First off, welcome to the forum. You will find people here like to lend help to new collectors but they are collectors as well and as such don't like the thought of swapping parts in a effort to make a more authentic looking rifle because it will never be more authentic then it is right now. Parts swapping takes place at all levels, collectors just don't like talking about it. Very, very few people have Swedish Mausers with matching bayonets and most people don't care about the cleaning rods when they are numbered because the Swedish military did not seem to care. Because of this very few M96 rifles will have a matching cleaning rod.

Since your rifle has been coated in some type of material and you have some stock issues to address along with some metal preservation to attend to  I think you rifle qualifies for some restoration effort. So below is what I would do.

First off I would order some bronze wool from Brownell's and use it with Breakfree to gently remove the rust from the trigger guard, floor plate, butt plate and barrel. The bronze wool won't remove the bluing but it will help lift the rust.

Next I would get some super glue and  find a way to inject the super glue into the stock cracks to stabilize the cracks. Maybe you have a diabetic relative that you can get a needle and syringe from.

The stock finish needs to be checked to see what it is. If it is varnish it could have been applied in Sweden by the last owner as a weather coating or it could have been done in the states years ago. If it is varnish then you should be able to remove it with rubbing alcohol and I would attempt this on the barrel band springs first. If it is varnish then you will need to decide if you want to remove it or not. Varnish can be cleaned and re-applied to look quite nice, just not original military. Varnish flakes can be purchased at Wood Crafters. If is polyurethane then it was most likely applied here in the US and has no history associated with and I would remove it. Poly however is a bit more trouble to remove without also removing the original stock stain. I have used Formby's furniture refinishing kits in the past because the chemicals won't damage the wood but they will remove much of the original stain. Stay away from any type of  Purple Power junk that can damage your wood. You will probably want to visit the stock refinishing forum to see the best method of removal if it proves to be poly. If you end up stripping the stock then you will need to get you a can of boiled linseed oil from Lowe's to apply as the new military finish. This process is lengthy but will produce a nice looking military finish when you are done. As to stock stain to get back to something similar to your original finish I would suggest some Chestnut Ridge stock stain that has been thinned down. This is a alcohol based stain and when thinned with more Isopropannol/rubbing alcohol will penetrate the stock and help high-lite the figure in the stock, plus it is easier to control final color when the stain is thinned. You can get more complex in types of stains and dye's so I would investigate this on the stock forum to find out what others have done. I would caution you to do little or no sanding at all when you get the stock stripped of this shinny finish. It is easy to sand to much in areas and detract from the value of the stock and since you have such a nice piece of wood it would be a shame to destroy its original lines by smoothing it out. Again, do some reading on the stock refinishing forum and temper your efforts with the knowledge you can get from Dutchman's site and you will end up with a very pretty rifle that has only been restored and has more value then a smooth sanded rifle. As a side note you can use the same Bronze wool (if is fine enough) to use in the finish removal process. This will smooth the stock a bit without worrying about Steel Wool particles breaking off in the wood and causing rust spot speckling in your finish as time goes on. Again, do some reading over on Cabinetman's forum as he knows his stuff and you will learn much and possibly not have to go back and redo something.

The receiver markings are inspection marks placed there during production. The 4 in the comb was probably a unit designation placed there to number the rifle for the unit armory. The AA in the handguard, not really sure as I have not seen that marking, maybe Dutchman can help you with that one. Tilted crowns indicate Husqvarna parts and are seen on many rifles that went through a rebuild at some point while in the military program. The crown stamps on the wrist and barrel indicate upgrades and repairs done by the military armors. Be careful not to sand away what is left of the crown marks on the bottom side of the wrist. Samco Arms used to sell the metal thread protectors for the barrel, you'll have to go to there site and see if they still have them. The marking on the barrel are the Century Arms import stamp. The top line should say CIA St Albany VT or something similar.

I think I answered all your questions. If not just ask away, someone else or myself will be happy to steer you in the right direction. Take your time with this project and you will end up with a very nice rifle that was restored properly that you will be proud of.

Smokepole50

Well it seems Aubullet beat my to the punch. I guess we were typing at the same time but he types faster. I have attached a couple pictures of rifles I have restored. One was a 1891 Argentine chrome flaking parade rifle that I restored and the second one was a Turkish rifle that I bought that had been polyurathane coated by someone in the past. I refinished both of theses stocks the same way and in the manor desribed above. The picture with the greenish carpet was from the seller of the Turk rifle. The resinished pictures below show the Argy stock better but the Turk rifle also had some good figure that the picture angle does not show.