded stock up at an angle from the butt to the receiver area like the Galil style stock and put some padding on it.

Another thing that might be an option, although a more expensive one, would be to get the AR/AK adapter from Randy at Blackjack Buffers (CAR stock adapter). I got one and tried it and it seems like it will work fine even on the angle cut receiver. It's basically a square looking piece that slides into the back of the receiver and secures with the inner tang screw. It has a round recepticle that takes AR style buffertubes and stocks. Then we could go get an ACE stock and throw it on there. This guy from the Blackjack page did and it looks cool!

Also, Ace stocks appears to have an AK adapter for their stocks but I've called three times and not got an answer yet. I'll keep trying them as it looks like the ACE one is metal.

It's great to have a forum to get input like this. Thanks!

Ram_Rod
:usa:

 

Ace does have AK adaptors but not for a stamped angle cut I think I found the answer to my problem. Talked to my smith today and he said he could cut and weld a piece onto my reciever to make it a straight cut. Even re-blue it :lol: I know this reciever is rare but to me it's useless for what I want it for. I know you understand. I want to put a folder on it and I don't want to give up the Norinco, espeacially knowing it's actually a MAC instead of a MAK.

 

Heh, who cares if it's original, so long as you got something that functions the way you want it to. Break out the welders, hacksaws and drills! :lol:
I think you'll finally get that MAC up and running now. :ar15:

 

Thats why I like talking to you. Guys on the AK 47 site act like I commited a frickin crime. My smith does some great work and if he says he can make it right he will. I think this is the answer to my problem. I found a 91 Maadi ARM-Intrac in good shape with the threaded barrel for $325. Pawn shop here(actually 2 of them) have over a dozen each. They bought them a while back and can't move them. Every one I looked at is a ARM. Some are kinda rough but when you have more than 20 to pick from it's not hard to find one you feel satisfied with. Now I just have to find the $325 See you later PP

 

Heh, I wouldn't worry about bubbafiying that MAC of yours. It has already been bubbafied by the import ban! You're merely restoring it.

Hey those Intrac ARM's are nice guns, not so problematic like the Century post ban hacks. You should go for one. $325 is a really good price for a pre-ban, heck there's one on Gunbroker with a Romanian folder on it going for over $1000 right now.
I really like my gimped Century MAADI MISR after I fixed it. The ARM should be in perfect working order. They're all pretty rough looking, both pre, and post ban, but I like how they're nearly identical to the Russkie AKM models. Heck, they even used all MAADI ARM's (Steyr import) in Red Dawn. --> Red Dawn MAADI
A little file/sander work to clean up the rough metal castings, a sandblast, and a good gun coating or park job would really improve the looks. That Egyptian enamel paint looks like trash, and flakes like crazy. It also feels like they sprinkle dirt all over some of the paint before it dries.

Good luck gathering the funds! :beer: