WW II Pistol

Question
My father acquired a pistol during WWII that almost killed him. My father has passed away and this pistol went through a house fire while loaded. I want to get this pistol restored, if not to useable condition, maybe to display condition. Is it possible? Here is the all the info I have on the pistol.
Babiloneos Yurrest-Eibar-Ruby Cal 7 6/cannot make out
Serial Number 65344
It has a GU in a circle on it.
It is a automatic similar to a 1911, but smaller.

Answer
Hi Alan.

It is always possible to restore a pistol unless it has been severely damaged or has major parts missing. The trouble with your scenario is that the house fire may have weakened the metal to the point that it is no longer safe to shoot. The damage may not be visible so you need to have it checked out by a qualified gunsmith. Most will give you a free estimate so take it to a few different shops, preferably those that have older gunsmiths which have been in business for 10-20 years or more.

It may not be worth enough to restore it from a financial standpoint but there is still a chance that your pistol could be rare or valuable if the danage was minimal. You can learn more about the ruby pistols at the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_pistol

http://www.star-firearms.com/firearms/guns/izarra/index.shtml

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Bob