With the suburban gone, and no other project vehicles on my radar for now, I can focus on gun builds more.
Here’s the latest finished build so this site has some fresh content.
Mama mia!
The Italian military adopted the 5.56 gas piston operated Beretta AR70/90 as their standard issue service rifle in 1990 to replace the AR70 and incorporate improvements such as accepting the standard NATO 5.56 STANAG magazine. It’s still in service today, but currently being phased out for the Beretta ARX-160.
I didn’t know a thing about the AR70/90 until I saw the demilled parts kits for sale back in December of last year. I was spurred to purchase a kit by the current political winds endangering home builds. I also thought it was similar to the 5.56 FN FNC, a rifle I lust for but is too pricey to buy, and parts kits aren’t available. Additionally, once you build so many ARs, you just start looking for more challenging projects!
The kit came with no barrel. The rear sight, front trunnion, ejector tab, and dust cover were removed from the old upper receiver which was also not included. My kit was in good shape showing normal wear and use. Not much rust. My bolt and bolt carrier were new in a wrapper. Many kits had new bolt assemblies like mine, and condition of kits vary as far as rust and how clean the demil of upper receiver parts was done. I was lucky to get such a clean kit.
It’s estimated that about 1000 parts kits were imported, which means this is a very rare rifle to own. Probably not as desirable as other similar rifles. I imagine as the Italian military continues to phase out the AR70/90 there will be more of these kits imported but who knows. Importing kits in general has slowed down as costs and paperwork challenges increase.
Parts kit mock up for fun:
So with the help of the weapons guild forum (WG) builder community I got to it.
First off were the semi auto mods and denials per a write up by a pioneering member of the WG forum. Things were deleted, things were added, things were welded, yada yada. Now it is semi auto and can not be converted back. I also machined a couple replacement parts to achieve 922r compliance.
At first it looked like I would be bending a flat to make the upper receiver shell. I wasn’t looking forward to that given the geometry of the receiver shell. Then a guy on the WG forum started producing bent 80% receiver shells that came with loose rails and a rear trunnion.
The front trunnion was salvaged from the demil and new locating tabs for it were included in the 80% kit. For locating these important tabs on the front trunnion I borrowed a welding jig from WG that someone donated to the forum. I just had to pay shipping to the next builder and wait about a week for my turn at it.
Then the rails and front and rear trunnion were all welded together. It took 3 or 4 attempts to get everything tacked together right with the TIG torch to where the bolt moved effortlessly. Then I welded those parts together for good. The ejector tab was riveted and tack welded in place, as was done by Beretta originally.
All the welding done on this project required patience and copper backing bars to minimize heat distortion.
I did some milling on the receiver shell to get it ready then this project sat for two months or so waiting for new barrels to hit the market.
Finally I got a barrel last week. It was dimensionally perfect, and passed a go/no-go gauge check when installed in the front trunnion.
Since the upper receiver shell is basically just an action cover, I did a test fire wearing all the PPE in the world to confirm function. Everything went well.
Here is a slow motion video of a function test I did when the barrel arrived, before welding on the upper receiver shell.
https://i.imgur.com/mpCU3jB.mp4
Next the upper receiver shell overall length was milled a little to fit the lower, and it was welded in place. Lots of welding and waiting for things to cool. Some minor distortion required some filing of the charging handle slot and a few other edges.
I bore sighted the rifle at a point in the distance and tack welded the rear sight in place, aiming the sight it at the same point. Then the rear sight base was welded on for good and so was the dust cover piece.
Originally the upper receiver shell welds were nice evenly piled up MIG welds and some small rivets were used, but to keep it simple and use my existing skillset I went with flush TIG welds. It’s not perfect or original but I’m quite satisfied with it. I can always go back and re-do it some day. I am a hobby welder and machinist, so I’m happy when just about any weld or pass of an end mill turns out nice.
I gave it a quick coat of “good enough” black spray paint and enjoyed some test firing today. The paint actually looks a lot better than I expected. My rear sight alignment was very close with just one click of windage needed to zero the rifle.
It’s a nice shooter. Zero malfunctions. Minimal recoil, simple controls. The safety is a surprisingly hard reach for even my large hands and the trigger has a lot of room for improvement but it’s all manageable.
What a heavy rifle! I can’t imagine this thing loaded up with a heavy optic, an IR laser, under barrel grenade launcher, and a spare mag in a pouch on the stock as current photos show them outfitted.
One interesting feature is the “pistol style” sights built into the top of the removable carry handle. I imagine these are for quick shots in CQB, but being so high above the bore your hits are 4-6” below point of aim at close distance.
If I can find an original surplus sling I will call it finished. A few have popped up on ebay but I missed them.
What did it cost?
Demilled parts kit $378
80% receiver kit $383
New barrel $323
Total $1084
Not included- a bunch of time, welding consumables, some home made parts from metal laying around, etc.
A nice home built AR70/90 just sold on gunbroker at $3500. If saving money was the goal then I did well. But it wasn’t. The goal was to take on a challenging build and have a rifle that is “exotic”. I’m really pleased with the outcome.
This build wouldn’t have been possible without the WG forum. Their motto is “builders helping builders” and they are a smart and helpful bunch!
If you want to build one there are some parts kits on Gunbroker right now for $400. Also on there are the barrels, which you can obtain a little cheaper through the WG forum. I think receiver flats are available but the 80% run is done and I’m not sure if more will be made. The best chance for that to happen is to let the guy know you want one via the WG forum.
I have more interesting builds in the works as most of the guns I want are rare or too expensive to buy finished so back to the builder’s bench I go.
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