# Restoring .303 Lee Enfield No1 MKIII ShtLE



## Jared1987 (1 Mar 2009)

I have a 1943 Lee Enfield that has been sporterized and im lookin at restoring to military style. im just wonder roughly how much it would cost around. pictures will be posted later.  the barrell is full lenght, all thats been removed from what i can tell is the upper front and rear handguards, nose cap, sling brackets, and the forestock has been cut down.


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## Fdtrucker (1 Mar 2009)

1943 No.1 Mk 3 SMLE, I'm not sure that is correct. The NO. 4 Rifle was adopted in Nov 1939 (it looked  very similar to the 1923 Mk.VI of 1923). You might want to check other pubs, like the one by Robert J. Dynes (the Lee: British Service Rifle from 1888 to 1950 or .303 rifle, No.4 by Ian Skennerton.


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## Eric_911 (2 Mar 2009)

Fdtrucker said:
			
		

> 1943 No.1 Mk 3 SMLE, I'm not sure that is correct.



I thought it sounded odd also. I would also assume, based on the date that it would be a No4 MkI. 

But, I was just looking at wiki (for what that is worth), apparently No1 MkIII*'s were still being made by Lithgow until they ceased production of it in 1953. So it may be plausible.

FWIW, I have a No1 MkIII* (1917) BSA sporter that shoots quite nicely. I am also looking into the possibility of restoring it to original mil configuration, so I'm looking for options in forestock wood and hardware. MARSTAR has the parts on their site, but of course, none in stock.

Does anyone know where to get furniture for No1 MKIII's? (Preferably at a price which does not merit just buying a full-wood Enfield in the first place)

Cheers,
Eric


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## Fishbone Jones (2 Mar 2009)

Numrich or Brownells would be a good bet.


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## 1feral1 (2 Mar 2009)

Firstly, are you sure its a No1 MkIII?

A good way to indicate this, is the location of the rear sight. If it is on the barrel ahead of the chamber, its a No1 MkIII. If its behind the bollt handle, its a No4 Mk1/Mk1*.

Please indicate any makers marks, located on the right hand side of the rifle, under the bolt.

RFI No1 MkIII's are 1943 and beyond. I had an old RFI 42 in Canada. Also so are Lithgows, so could be Aussie also. I have two Lithgows, a 1916, and a 1942. Lithgow No1 MkIIIs were made into the 1950s. Lithgows 1940s are marked MA on the receivers.

For No1 MkIII, you will need to ensure the fol:
- barrel is original length, uncut and has original front sight (if its altered you cannot restore it).
- rear sight is original 
- bolt matches to serial on rifle, if not IMHO its not worth converting. This also goes if the reciever has been drilled and tapped for a scope. Often the magazine charger is removed for this purpose.

Now, if memory serves me right, you will need a set of wood (complete). This consists of the fol:
butt stock w/ butt plate screws and rear sling swivel w/bracket and 2 screws
forestock
forestock upper, front
forestock rear 
rear sight protectors w/ screw
nose cap w/screw detent and spring, and side retaining screw
front sling swivel band w/ swivel and screw

Make sure you take off the stock before the other wood. If not you will destroy the forestock.

You can take some pics and post them here if you are uncertain.

If you live in a city, they have gunshows, you can buy all of this stuff you need to convert. Speak to a dealer at a table, and tell him your delema, and he will have it all. I would say you should be prepared to spend $80-$100 for what you need. 

No4 Mk1's require a reciever ring to hold the top rear foreend on, and its a bit more complicated, as the front sight ears have to be removed, and this ring slid on. Finding one might not be as easy either.

Waiting to hear back from you. 

Good luck.

Let us know how you go.

OWDU
Armourer


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## 1feral1 (2 Mar 2009)

Fdtrucker said:
			
		

> 1943 No.1 Mk 3 SMLE, I'm not sure that is correct. The NO. 4 Rifle was adopted in Nov 1939



The No4 rifle may have been in production in the UK in the early years of WW2, but the UK manufactured SMLE No1 MkIII (mostly all WW1 dated rifles) were in Cdn hands at Dieppe in 1942. The English also used the No1 MkIII at Dieppe.

Canada started producing the No4 in 1941, but had pumped out less than 7600 rifles by the years end, and only 200 rifles as of 30 Sep 41.

I have a LB, 36L56XX, 1943 original ($25.00 rifle bought with a drivers licence for ID at Regina Hardware bought in 1977 - those were the days). Mint condition unissued, never restored, museum grade.

The ground had only been turned in 1940 for the LB factory. Canada was still a baby in the small arms industry in those days.

Regards,

Wes


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## Jared1987 (2 Mar 2009)

I havent had a chance to take pictures of the rifle yet  but on the right side of the reciever theres markings of a Crown with 1943 under it and the under that there is the Marking  ShtLE No1 MKIII. Ive checked the barrell lenght and it seems to be left uncut i believe the butt stock has been cut down nothing to worry about since i want to restore it and the rifle has not been drilled and tap for a scope. Other markings on this rifle consiste of about 5 or 6 little crowns with numbers and other markins that im not sure of ill get some pictures of the rifle tonite and post them.


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## Biathloneil (2 Mar 2009)

Here are some of my resources:
http://www.milsurps.com:80/eznewsletter.php?i=1233181209
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=2202
http://www.chuckhawks.com/303British.htm
http://www.303british.com/index.html
http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/ti17.htm
http://www.lexpev.nl/manuals/index.html
http://mcdonald.chris.tripod.com/SMLE_rifle.htm    
And there are a few fellows on GunNutz with some pointers
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=75

Hope you enjoy your piece of history but they're kind of like chips/beer. You'll eventually want more than one. :nod:
-Neil


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## acen (2 Mar 2009)

+1 on gunnutz, you will find a vast array of resources available for the restorer, check out louthepou's works of art on there, great guy, lots of knowledge and does beautiful work. Jouster can also be a good resource. Milsurps.com is probably the best though. I recently finished restoring a No.1 Mk.III* 1917 Lithgow, from cut down wood back to its original glory. The full wood kit and parts are available for around 80$ US, and this is normally from DP Indian rifles. The stocks do clean up, but if your nitpicky they mostly have Ishy screws (Ishapore would put a screw threw the side of the main wood in order to strengthen it, cheap fix to a problem that existed, but enough to make the picky restorers cringe). It is very doable, its a nice project actually. You might have to do some rebluing of the metal (or parkerizing, depending on what is historically accurate) but your not done for. Please use linseed oil to finish...its historically accurate and just looks so much better than than tung oil in my opinion. I'm still an amateur, but feel free to ask any questions you have, I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck with the project.


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## my72jeep (2 Mar 2009)

Wes I have a Enfield 1916 SmLE? SatLE?lll*????? not sure of that marking it was my Grandfathers issue in the Home guard. I just never was able to figure witch was the real mark? SatLE or SMLE. any insight?


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## Fishbone Jones (2 Mar 2009)

Here's a site that is a wealth of info on Enfields: http://www.enfield-stuff.com/ including markings.


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## 1feral1 (3 Mar 2009)

my72jeep said:
			
		

> Wes I have a Enfield 1916 SmLE? SatLE?lll*????? not sure of that marking it was my Grandfathers issue in the Home guard. I just never was able to figure witch was the real mark? SatLE or SMLE. any insight?



How does 'Sht'LE or ShtMLE, cant remember, but that just means Short. Hope that helps. How about a pic and a close up of the markings.


Cheers,

Wes


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## acen (3 Mar 2009)

Spot on Wes, they are variations that represent the same thing, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. Thats why the no.3 is known as the SMLE, or smelly to proper addicts.


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## Jared1987 (4 Mar 2009)

Here are some pictures of my 1943 lee enfield ShtLE No1 MKIII*


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## Jared1987 (4 Mar 2009)

couple more pictures  ill have to get a full gun pictures tonight  my other picture didnt turn out the greatist


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## Eric_911 (4 Mar 2009)

Ikk... is that rust bubbling up from under the wood, between the chamber and rear sight? How does the bore look?

Mine has sportered wood, but everything metal on it is beautiful. Even the crown on the barrel is nice.

Good luck on your re-furb!


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## Jared1987 (4 Mar 2009)

i never really took a close look at the but nots its just how the wood and metal meet up. bore looks in pretty good shape. shoots pretty good. only have put a few rounds throught it though


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## 1feral1 (5 Mar 2009)

Jared1987 said:
			
		

> couple more pictures  ill have to get a full gun pictures tonight  my other picture didnt turn out the greatist



She's good to go, unaltered. I hope you go the gunshow route for getting the parts required as otheres mentioned are from India etc. At shows there is more variety, and you have a better chance of picking up UK parts or maybe even Aussie coachwood. I would steer away from the Indian crap.

Keep us posted please.

OWDU


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## Shrek1985 (16 Apr 2009)

Restoring a Lee-Enfield is very rewarding process, even if finding all the parts can be a pain.

Anyone know where i can find nosecap screws for my No1 MKIII*?


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