I bought an 80 series Gold Cup as my 1st 1911..back in the early 80's.. (if I remember year correctly. )
A m/c riding friend had a 70 series GC & he bought the then new 80 series GC to see which he liked better.
Shot 1 box of ammo thru the 80 series, took it back to the gun shop where he bought it, then paid them to clean it & prepare it for long term storage.
( I know this, as he showed me receipt describing what he'd had done) I bought the GC from him, took it out & when shooting it the 1st time, before I'd finished
the first box of ammo, the front sight fell off. Couldn't find it. Took pistol to an local gun shop & they suggested a Millet dual crimp front sight.
Had them install this, ( sight has 2 rivet-like protrusions on the base of the sight..2 holes are drilled in the slide, the rivets fit in the holes, then are crimped with a tool, so the can't fall off. When I picked up the pistol, it seemed fine. After having it awhile, I noticed the sight didn't firmly fit against the slide..I could stick a fingernail beneath the sight & slide, on the rear of the sight. Next I noticed the sight wasn't completely flat on top..I figured that the sight didn't fit firmly against the slide, so they hit it with a hammer to try to seat it against the slide. Didn't hit it flush, which made the top of the sight tapered to one side. Angry, I took the pistol back to the shop..it was closed /out of business. Ended up going to Anaheim , I was in San Diego @ the time, and had found found Terry Tussey,
in the yellow pages , explained the problem & he said he could fix it. Rode my m/c to see him..he removed the crooked sight, showed me the holes they had drilled. They were crooked, not in alignment. He showed me the jig they're supposed to use..to drill the holesin the proper place. He was able to fix this, while I waited.
Talking with him while he worked, I asked him what brand 1911 I should buy , if it was NOT a Colt.
He told me, without pause, "Springfield Armory". When I asked why, he explained.."they put the holes in the right place"
Explaining further that Springfield made their 1911's to Colt dimensions, / blueprints. Many of the other companies do not, and when trying to work on them, parts don't fit properly. I took his advice & bought a GI 1911, which I had him modify for me @ a later date. Still own it..
With the advent of CNC machining, foreign companies , like RIA, have been able to produce 1911 's inexpensively, and sell them a bargain prices.
I suspect, American machinists were hired to set up the tooling / equipment ,and train locals to keep them in tune.