Rekraps Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Hello! This topic has come up before and there seems to be lots of information floating around regarding the non-C&R (tube) Swedish K M45 guns out there. So, I decided to contact two individuals who are in the know about these units, Jerry Prasser of ReconOrdnance and John Andrewski whom we all know. Here is what I have been told, by the individuals who bought the tubes, built the guns and repaired others. I tried to take notes, but of course there was so much information that while most of this will be correct, I may be off on a small point or two. Let's start with the Wilson "L" series guns. ReconOrdnance bought 200 of the tubes (just the upper receiver) from Wilson Arms Company. 100 of those, along with Port Said kits were shipped to Andrewski for him and his dad to assemble/build. The assembly process mated the Port Said lower receiver, FCG, trunnion shroud and other parts to the Wilson tube. About 60 or so of the 100 were finished in Parkerized while the remainder were painted green over Park. The guns Andrewski built were not necessarily sequentially SN ordered. John's comments about the "L" series uppers (tubes) was that they were excellent in initial quality and required almost no fit and finish work to mate with the Port Said kits. Very high quality and the finished products were, and are still great pieces. John and his dad also assembled many more "L" series guns that came to them from individuals or collectors who bought the uppers directly from ReconOrdnance. These guns were likewise excellent in quality and finish. Wilson also produced about 200 of the "MB" series receivers. These differed from the "L" series in that they had a Wilson manufactured lower welded to the upper (tube) and were sold in that configuration. John and his dad did not receive a batch of these "MB" series guns to assemble, so that work (building the guns) was done by other gunsmiths. What John and his dad did do was fix or repair MANY of the "MB" series guns. The issue was that the lower receiver was not manufactured to "good" tolerances and there were issues with weld beads, sear height, pin alignment and what John called, "overall out of spec" manufacturing. Significant work was required to be performed on the guns they took in in order to make them fit and function like a "L" series. John and his dad took in quite a few (according to John) and early in the process (mid-1990's or so) when prices were still in the $500 range for the guns, owners would not spend the money to completely overhaul the guns, so repairs were made to make the guns work, but not necessarily to look and feel (appearance) like the "L" series. Later, as prices of the guns rose to the mid-$5000's, owners would pay to have the full suite of refurbishment/repairs done. Not all "MB" series guns were bad from the start, but there were significant numbers that were. By now, John feels that most of the guns have been reworked by him or some other gunsmith. The guns John and his dad overhauled are of the same quality in form, appearance and function as the "L" series, and Andrewski stands behind all of his work 100%. Wilson also produced some of the "L" series that had a different roll stamp. The ones Andrewski built are all "Wilson Arms Company", Brunswick GA, L-xxx. The others are "WAC", Brunswick GA, L-xxx. Some guns were produced by Pearl and John's comments on these guns was that given the choice, the "L" and "MB" series are a better choice. He did not elaborate. Finally, John and his dad produced around 12 - 15 M45B "select fire" guns for owners who had M45B kits and wanted this to be done. Those guns are custom built to order and in collections somewhere. The gun John just built for me (I own two of his) is a M45C. This gun is a "MB" series, built on a Crown kit, completely reworked by John that includes the M45B end cap, the M45C shroud (with bayonet lug), all new welds and 100% correct alignment/fit/finish of the mechanicals. The gun is finished in Swedish Green, blued rivets and folding stock trunnion, blued barrel and bolt/sights. Many hours of hand work were involved in the build. I'll post pics when I get them. The gun is on the way on form 3. The other one I own is a "L" series M45 kpist, finished in Park. Beautiful gun. So that's the story for now, if you have any questions ask. If I can find the answers, I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 John said the reason the Port Said kits were used in the initial batch was that they only cost $40 at the time! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 One final note, when speaking with John, I asked his opinion on what the next "K" gun would be with respect to increasing demand and price. Without hesitation, he said the Smith & Wesson M76. Just like we said! These guns are all C&R and a super value for the current market price of ~$15K or so. Plus, more spare parts are being manufactured. About 6000 were made, all of them were "U" series SN, with many being destroyed in the WTC collapse. If you see one, buy it was John's advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper28 Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Excellent information Rekraps. It clears up all of the questions about the L and MB series as the info comes right from the builder. Great work! Now lets get that Swedish K forum. I have had L-15x for many years with the Parkerized finish and love it. It was built by the Andrewski's on a Port Said receiver, looks great, is accurate and 100% reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 4 hours ago, Chopper28 said: Excellent information Rekraps. It clears up all of the questions about the L and MB series as the info comes right from the builder. Great work! Now lets get that Swedish K forum. I have had L-15x for many years with the Parkerized finish and love it. It was built by the Andrewski's on a Port Said receiver, looks great, is accurate and 100% reliable. Hey Chopper, why don't you amend the Topic title to the Swedish K forum post to include the S&W M76! I bet we'd get more support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 I can tell you that my real Swedish K is one of the most favorite guns I own but hardly shoot. I have a post sample K that I beat on instead of shooting the real one. That is an interesting story for sure and it’s nice to know the history behind them. While I would love a transferable one, I can’t justify the money they go for now. I’ll settle for what I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 53 minutes ago, Got Uzi said: I can tell you that my real Swedish K is one of the most favorite guns I own but hardly shoot. I have a post sample K that I beat on instead of shooting the real one. That is an interesting story for sure and it’s nice to know the history behind them. While I would love a transferable one, I can’t justify the money they go for now. I’ll settle for what I have now. Everyone loves the "K"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got Uzi Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 I was never into them until I got my hands on one and then when I did….it was all over. The K is one of the best kept secrets in the NFA world, those that know, they know. Those that don’t know a thing about the K live in ignorant bliss LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/25/2023 at 6:26 PM, Got Uzi said: I was never into them until I got my hands on one and then when I did….it was all over. The K is one of the best kept secrets in the NFA world, those that know, they know. Those that don’t know a thing about the K live in ignorant bliss LOL Word is getting out... prices are going nuts. I paid $16K two years ago for a very nice one and now.... high $20's, low $30's. Plus the gun is a great shooter and quite the looker. It looks like a SMG should look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted March 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2023 (edited) Nothing more needs to be said. Edited January 25 by Rekraps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted May 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2023 Wanted to bring this to the top of the forum for those of you who had an interest in how many transferrable "K" s there were (round abouts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillinBama Posted May 18, 2023 Report Share Posted May 18, 2023 So..why are some called "L" and some "MB?" Is it just the S/N prefix or something else? BTW, I bought a Port Said kit way back when, don't remember how much I paid but it probably wasn't much over $75-80. Those were the days. I do remember when I sold it I thought I'd robbed the buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted May 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 On 5/17/2023 at 9:28 PM, BillinBama said: So..why are some called "L" and some "MB?" Is it just the S/N prefix or something else? BTW, I bought a Port Said kit way back when, don't remember how much I paid but it probably wasn't much over $75-80. Those were the days. I do remember when I sold it I thought I'd robbed the buyer. That's a great question. I'll ask Andrewski next week when he's back from vacation. I sold a K kit about a year ago for $1650 and thought likewise... now they are over $2K! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo Posted May 19, 2023 Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 Yes, its the serial number prefix. I still have a Port Said kit as my spares for my K. I think I paid less than $100 for it. I had the barrel threaded unfortunately, wish I had another spare barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewisfan Posted May 19, 2023 Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 Nah. I sold this one with all extras shown. Nice package. Had a factory pre-sample years ago. Should've kept that one too. Oh well. Glad that I've had a chance to play with some VERY nice and rare guns over the years. Wish that I could've kept more of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewisfan Posted May 19, 2023 Report Share Posted May 19, 2023 Oops. This was supposed to go in another thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted February 13, 2024 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2024 Thought I would repost this thread for those new Forum members who got smart and bought a K! To add to this, there is some question about select fire M45B's having a removable magazine well. The removable magazine well was only on at the M45 KPIST versions, not any of the select fire versions. Also, all the M45 KPIST's (which were the kits for the MB and L series guns) were originally manufactured and parkerized that deep gray color (Swedish exports and Port Said) we all know. The Swedes may have "refurbished" units and painted them the Green color we like, but the correct color (finish) is parkerized. Of course that being said, virtually all of the MB and L series guns (which account for most of the guns out there in the US) were in fact painted Green by Stan and John Andrewski when they manufactured the guns years ago. John told me a few made it out parkerized. John also restores the older K's and makes them better than new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted February 13, 2024 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2024 The original Swedish versions are: m/45 KPIST: Parkerized with removable magazine well m/45S: Parkerized with integral suppressor m/45B: Green with select fire, fixed magazine well (stick magazines only) m/45C: Green with select fire, fixed magazine well, bayonet lug on shroud Egypt made M45's under license in the KPIST (Port Said) version only. Parkerized, full auto only, removable mag well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted April 11, 2024 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2024 Wanted to repost this as there may some Forum members considering the sacred, incredible, rare and not nearly as expensive as it should be.... Swedish K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted November 21, 2024 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2024 I wanted to resurrect this thread after speaking with Andrewski again last week. Now that we know there are about 400 guns out there, for those of you who own a early Andrewski Port Said, or an MB series gun, and want to really make it a beauty, contact John and tell him you want the mac-daddy overhaul. Now that the guns are in the 30's, a few grand to make them museum pieces is well worth the bucks. One of mine that John re-did for me is so gorgeous I can't bring myself to shoot it. The other of course, I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger1385 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 On 5/19/2023 at 12:28 PM, Lewisfan said: Nah. I sold this one with all extras shown. Nice package. Had a factory pre-sample years ago. Should've kept that one too. Oh well. Glad that I've had a chance to play with some VERY nice and rare guns over the years. Wish that I could've kept more of them! I believe the K is on Gunbroker? Wilson Arms Co. Swedish K (M45) TRANSFERABLE - Other Rifles at GunBroker.com : 1084148251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewisfan Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 That's the one. That was the package that I previously sold. Gun has been reworked and all spares painted to match. Not my sale in GB and I don't know who is currently selling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger1385 Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 Thanks for the response. I was wondering if it was the same one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rekraps Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 6 hours ago, Lewisfan said: That's the one. That was the package that I previously sold. Gun has been reworked and all spares painted to match. Not my sale in GB and I don't know who is currently selling it. Great rig. When I do sell, I'll post all my guns as a rig (with all the goodies!). By way of this thread, I'll also correct an earlier post in this thread about the types of K's made: M45 - Parkerized, FA only, removable magazine well, large hole shroud, V1 receiver end cap M45B - 1954, Swedish Green over Parkerized, FA only, riveted magazine well, small hole shroud, V2 end cap M45C - same as M45B or M45D with bayonet lug on shroud M45D - Same as M45B with select fire instead of FA only M45S - Same as M45 with integral can Egypt made M45 Parkerized only, FA only under Swedish License Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labanaktis Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 Should note the Port Saaid built K’s were made on Swedish Tooling then Marty Pearl got the tooling and built transferables with it. I do not know the number unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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