How big of an issue is a lockup spring not working
 

Hunting buddy of mine from the big city of Alice called asking if I was interested in a parker someone down south was selling. He is sending me pics, but one thing he told me is that the smith who has examined it said was that the lockup spring wasn't functioning.

Is this a big issue or a minor one?

Might be a nice deal if the gun is easily fixable, but then again if it is something that will be a pain to fix, I may just have to pass.

By lockup spring I take it you mean the Top lever spring.

Well, it is an issue if not fixed obviously.

Not too difficult to fix. Requires removing the action from the stock. Around 1917 or so Parker switched to the different style of top lever spring. It was a coil spring with plunger setup. Whereas prior to that it was a V-Spring.