I've recently acquired a Spitfire parts kit and a complete Eagle Carbine with spring issues that needed to be addressed. I thought this post would be a good chance to show all of the differences on the round tube upper Volunteer Enterprises, Eagle and Spitfire. While they all look very similar, there are differences.
The very first version made was the Eagle. The fit and finish of the parts is much nicer than the later versions (metal is blued and some type of finish applied other than cheap scrappy paint that flakes). The stock looks like a Thompson surplus part and the front grip is different with a longer set of fake fins. The front sight is a different design with more detail in the part. The upper tube has the serial number and the lower has all the other information (all other versions has the serial number on the lower). It has the selector lever for the safety (difference design than the Spitfire) and the barrel is held in differently than all later manufacturers (threaded into a small machined trunnion and upper held to the lower with a single bolt on the front /stock bolt on the back).
The upper tube is quite different in the cuts on the bottom. It has an extra clearance cut missing from the later versions for a white nylon buffer block. The rest of the cuts are in the same areas as the Spitfire upper. Instead of an elector being welded into the upper like later versions, it uses a hook on the front of the disconnector. The sear is very nice quality and looks to be a machined part. The wire spring on this one is goofed up, but the Spitfire spring looks about the same and will serve the same function. The coil spring looks wrong and might be one of the reasons why the Eagle was having cycling issues (there is a one year old thread that covered just this rifle by itself).
Next week have the Spitfire made in Phoenix Arizona that was reclassified as a machinegun due to a defect in the safety selector. This was turned into a parts kit due to being illegally transferred several times in the 90s and all parties that could have rectified the problem are now dead. The current owner opted to have it destroyed. The upper is very similar to the Eagle except for the fixed ejector and easily removable barrel/trunnion with 3 bolts. The front sight is different and they changed the buffer system to a rubber round block in the back similar to a Tec9 buffer, just much bigger. This does not have the pressed tube around the arm where the recoil springs go (guessing it was to keep people from using a Grease Gun bolt). This also has a fixed ejector that is welded into the top tube.
I do not have a Spitfire lower, but I do have a complete Volunteer Enterprises lower (lower with no finish, just bare metal) that the rest of the rifle was in unuseable condition (had sent it off to Scott Andrey 2 years ago and haven't gotten it back, glad I kept the lower). It has a much thinner coil spring than the one in the Eagle. The lower has a push button safety (to avoid the issues that the Spitfire had) and a different profile of disconnector than the Eagle or the Spitfire. My plan is to mate this lower up to the Spitfire upper. There needs to be a clearance cut to the bottom of the upper tube for the sear to function. Another thing I noticed on the Volunteer Enterprises lowers is that the trigger pin goes all the way through, but the other 2 pins are blind pined so you can not easily take them out to mess with the internals (again, something they changed after the Spirfire issues). This will be nice to take a lower and make it back into the closest thing you can have to a title 1 Spitfire.
Next up we have the complete Volunteer Enterprises carbine (has flaking paint on the lower and forward grip base). This was the last version of the round tube open bolts produced after the Spitfire fiasco.
This has more things done to keep people from messing with the internals. The bottom bolt that holds the upper and lower together has a weld to keep it from being removed. The back cap (usually held in by one of the stock bolts) has a weld along the bottom. The internals are probably identical to the other example I have, just in better condition.
The front sight looks the same as the Spitfire, but they redesigned the forward grip to have wood (it was loose, so I had to shorten the bolt).
I've attached pictures of everything below. Feel free to give me advice on cutting the bottom of the Spitfire upper to work with the Volunteer Enterprises lower and what would need to be done with the coil spring to fix the issues with the Eagle.
The very first version made was the Eagle. The fit and finish of the parts is much nicer than the later versions (metal is blued and some type of finish applied other than cheap scrappy paint that flakes). The stock looks like a Thompson surplus part and the front grip is different with a longer set of fake fins. The front sight is a different design with more detail in the part. The upper tube has the serial number and the lower has all the other information (all other versions has the serial number on the lower). It has the selector lever for the safety (difference design than the Spitfire) and the barrel is held in differently than all later manufacturers (threaded into a small machined trunnion and upper held to the lower with a single bolt on the front /stock bolt on the back).
The upper tube is quite different in the cuts on the bottom. It has an extra clearance cut missing from the later versions for a white nylon buffer block. The rest of the cuts are in the same areas as the Spitfire upper. Instead of an elector being welded into the upper like later versions, it uses a hook on the front of the disconnector. The sear is very nice quality and looks to be a machined part. The wire spring on this one is goofed up, but the Spitfire spring looks about the same and will serve the same function. The coil spring looks wrong and might be one of the reasons why the Eagle was having cycling issues (there is a one year old thread that covered just this rifle by itself).
Next week have the Spitfire made in Phoenix Arizona that was reclassified as a machinegun due to a defect in the safety selector. This was turned into a parts kit due to being illegally transferred several times in the 90s and all parties that could have rectified the problem are now dead. The current owner opted to have it destroyed. The upper is very similar to the Eagle except for the fixed ejector and easily removable barrel/trunnion with 3 bolts. The front sight is different and they changed the buffer system to a rubber round block in the back similar to a Tec9 buffer, just much bigger. This does not have the pressed tube around the arm where the recoil springs go (guessing it was to keep people from using a Grease Gun bolt). This also has a fixed ejector that is welded into the top tube.
I do not have a Spitfire lower, but I do have a complete Volunteer Enterprises lower (lower with no finish, just bare metal) that the rest of the rifle was in unuseable condition (had sent it off to Scott Andrey 2 years ago and haven't gotten it back, glad I kept the lower). It has a much thinner coil spring than the one in the Eagle. The lower has a push button safety (to avoid the issues that the Spitfire had) and a different profile of disconnector than the Eagle or the Spitfire. My plan is to mate this lower up to the Spitfire upper. There needs to be a clearance cut to the bottom of the upper tube for the sear to function. Another thing I noticed on the Volunteer Enterprises lowers is that the trigger pin goes all the way through, but the other 2 pins are blind pined so you can not easily take them out to mess with the internals (again, something they changed after the Spirfire issues). This will be nice to take a lower and make it back into the closest thing you can have to a title 1 Spitfire.
Next up we have the complete Volunteer Enterprises carbine (has flaking paint on the lower and forward grip base). This was the last version of the round tube open bolts produced after the Spitfire fiasco.
This has more things done to keep people from messing with the internals. The bottom bolt that holds the upper and lower together has a weld to keep it from being removed. The back cap (usually held in by one of the stock bolts) has a weld along the bottom. The internals are probably identical to the other example I have, just in better condition.
The front sight looks the same as the Spitfire, but they redesigned the forward grip to have wood (it was loose, so I had to shorten the bolt).
I've attached pictures of everything below. Feel free to give me advice on cutting the bottom of the Spitfire upper to work with the Volunteer Enterprises lower and what would need to be done with the coil spring to fix the issues with the Eagle.
