Had problems with early Century Arms “AK-74.” Had to gut it. Rebuild it. All the time thinking, why didn’t I just start from scratch?
My son’s buddy had a jam-o-matic 74 from Century.
I think I lucked out. Have a Norinco MAK-90 and a Bulgarian milled receiver AK clone. Got them cheap 20 years ago. Like $225. +/-.