Just wanted to thank all those that contacted me with well wishes and to buy a few things but I am announcing that I no longer plan to go after this gun. I have learned a lot about this gun including the fact that it is somewhat famous and several people with deep pockets will be pursuing it.
I want to let my readers know first so that they may put their hat in the ring if they so wish.
Here is what I know about the gun in question.
It was sold from Armalite in 1985 as an “S” model and was either a mule or part of the companies collection.
It was became somewhat famous when it appeared in the Small Arms Review article “The Lost Armalites”
The black and white photos make it hard to tell if the upper on the gun is the same as when it was sold in 1998 but I think it is. Is the upper the same as when it was sold in 1985 is the real question. One can never be sure.
While this gun surely belongs in my reference collection I can not justify the expense at this time and I intend to pursue a “Normal” AR-18 as my first machine gun.