1886 Winchester 45-70 to 50-110
So, as I sit here, and after seeing a number of custom lever actions on this forum, I'm wondering about taking one of my 1886 Deluxe take-down Winchesters in 45-70 and having it made into a 50-110. I've always been an 1886 fan after my Great Grandfather had a 45-90 in one. Now, the gun I would use is one of the Miroku guns that Browning had manufactured in Japan; not an original 1886 so there's no "collector" issues with it.
The barrel is obvious - rebore or replace. The internals of the 1886 are more challenging though. A dummy 50-110 will not pass from the carrier to the barrel when the lever is closed due to clearance issues. I understand the internals on the 50-110 were machined differently than the others. (Maybe I'll ask the wife - she's a descendent of John Browning ;). She even has some of his gunsmithing tools - another story) Also, I want the externals color-case hardened instead of blued. Butt stock has the steel crescent butt plate. That needs to go away, or be converted to for shotgun style.
Gary et. al., your wisdom/thoughts please on such a project?