John Deere Chainsaw?

Here's the story. I have a guy with a John Deere chainsaw he's wanting to sell, & he swears it has 2 spark plugs. He doesn't know the model number, & he lives a long way away. He says it is older, but not ancient. If he is right about 2 spark plugs, I only know of 2 saws that had 2 cylinders, the Mcculloch bp1, & Echo had (I think) the 610 EVL.
I doubt it would be the Mcculloch, but did Echo ever build for John Deere? I know Efco did, but can't find anything on them building a twin cylinder.
Does anybody round here have any ideas on this?
Thanks in advance.

Yes, Echo built for John Deere. Alot.

They did make the 66SV for John Deere, the same as there CS-610EVL. The Echo Twin as its called.

You will want to pick that one up if you can, there quite collectable.

Modifiedmark said:

Yes, Echo built for John Deere. Alot.

They did make the 66SV for John Deere, the same as there CS-610EVL. The Echo Twin as its called.

You will want to pick that one up if you can, there quite collectable.

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Thank you kind sir for your information. Now I have a model number I can search for!
And the good news about it being a collectable. I haven't seen it yet, but he said it runs, & he only wants $75 for it.

John Deere 66SV

Echo produced these saws for John Deere for three years 1985,86 and 87. They were $675 brand new and now sell for $800 on e-bay. I have owned one for 25 years and being twin opposing cylinders they are the smoothiest running saw with very little vibration that I have ever run. They are 61cc and the horsepower was never listed but do have a lot of torque. The down side is they weigh 20 lbs with a 24 inch bar but are all aluminum alloy except for the air cleaner cover.

That would be a great find esp in the JD colors. I already have most Echo models and now i am starting on the yellow JD ones...Bob

Kind of interesting that these saws, like a lot of things, are collectible just because they weren't very popular when they were being produced. Echo marketed these pretty hard: I remember a lot of ads, articles in trade journals, Pop Mechanix, etc. But they were expensive and heavy for their real-world performance. I won a JD66 twin in a drawing at a dealer in 1987 ot 1988...thought "wow, this is neat", and never used it even once.

Traded it in at another JD dealer on a used rider mower; That dealer I think wanted it as a display unit, as it is still there. I guess everyone was happy, but sometimes I wish I had it back. If Remember right, they wanted $1000 for the mower, and allowed me $250 on the saw; I thought it was a good deal then. Basically got their money invested in the mower back, and the saw was the profit.

I'd shoot for a lot more today...

Well, guess I'll be heading over to put an eyeball on & pickup this saw next weekend, if it is what he says it is. After all the info (Thank you to all) that I have gotten on it, I'm just trying now not to get my hopes up too much......

If it has 2 spark plugs that is what it is, no doubt.

I know you said its a ways away, and I understand not being able to get it till next weekend, but at least call him and tell him you will take it and have him hold it for you.

Heck tell him you will bring him a case of beer for doing so!

I had one of the JD 66sv's and this is what I know.

It is one of the smoothest and vibration free saws you will ever run. As a work saw a Stihl 036 or Husky 262 will walk all over it and weigh a whole lot less. It's a fairly simple design being opposed cylinder with one carb and 2 separate ignition systems.

The weak points as I know them are the av mounts, pay very close attention to them as there are 8 on that saw @ $12 each. You can pull the starter cover and look at the 4 on that side. Another weak point is the clutch cover, they are easily broke/cracked and non-existent to find.

If you can buy that saw at a decent price by all means do it. I'm just trying to give you known area's of concern to look at. GOOD LUCK!!!!

And to dispell any misconceptions, the McCulloch BP-1 has a balance piston opposite the power piston but the balance piston is non-firing so only one spark plug - an AC C 45 W or Champion TJ-8J, even the spark plug is peculiar.

Mark

John Deere 66SV Value

One final note on the John Deere 66SV twin cylinder compared to the Echo CS-610EVL. They are the same saw except for color and brand name. The JD will bring twice the price over the Echo. I guess the JD collectors are a bit more loyal for that JD logo and yellow color. I guess perception is everything. Go figure.

Its here!

Well, it was what he said it was. I got it this afternoon, & got a little play time with it. The chain is a gonner, looks like he dug some trench with it, complete with a few busted cutters, but I hand filed what was left just so I could try it out a bit. Saw runs pretty good, will probably do better when I get the old gas run out of it, & some fresh mix in it. Saw looks great excepting 1 place on the foot plate has been broken. Thank you all again for all your info! Now, I'll see if I can get the pics to post.

Very nice find, that is an interesting saw and deserves a good home where it will get used from time to time to keep it up and going.

Mark

Sweet

That's a real robust looking chainsaw you have just picked up!Nice Find!
Lawrence

I'd love to hear it running and cutting.
Please post a vid. if you can.

Thought you might need this to go with it.
John Deere Model 66SV Chain Saw Technical Manual - eBay (item 360299145822 end time Feb-06-11 13:50:11 PST)

Sounds like you got a great deal on the saw looks really good

Man I thought I had a clean one. Be very careful as there is red plastic under that yellow paint and any scratch will shine through. As far as that saw goes I would put it up and wrap it with an old towel, really a nice saw.

Brian VT said:

I'd love to hear it running and cutting.
Please post a vid. if you can.

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I will be most happy to post a vid. However, I must achieve a few things. Time, a new chain, and something big enough to give it a challenge! That last one might not come until the local GTG in March. So it might be awhile....

atvguns said:

Thought you might need this to go with it.
John Deere Model 66SV Chain Saw Technical Manual - eBay (item 360299145822 end time Feb-06-11 13:50:11 PST)

Sounds like you got a great deal on the saw looks really good

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I saw that manual on Ebay, I am pondering, but I spent my whole allowance on saws that day! Hopefully it'll hang around awhile!

Awesome find. That would be a cool GTG saw.