How many 38T / 38C owners on the board?

[Multigunner]

First Crosman I owned was a 38C.

I now have three 38T, one a rebuild using parts salvaged from my old 38C and a junker 38T bought for parts.

These pistols are far more accurate and satisfying to shoot than any other air or CO2 pistol I've owned.

For those who own one of these fine pistols I'd like to hear your impressions and any technical data you've uncovered.

Seems like the only comparable modern CO2 pellet pistols run as high as $300 USD. All metal construction other than the plastic cylinders of later versions, Double and single action modes, fully adjustable rear sights, etc.

A few recent replica all metal CO2 pellet guns in the 100+ USD range come close, but lack adjustable sights, which is in keeping with the originals they are patterned after and to be fair are far more realistic replicas.

Fully adjustable all metal rear sights can cost more than the pistols themselves.
The early version of the 38c/38T has probably the best rear sight ever put on an air pistol, as standard equipment that is.

So lets hear it for the 38 series Crosmans.

[ped]

I've 3 two built up one as a t and the other as a c but have barrels and covers to make it two t's or two c's,both these are 3rd variant .177's
I also have a 2nd variant t in bit's(complete and pressure tested) that I bought with the finish stripped off,when I get some spare cash I'm going to get a plating kit and nickel plate it

[Multigunner]

"I get some spare cash I'm going to get a plating kit and nickel plate it"

Great minds move in the same channels.

I've been planning on getting one of the "Texas Platers" kits for a long time, mainly to touch up the plating on some old revolvers I own and those belonging to friends.

The 38Ts I have now all have plastic cylinders, two .177 the other a .22, but I have the steel cylinder from my 38C that I plan to fit to one of them.
The cylinder arbor of the plastic cylinder .22 does not fit the steel cylinder and the arbor of the older 38 C has a very different thread pattern so it won't work on the later version frame.
I also have the short C type barrel shroud but the barrel liner got lost long ago.
I picked up a dirt cheap Crosman 24" .22 barrel recently specifically to make a couple of barrel liners, one long the other short, to fit the old 38C frame.

I still have the machined Brass valve body of the 38C, but I'll have to do some serious work on it before I can use it. The inlet for the gas tube is stripped. Perhaps a helicoil will work if I can find the right size, or I may silver solder the fitting in place semi permanently.

[mudduck48]

I had 4 38Ts and a 38C, sold 2 have 3 left. One in .22 cal, doesn't work and one like new in the box, .177cal doesn't work and the 38C doesn't work. I just wish that I could find the reseal kits for a fair price.

[ped]

the one's I got off you are spot on Duck
I ended up making a few seals and the others were just o rings when I needed to do a reseal on one

[mudduck48]

That is great. Doesn't help me out. But I'm glad it worked out for you. Now, make me some seals. LOL

[Multigunner]

The O-rings aren't that hard to find. The front end small O-ring that seals the outlet end of valve to valve body is still in use by Crosman on the 357/Vigilante revolvers. The O-ring from Crosman is translucent rather than black.

The valve seat washer type seal might not be so easy to find outside of reseal kits. Sometimes these can simply be flipped over to expose a serviceable surface.

I once made gas transfer tube seals using a set of tube punches on a piece of hard rubber I found. The tightening of the gland nuts compresses and deforms  these to fit so they need not be precisely cut.
I've seen small diameter O-rings recommended for use on the piercing nut end of the copper tube. I made a replacement for a tube, that had gotten scraped through by contact with the hammer, out of automotive gas line tubing.

I'm planning to modify one of my first version 357 valves by threading the inlets for the gas tube and using similar gland nuts and brass tubing. The Quad seals used on these just aren't reliable.

When I get a chance to I plan to take the O-rings for various Crosman valves around to automotive and plumbing supply stores to try to find cheaper or better substitutes.


Lets talk improvements we'd suggest for a reissue of the 38T in .22 caliber.

first off would be the frame and barrel shroud constructed using powder metallurgy rather than casting.
This should allow for a lighter and better balanced frame. Surface finish would also be improved.

A seal of some sort between the rear of the cylinder and the outlet of the valve would improve velocity and efficiency. The barrel to cylinder gap is less of an issue since you can already adjust that to near zero using the allen screw that locks the breech end in place.

[mudduck48]

Yep, that helps a lot. 

[Multigunner]

I looked up my invoice of Crosman parts to find the O-ring I mentioned.
The new stock number for these is JTX-070.

This O-ring is the most vulnerable seal in the design, but necessary.
I ordered these for resealing my 357 Phase one revolvers but found they work with the 38T valve as well and are better material than the black material of the O-rings I got in the reseal kits I ordered for the 357 guns.

The front end of the hollow valve stem passes through this O-ring moving a tiny fraction of an inch forwards then back every time the gun is fired. The material must resist friction as well as high pressure CO2 gas and radical temperature changes.

The two 38T pistols I bought recently worked okay for awhile and both had new valve seat seals recently installed but both had O-rings that had hardened and failed soon after I got the guns.
I replaced one using one of the JTX-070 rings that I had not yet used on a 357 and replaced the other with a Black O-ring that came with a 357 reseal kit but had not sealed the 357 valve gas tight allowing a very slow seepage. Though that ring had not worked properly with the 357 valve it worked perfectly with the 38T valve that pistol has held gas for two full days at a time with no sign of leakage.

The older 38T valves have a dark surface finish on the forwards end of the stem which appears to hold lubricants and reduce friction while giving a tighter seal than the smooth finish of the later 38 and 357 valve stems.

I also found that the machined brass valve body of my first 38C had a short tube that fit in under the O-ring. This ring was of two layers black on the outside and gray on the inside.
When rebuilding the later version cast valve body of the junker 38T I found no such tube but used the one from the brass body and it fit perfectly. That Cast valve body had the older style valve with dark surface finish on the stem.
That rebuilt valve also holds gas for days at a time with no sign of seepage.
Apparently the valve with the dark surface finish is far superior to later type valves.

[BillK]

I also have a couple of 38T .177s.  Any parts I have needed I found at J G Air guns.

http://www.jgairguns.biz/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=10&sort=2a&filter_id=153

[Multigunner]

No one seems to have the .22 barrel liners for the 38 series guns.
I still have almost enough parts to resurrect my first version .22 38 C if I can find a barrel liner for it.
I bought a used .22 24" barrel dirt cheap awhile back and plan to try to turn a couple of liners from that.

My Franken 38T has the C frame, grips, rear sight and mechanical internals coupled with the later cast valve body, side plate, barrel and cylinder in .177.

I can repair the 3C side plate and the brass valve body then restore Frany to a .22 38C and have enough parts to restore the .177 38T as well. The junker .177 had broken rear sight, hammer spur and right hand grip but I figure that if I put it back in working condition I have a very old pistol scope I can mount on it and find a replacement grip to match or perhaps make a pair of wooden grips. With low mounted scope the broken hammer fitted with a custom offset hammer spur would be better than the stock hammer.

Not likely to get around to that till winter, too much else to play with now.