Walther LP53, Spring Powered, Single Shot, .177, Target Air Pistol,

As air pistols go the Walther LP 53 is pretty iconic (good old Sean C / 007).
Designed as a trainer for sport pistol and very similar in size and shape to early Walther Olympia pistols in soon gained a following as a pistol in its own right.
One of the most obvious features is the spring and piston being in the grip, this allows for the overall length to be more like the Olympia than having the more normal inline design. Earlier pistols like the Lincoln Jeffries, Diana Mod 1 and Diana MGR used this layout, but the LP53 was probably the most developed and successful version.
This one came from an auction, it was in its original cardboard box with paperwork and spare front and rear sight elements as well as the barrel weight, all pretty unusual for a 65 year old pistol, particularly as this one had been used quite a lot by its condition.
The problems with the piston was not that unusual, the rubber buffer probably gave up some time ago and the owner just kept shooting it till the pellets didn’t come out anymore, at that point it looks like it just got put in a draw, even though spares are easily sourced for these.
The rear sight elevation thread having been pulled out is unusual but tbh I’m surprised it isn’t seen more often, the thread is straight into the alloy barrel shroud and that alloy is pretty soft. Making a threaded (M4 Fine) insert meant that it should last a bit better, at least for the next 65 years!
These have quite a following and have been worked on by many people to improve them, so following some reading I decided that as I was going to use this regularly I would look to incorporate the best of the upgrades providing they were removable. The Tony Leach parachute piston head is a good upgrade, there nothing basically wrong with the old leather seal (providing the rubber buffer is still there) but a modern parachute style moves more air and also accommodates 65 years of wear in the cylinder. Decreasing the transfer port in theory will slow the piston while increasing the velocity of the air being moved through it. The metal weight under the piston makes more use of the spring power and decreases the risk of the piston “bouncing” off the compressed air. The single spring is easier to cock and acts faster and more cleanly so you don’t have springs rubbing against each other, the nylon guide then helps to prevent the spring twanging. The total of these changes is a better, quicker, less jumpy firing cycle with the added benefit of 500 fps with 7g pellets so less time in the barrel and really good holes in the target. There were a lot of these made and they have lasted well, spares are available, so if you haven’t tried one yet, what are you waiting for?