Heads-Up On Buying “Pre-B” CZ 75’s and CZ 85’s
Jun 28, 2017 19:28:54 GMT -5
ranger566 and noglock like this
Post by jaypee on Jun 28, 2017 19:28:54 GMT -5
One of the really popular auto pistols of the past twenty five years has been the 9mm CZ 75 and its ambidextrous cousin, the CZ 85. They are indeed nice pistols with a great following. As a matter of fact, they’re so popular we’re even seeing used police trade-in CZ 75 “Pre-B” pistols being offered for sale on GunBroker, Budsgunshop.com, and similar outlets. And prices are usually fairly decent. OK, now this is going to sound really strange for a died-in-the-wool CZ fan say this, but I’d pass on buying a “Pre B” model if I were you. Here’s why.
The CZ “Pre-B” pistols were made from about 1975 to the mid-90’s. At that time CZ upgraded them with a firing pin safety and changed their model numbers from CZ 75 and CZ 85 to CZ 75B and CZ 85B. The common perception among owners of these pistols is that the only difference between the “Pre-B” guns and the “B” guns is the addition of the firing pin safety to the “B” series pistols. Gents, that is radically untrue. And I mean radically.
In around 2010 I bought a new 2009 CZ 85B. I thought it would be fun to write an article highlighting the differences between that gun and the 1991 “Pre-B” CZ 85 I own. But when I got into the comparison I found that CZ had made so many major changes to the new “B” series pistols that a large number of major parts weren’t even interchangeable between the two models. Here are some of the parts I found to be so different as to have virtually no interchangeability at all between the “Pre B” and “B” series pistols.
Barrel
Slide
Firing pin
Firing pin retention system
Sear
Trigger linkage parts
Slide stop spring
Hammer (and probably the hammer strut)
Ejector
Magazines
OK, so why not buy a “Pre-B” pistol? Simple. These changes occurred over twenty years ago and CZ no longer provides a full range of parts for the “Pre B” pistols. Finding parts for these guns is becoming harder as time passes. And like I just said – you can forget using a wide range of the “B” series parts on the “Pre B” series guns – they won’t work and any attempt to make them work will result in an unsafe gun.
Probably the biggest pain in owning one of the “Pre B” pistols lies in obtaining magazines for them. Over time, CZ gradually enlarged the magazine well and the magazines, so the newer magazines intended for the “B” pistols won’t work in the older guns – they won’t even go in all the way, sometimes stopping as much as a full two inches from locking in. So your choices are to have a shop enlarge the mag well or else buy some of the outrageously expensive “Pre B” mags that CZUSA has recently made available. I just bought one from GregCoteLLC and it cost $48 delivered.
Now, a couple of exceptions: I have found that the 10 round CZ 75B mags will work in my “Pre B” pistol for some reason, and the 18 round mags intended for the CZ 75 SP01 may also work. But I found them to be less than a totally good solution in my particular pistol. i.e. I bought a $100 pack of three and only one would go all the way into the gun. Mags are a major complaint among owners of the “Pre B” series pistols.
So gents, if you become enamored with one of the surplus “Pre B” pistols, go in with your eyes open. You may be able to get parts for them and you may have to scrounge and scrape for your parts. The only way I would buy one is if it was like new and pristine – and you can buy a new one cheaper than you can buy one like that. Best wishes,
JayPee
