refurbished Theoben Sirocco Classic

[thisisdonald]

Hi Folks, just thought Id share my refurbished Sirocco with you..
I bought this a couple of years ago in beat up condition, and i finally got around to fixing her up.
I sent the action away to Colin at MAG and he did an absolute bang up job of polishing and bluing. I went for the blue over chemical black because every old theoben I ever saw had really nice bluing so I figured it was good steel it was worth the few extra quid.

Being impatient, I also bought the Best Fittings charging kit, so I could get shooting as soon as it was rebuilt. Its worth noting that some older rammers have a different thread for the schrader valve than the adapters that come with it... I have Severnsrider to thank for the heads up on that. He had been in talks with Best Fittings and they have produced a new adapter for the charging adapter. Anyone considering purchasing the adapter should take this into consideration and call Best Fittings before ordering. [BTW my gun is a March 198 Sirocco Classic serial TB4134]. Best fitting sent me the new adapter and it fits perfect. The Best Fittings kit is good because it has a quick release which allows rotation when pumping so you wont pull the gun off the bench. Pumping is simple and very easy, hardly any effort at all. I screwed the adapter into the gun before attaching the hose - the Sirocco is also easy because you can access the charging hole without taking the gun out of the stock.

I have made a walkthrough for the trigger reassembly as this seems to be a little covered subject for these triggers. The trigger is the same as a Webley Omega. I believe the trigger is the same as the one on the Siroccos which have the push tab within the trigger guard.

When it came to setting the power, these are the results I got. Bear in mind that this is a Pre HE model and is under much less pressure than the later HE models.
30 pumps - 3.1 fpe
35 pumps - 6.5 fpe
36 pumps - 6.6 fpe
40 pumps - 7.7 fpe
45 pumps - 8.9 fpe
50 pumps - 10.1 fpe
55 pumps - 11.2 fpe
These results were with 14.5g superdomes.


I hope this is of some use to anyone with an old pre HE Theoben. These are great guns and Im really looking forward to getting her new legs stretched.
thanks for looking
D

[Blackrider]

A Lovely job, well done !

Like the bit about the "blueing" and good to see the early Theoben mounts !

[severnsider]

Lovely job Donald. Colin's polishing and blueing really is superb. The trigger "walkthough" is very helpful - thanks for sharing it with us all.

[thisisdonald]

thanks guys.. Im not the best refurbisher out there, and granted, I didnt blue this one, so its not like I really did much to it... I like to bring guns back to a level that Ill be comfortable using without fear of marking it again...
Now I know the standard to achieve, Ill be converting the bench grinder to a polishing machine, and building some bluing tanks in the summer.. I already have Angiers book and Im trying to decipher the easiest recipe to try..
thanks again

[rabbitwrecker]

Isn't she lovely...

[MartynB]

Done a really nice job on that Donald

Took a lot of pumps, assume Slim Jim, to get a reasonable power level

[The Squire]

Well done Donald, that looks spot on.

[Elliott]

Looks a beauty. Well done for taking the time and spending the dosh!

[Rickenbacker]

Great post. And a classy gun you've got there fella.

[ELMOR FUDD]

You've made a really nice job of that well done.��

[thisisdonald]

Thanks lads.. now i just need to get her shooting as sweet as she was before i started all this!!

[thisisdonald]

Just out of curiosity, what would you chaps value my Sirocco at? I knew this would happen. I get her all done up and looking nice, only to realise I like a dirty tramp

[Shed tuner]

£250, maybe £300 ? Tricky, as it depends who is looking. I like them, but many think they are a bit old school, especially the original 31mm diameter ones.

[Rickenbacker]

I'd like to say £300+, because the prices of Evos & Fenmen etc seem to have bounced up recently, since Impact have revived the rammer idea.

I was talking to a chap recently, who was happy to have paid £350 each for a couple of them.

However, an early (pre H.E.) gun may put off some 'regular' shooters. While a collector wouldn't want to pay too much for a refurbished example.

So basically, I dunno.

[thisisdonald]

Id like you to say 300+ as well !!
Yep it is a bit of a tricky one... maybe good for a bit of horse trading. Ive still got a bit of tinkering to do yet to get it shooting like i want it to, so it might grow on me and ill put a couple of my own dings on it and feel more comfortable about shooting it lol...
Thanks for that lads...appreciated