Hi all,
All the talk about Hi Powers in the recent Tisas thread finally motivated me to buy another Hi Power (I owned one many years ago as one of my first semiautos). I picked up a surplus MkIII being sold by Mach 1 Arsenal on GunBroker and was lucky enough to not have my auction bid up overly high. The sample I got appears to have been made in 1995 and while used doesn't appear abused.
One thing I noticed was that while the full serial number is on both the barrel and frame, on the slide are only the last 5 digits of the serial number (in a larger font, but stamped and not with an electronic pencil). The pictures I browsed on Google showed US commercial models with no serial number on the slide and European models with the full triple serial numbers. I wasn't sure if this meant the slide had been replaced or something.
Lastly, I'm planning on this being a sort of project gun. I did the same with a few CZs in the past and really enjoyed the process. I may get it refinished, but I was considering a safety replacement for something a bit more extended and maybe any other parts, polishing, or mods folks recommend. I see parts available from both Cylinder and Slide and BHP Spring Solutions. Yes I will shoot the pistol first, but working on the CZs gave me an appreciation for how they functioned and I'd like to do the same here.
Thanks,
TR