7.62 Conversion Builders Notes

[Sixty Driver 0]

My conversion is complete minus one cosmetic detail, the rear most lower side rivets will be added eventually and that should be that. I may pick up the Galil style hand guard in a few weeks just for grins,personally I think the factory hand guard looks fine but the Galil hand guard is "supposed" to stay cooler. I followed the instructions found here: My Webpage

 

Since the conversion on the previously mentioned web page is for a 223 and there are a few things that were vague for me (I am a total rookie) so I thought I would pass on my notes for anyone that's interested or considering a conversion.

 

I ordered the following items from Tapco:

 

G2 Single Hook Trigger Group

Saw style pistol grip

Grip Screw and Bushing (the screw is not needed)

AK Retaining Plate

Pro-Mag 30 Round Magazine

 

I orderd the following from K-Var:

 

NATO length US made Stock

 

I found the AK siderail mount with a Weaver rail at my local gun store and the cheap BSA quasi reflex was picked up at Dunhams. I've fired about 500 rounds through my Saiga prior to conversion and the BSA unit hasn't shown any signs of fatigue so I guess it was worth the money versus $300+ for the real deal.

 

First things first, here's my Saiga.

 

 

After breaking the rifle down I started with the removal of the existing fire control group, trigger guard and bottom cover exactly as shown on the web page. I reinstalled the trigger guard however I utilized hardened button head screws, the type that are tightened with an allen wrench/hex key. The button head screw heads were mounted so that the nut was on the bottom of the reciever. While I was at it, I used a button head screw to plug the hole in the bottom of the receiver just forward of the trigger however the button head is actually on the bottom of the receiver and at least simulates a rivet. I did deviate by drilling out the rivet that holds the mag catch lever and removed the mag catch lever and spring. This made drilling the hole much easier and I was going to have to grind the mag catch lever anyway. Unfortunately K-Var is out of stock on the particular rivet so I've substituted a roll pin as a temporary solution until K-Var gets more in stock.

 

Luckily all of the required openings were present on my reciever so the fire control group dropped right into place. Since I was going to reinstall the bolt hold open device (I'm a lefty) I had to grind off the thickness of the bolt hold open device from the RIGHT side of the hammer where the hammer axle passes through. While I was at it, I reshaped the bolt hold open lever where it exits the receiver so that it would be less obtrusive. The Tapco G2 Single Hook Trigger Group kit includes a bushing for the trigger. This bushing has a lip machined on one side. This bushing MUST be installed so that the rim is on the right side of the trigger and offsets the countersinking on the left side of the receiver. The G2 group is a HUGE improvement over the stock trigger group. Finally I used the AK Retaining Plate to lock the trigger and hammer axles into place, this thing is super slick and beats the the heck out of that dumb spring and eliminates having to install aluminum binding posts in the rear of the receiver. Finally I installed the pistol grip bushing. This required a bit of Dremel work on the bushing to get it to seat fully, a 2 minute job for the brain dead.

 

The bullet guide caused me some headaches. I wanted to use standard AK mags and the bullet guide as illustrated on the web site simply doesn't work, at least for the 7.62 using unmodified magazines. There are 3 critical things that must be reallized to get this to work properly.

 

1. If you look at the back face of the chamber, you will notice that from the 4 o'clock postion to the 11 o'clock position there is a ledge. The bullet guide should extend no further up the right side than to a hair below this ledge, otherwise the bolt will not rotate and seat proplerly.

 

2. It is not important for the bullet guide to extend higher than the bottom of the rivet that is on the left side ( 9 o'clock position) of the chamber.

 

3. The bullet guide should extend back from the face of the chamber to overhang the mag well. If you cut the guide so that it is as deep as possible and still fit into place, you have it right.

 

You can see in the pictures below how I shaped my bullet guide. After I drilled, tapped and mounted the bullet guide I put a couple rounds in the AK mag and marked where the tip of the bullets meet the bullet guide with a pencil. I then notched the bullet guide so the bullets could slide up and over the guide, otherwise they just run into the edge and go nowhere fast, particularly hollow point and soft point with their flat noses. I removed the bullet guide, made the notches for the bullet tips and chamfered the edges so the shell case would catch or drag on the sharp edge.

 

Bullet Guide Left Side of Chamber:

 

 

Bullet Guide Right Side of Chamber:

 

 

Bullet Guide Top View (note how far back the bullet guide extends)

 

 

The last thing to do was to grind the bottom of the mag catch lever to accomodate the thicker tab on the stock AK mag, this was done with the mag catch lever removed and I used a long roll pin to hold it in place during my trial and error grinding. Remember the old saying, you can remove more material but you can't put it back. Probably the trickiest bit was reinstalling the mag catch lever and the spring. I put this thing on 3 or 4 times and never figured out a sure fire simple way to do it. You need to use a drift or a finishing nail and it will take 50-100 tries to get the dumb thing back into place but it can be done ( I hear beer helps). It's alot of work to mess with but worth the effort to get everything just right.

 

I've jacked a few mags through this using Wolf HP. The rounds feed perfectly with one exception, the very last round doesn't feed. I suspect a weak mag spring since the first 29 rounds strip off perfectly. The other possibility is the follower may not be properly shaped since the bolt just slides over the top of the round. I haven't picked any steal mags yet to test but suspect they will work as well as the Pro-Mag, at least I hope they do. One of my goals was to be able to utilize standard unmodified AK mags, I'm half way there now at least and if worst comes to worst, I can pick up more Pro-Mags which are infinately cheaper than the fabled Saiga 30 rounders.

 

Finally, without having found this forum I would never have figured out how to mod this weapon. Kudos to all of the members here that have posted so much truely helpful information.

[pistonring8 1]

Damn dood, nice job on the conversion summery and pics. I think thats the best "How to" with pics of the bullet guide modification that I have seen yet! Um....Glad we could help.

 

We are gonna like having you around. Welcome!

[ShKAS 0]

Very nice tutorial!

 

As for the Galil-style handguards staying cooler, I've bumpfired mag after mag through my Saigas and have never gotten burned. They actually protect you better because they cover most of the gas chamber.

[glennb 0]

Sixty Driver, great post. I never had a problem with any ammo feeding over my bullet guide till I bought some Olympic ammo, and found that with two of my 30 rounds mags the bullet tip would stop dead on the face of the guide. I thought of beveling the entire edge, but notching it looks like a great solution. Thanks.

[Sixty Driver 0]

Thanks guys!

 

glennb, the bullet tip hitting the edge of the bullet guide was the problem I had with the first guide I made. The only bad thing about the guide I have now is I can't use the stock Saiga mag. Ultimately however I think trading the sole 10 rounder I own for being able to use any type of AK mag to be a no brainer trade off. I think the mod (for the mags) just makes the rifle infinately more useful and practical.

 

ShKAS thanks for the input, you probably just saved me 60 bucks.

[h8mtv 0]

Amazing job! Do not waste your dough on that Tapco crap. I bought a set and it was a waste of cash. Front end conversion can be done really easily by a man with Dremel-Fu powers such as yourself.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Sixty Driver great post man! Do I hear Sticky? It's always nice to see a good informative post.

 

I'm not 100% sure about the 7.62x39 factory mag because I don't have one with mine, but on my Saiga .223 at least, I modified my factory 10rd mag to clear the back edge of the bullet guide and it works fine now. You could add a little epoxy or something on the bottom of the rear lug if it won't fit tight enough with the modified catch.

[glennb 0]

Thanks guys!

 

glennb, the bullet tip hitting the edge of the bullet guide was the problem I had with the first guide I made. The only bad thing about the guide I have now is I can't use the stock Saiga mag. Ultimately however I think trading the sole 10 rounder I own for being able to use any type of AK mag to be a no brainer trade off. I think the mod (for the mags) just makes the rifle infinately more useful and practical.

 

ShKAS thanks for the input, you probably just saved me 60 bucks.

 

 

I modified my original 10 round Saiga mag to clear the extended length of my bullet guide. I basically just cut out the material at the top front of the mag like a standard AK mag. It was a waste of time though; my kid mainly uses the Saiga now, and he doesnt want to use anything other than the 20 and 30 rounders.

[stokstad 4]

If you dont want to go through the trouble of using rivets for the holes in the reciever go to the harware store and pick up some 3/16 nylon hole plugs. They look just like rivets and pop right in with no fuss

Edited November 26, 2005 by stokstad

[Sixty Driver 0]

Thanks for the tip stokstad! I was thinking about using the same button head screws I used on the trigger guard etc but decided that I would go with the rivets, if I even get around to buying them that is.

[zipgun 0]

That's the prettiest bullet guide I've seen.

 

My bullet guide is about half as wide as yours. I found that the bullet will hit the lower edge of the chamber bracket and then slide up onto the bullet guide and in. But yours looks a lot nicer. To plug the receiver holes I just used aluminum pop rivets and painted over them. Easy and cheap.