Purpose?

 

Self-defense?

 

Combat sidearm?

 

IPSC competetion?

 

Plinking?

 

Precision Pistol Competetion?

 

Beautiful engraving?

I have no experience with 1911's, so am just passing on second hand information, however I would suggest a Norinco.  They are perfectly fine quality, and are cheaper than an American produced gun.  If your going to pull it apart and have it customised, it should be the perfect baseline gun.

 

I think Armalon build their custom 1911's on Norinco frames.

 

A lot of people use low-end Springfields for customizing, if I'm not mistaken.

 

NORINCOs would be a good bet, except that they're no longer imported so you're looking at tracking down a used one.  The Rock Islands or other Filipino builds (High Standard, etc.) would be a workable substitute.

 

Or check out the Taurus PT1911, which is pretty loaded with the basic add ons most people go with (checkering, beavertail grip safety, etc), so you'd already have a lot of the tricked out features already on the pistol.

I think the new production Series 70 Colts make the best choice of a base model for customization. The Colt 1991s and the Mil-Spec Springfields Make great starting points, but will wind up costing you more in the long run due to the additional surface prep involved in selecting another finish.

 

Ten years ago, working over a 1911 made sense. Today, not really so much. Anything you want can be bought right over the counter cheaper, faster, and easier than having it done or doing it yourself. For example, I checked the waiting period just a couple of weeks ago for Clark's, Novak, and C&S for some relatively simple mods (nothing more than an action job, Bar-sto barrel, and gold bead sights) on a newly purchased Series 70. A six month wait by any of the good 1911 smiths would be considered a rush order. It's running more like 12-18 months on average. Personally, I gave up sending perfectly good pistols to local gunsmiths only to get back less than desired results a long time ago.

 

Depending on your budget, I would start by looking at the Springfield Trophy Match. It's just about anything you could want for limited class recreational pin or plate type shoots right out of the box for $1,400-1,500 out the door. Stepping up to the next class, for $1,700-1,800 you can't beat a Les Baer Premier II for any amount of money. 

 

Personally, I never would have spent $1,800 for a pistol. However, I won a Premier II shooting PPC about seven or eight years ago. To this day I have never run across a better example of craftsmanship and quality in any other 1911 I've ever seen. Every other Les Baer out there lives up to the name as well. They truly do take that 1.5" @ 50 yard guaranty seriously.

 

By the time you take a $800-1,000 dollar base pistol and start customizing it, you approach that $1,800 mark faster than you realize. It's penny wise and pound foolish unless you have a specific requirement that just isnt commercially available. You won't have as well fitted and finished end product as selecting one of the better makes right out of the gate either. I've got more than a couple of 1911s that I will never get rid of, simply because I am so upside down in them that I could never get my money back out of them if I had to.

 

P.S. Norincos are complete and total steaming piles. Just like everything else they've tried to copy, they suck. Any dollar spent on a Norinco from start to finish, is a dollar lost.

I don't think Norincos bad reputation is fully deserved.  For instance their M14's are made on the machinery the US sold Taiwan (who then sold it to the mainland).  The wood finish and the likes may not be so good, but the weapon itself should be fine, and I have heard good things about them.  I don't know what machinery they use on their 1911's, but I have heard a lot more good than bad.