Benjamin 397P Phase 1

[ratbuster2240]

You need website Ped, I didn't know you did these as well. I just ordered one from the auction site.

[ratbuster2240]

I was lucky to get a response from here on the wanted section for a mount. I've mounted an old red dot from JS Ramsbottom, it's light and short so it shouldn't put too much pressure on the barrel.



I've also found another project from Kempton Park arms fair. A Benjamin EB20 which is leaking. I'll post some pictures of it stripped, it might be of help to someone wanting to reseal theirs.




It's leaking out the barrel, the piercing pin is wobbly, internal valve seal joining the two halves is squashed as is the original rubber powerlet seal. The two cam plate and cover screw heads were stripped which isn't a problem as you can remove the pellet probe by undoing the lug from inside. Then I drilled the screws out, they needed removing as the bolt probe is a little floppy when closed and the cam can now be adjusted. Finding new screws isn't as easy as I first thought. So far I've spent some time cleaning everything up and polishing the seal mating surfaces. The casting marks are terrible on these guns with a deep groove on the sear, I've smoothed this out and a little grease should help reduce the heavy trigger.

[--ped--]

looks in reasonable condition but looks like your missing the front of the valve unless you didn't lay it out
when you build it up to ensure the valve port lines up with the barrel port the dot at the rear of the valve should be at the 3 o clock position
i still have a few silencer adapters for these i think as well

[ratbuster2240]

Well spotted ped I forgot to put that in. It's in good condition probably had a bulb left in and put back in the box to damage the seals. Thanks for the heads up on aligning the port! I will have a silencer adaptor if you find one I know these guns are loud.

[--ped--]

i'll sort one out when i get back
you have to remove it to fit a cart and it involves a new co2 cap but they look very much neater than those fugly ones on the bay that you got for the 397

[ratbuster2240]

Sounds great. Cheers.

[ratbuster2240]

The seals and .20 pellets arrived this morning and I was able to put it back together fairly quickly.

New piercing pin/inlet valve
3 valve orings
Pellet probe oring
Polyurethane powerlet seal

It's holding air and shooting strongly. I will definitely need a moderator adaptor, it would be too loud for a garden.

[ratbuster2240]

I've just received a lovely Sheridan Bluestreak. Its shooting well so I don't think I'll need to do much and it has all of it's original finish still on. I've removed the bolt, cleaned and regreased to adjust the cam. While apart I gently cleaned the barrel. Its holding air and dumps all of it with 10 pumps.

I think it's a late 80s model...
2 rivets securing the trigger guard
Drilled and tapped for William's peep
1 Piece bolt handle
Serial 5k+

[--ped--]

about 87-88ish and looks in nice nick
i think i'd give it a quick test by the sounds though as with mine i get two shots on 10 pumps (they have adjustable pistons in and my internal spring adjusters and springs)

[ratbuster2240]

Amazing Ped, that's great to know they are adjustable, thanks for dating it and nice figures you got!

about 87-88ish and looks in nice nick
i think i'd give it a quick test by the sounds though as with mine i get two shots on 10 pumps (they have adjustable pistons in and my internal spring adjusters and springs)

[jirushi]

Amazing Ped, that's great to know they are adjustable, thanks for dating it and nice figures you got!

Hi ratbuster2240, very nice Blue Streak! Congratulations.

They don't have an adjustable piston, that's an upgrade by Ped.

I have a small business in resealing Sheridans and Benjamins here in the Netherlands (more of a hobby tbh lol) and I usually get about 600 ft/s on 8 pumps, using 13.73 gr JSB's.

Bought this Silver Streak cheap a few weeks ago. The fact that it was scoped should have set the alarm bells off: there is not only a bit of barrel separation, but also a bit of breech separation. Tried an easy repair with Loctite 380 and JB Weld on the seams, but they couldn't stand the blasts of air escaping from the tp.
So I had to separate the breech entirely. Roughen the surfaces up, degrease, degrease, degrease. Now Loctite 380 again, but on the mating surfaces instead of just the seams.
Did this with a Blue Streak before and it worked great. Fingers crossed... It's a pity that there is no way to use a scope on these without damaging the gun.

[ratbuster2240]

Excellent work Louis on dealing with barrel separation you've saved a beautiful silverstreak from the scrap heap. I'll stay clear of mounting optics then, it's a shame because you can really see how accurate they are with a scope. Barrel mounts just don't ever seem to clamp well enough and you end up overtightening. They were never meant to be scoped and they just throw up other issues like where to grasp when pumping. May be bad pumping technique because of the scope in the way leads to barrel separation too.

At least I someone can fix this issue if it does happen.

I don't seem to hear of the old Benjamin's suffering as bad?

I have a new William's 5d-sh but the screws are too long so will have to file them down.

I thought the very early streaks had adjustable pistons?

[--ped--]

the early ones did along with a stronger lever my 64 came with an adj piston but my 67 was a fixed one till i made it adjustable (fps readings are for the 67 one but my 64 is near enough the same )
they can be scoped easily by using a Mac1 style mount but i have some brass rails made to solder onto the barrel that one day i'll fit so pistol scopes can be used in the scout position

[ratbuster2240]

I found a .22 multipump to add to the .177 and .20. It's a Benjamin 342 made in around 1980 in St Louis. I had seen a few .177's (347) but held out for a .22. It's in good original condition with most of the black finish still present. The owner said he had it from new, it holds air but not for very long and it doesn't look like the valve has been opened up before, so I'm expecting lots of gunk and hardened seals.



The pump arm was creaking when pumping it up and I thought maybe the rivet has had it. It may have a lot of wear because it doesn't look like the gun has had much lubrication. I cleaned a lot of gunk out around around the rivet and let it soak in WD40, then another clean and several drops of Secret Sauce oil has made the creak go away.

[ratbuster2240]

The inlet seal is rock solid and deformed, I'll try a Sheridan inlet seal carrier with a poly seal and it should last another 40 years.

The valve stem seal is also very deformed, the gun may have been over pumped but the owner said he never did go over 8 pumps. I have a spareAS2250 valve stem but it will need slimming down to fit inside the valve spring. It's quite clean inside the cylinder and no usual hardened grease.