Antonio Zoli 58 caliber Zouave

[user 56015]

Hi, thanks for the ad

Restoring a 58 caliber Zouave I've had for many many years and can't locate the old schematic I once had tucked away somewhere. I see a schematic online for a traditions, but wondering if the parts will actually match up to the gun made by a different manufacturer. I believe one of the markings on the gun implies manufactured in Georgia. Any insight would be appreciated. mgfys, thanks

 

[kelljp]

Welcome from East TN

 

[64Springer]

Pics?

 

[thomas]

Welcome to the forum.
Thomas

 

[2 shots]

welcome. imported by a company in ga. not made there ? what do you need to know about it. they should all be basically close to the same.

 

[hawkeye2]

All of the Zoli firearms were imported from Italy. Some importers had their names on them and others had their logo exclusively with no mention of Zoli but were the same gun. The Zoli Zouave was like the Model T of the gun world with no one knowing how many were made and they keep popping up for sale every day. If you only need a schematic of the lock or the whole gun for that matter they are just like every other manufacturer's Zouave though parts may not interchange readily.

 

[user 56015]

Welcome from East TN

Thanks!

 

[user 56015]

Pics?

I don't have pics of the gun all together but this is what I've done to date

 

[user 56015]

Welcome to the forum.
Thomas

Thanks!

 

[user 56015]

welcome. imported by a company in ga. not made there ? what do you need to know about it. they should all be basically close to the same.

I purchased the gun 2nd hand many many years ago and took one look at it and said "I need to refinish this" as it was in terrible shape. Unfortunately time was a bandit and it's sat for at least 15 yrs +\- and I'm unfortunately only now getting to doing something with it. 15 years ago I took it apart and unfortunately today there's a couple of missing parts. They may be here, but to date I can't find them. In order to know exactly what I need, I need a schematic so I can pinpoint the missing parts. Some obvious, others maybe not so much. I had a whole file on this gun 15 years ago, with a schematic, but for the life of me I can't find it. I've looked online and I've found some that are knock offs, but not sure if I order parts from them that they'd fit as necessary. So this is where I stand. Here are the markings on the gun. I believe from research it was made in 1970 (disregard the info below the gun details, I was teaching paramedic school today):

 

[user 56015]

All of the Zoli firearms were imported from Italy. Some importers had their names on them and others had their logo exclusively with no mention of Zoli but were the same gun. The Zoli Zouave was like the Model T of the gun world with no one knowing how many were made and they keep popping up for sale every day. If you only need a schematic of the lock or the whole gun for that matter they are just like every other manufacturer's Zouave though parts may not interchange readily.

Thanks, that's good information. So it's a "hit or miss" when ordering parts? Not arguing, but that can become costly.... Any suggestions on how to make ordering more of a chance of actually fitting? Any insight would certainly be appreciated

 

[2 shots]

seems pretty complete. i would assemble and see what if anything is missing. dont see a ramrod but they are pretty standard. good luck with it.

 

[2 shots]

as an aside ... your shop looks way to neat

 

[Muley Gil]

The only things I see that are missing are a pin for the ramrod spoon and a nut for the trigger bow.

.
Try S&S in New York,

 

[64Springer]

Looks good so far. Be careful with replacement parts. Zoli tooling changed over the years. Not all replacement parts will fit. Some tinkering may be required.

FARA is a burg or hamlet or village or town in Italy.

XXVI is 1961.

Mine's a '63

 

[user 56015]

seems pretty complete. i would assemble and see what if anything is missing. dont see a ramrod but they are pretty standard. good luck with it.

So far what I believe I need:

Have to find ram rod (I know I held on to it for years, just can't find it right now AAAAARRRGGGG!!!)
trigger pin (the pin that holds the trigger into the firing aperture)
trigger shield nut (I have one, just need the second - saw someone just use a regular nut, I'd rather have the original, but that's just my OCD - not a hill I'm going to die on)
Ram rod handle? (I never had one if one exists. I remember he rod having a threaded end)
strap holders and pins (Thought I had these but can't find them)

Need schematic to see if I'm missing anything else

 

[user 56015]

as an aside ... your shop looks way to neat

LOL!!!! I just recently had to straighten things up as things were getting out of hand..... give it a few weeks and it will be back to normal

 

[user 56015]

The only things I see that are missing are a pin for the ramrod spoon and a nut for the trigger bow.

.
Try S&S in New York,

Thanks, really appreciate the recommendation as all I've found so far is a few suppliers of parts but they only offer a very scarce offering of select parts

 

[user 56015]

Looks good so far. Be careful with replacement parts. Zoli tooling changed over the years. Not all replacement parts will fit. Some tinkering may be required.

FARA is a burg or hamlet or village or town in Italy.

XXVI is 1961.

Mine's a '63

Ok.

I did not know that. But it says Georgia USA, are they an "assortment" of parts? Some from Italy, some from here?

I did not know it was '61. When researching online, everything pointed to '71. I think there's a "70" stamped into the inside of the stock somewhere too, I'll have to reconfirm that. But I trust your judgement over random "online" stuff as you may have more experience with these guns. Mine I believe is the short version too. Thanks

 

[user 56015]

Another question I have.....

I'd like to refinish the "metal" parts (not "brass" parts) and unsure whether they're painted black or blued. I know the barrel is blued and the firing aperture, but some of the other parts are questionable to which way they were originally finished