mcculloch cp 125 is alive?

[Big_Wood]

so guys. figured i'd start a new thread for updates on this saw. i got around to taking it apart tonight and every bolt is seized. i got the recoil bolts out but couldn't get the flywheel cover bolts out. the starter recoil was seized solid but rocking it back and forth while keeping a generous coat of penetrating oil on it got it free. took a good half hour though. then the starter pawls were seized. i noticed that one starter pawl was missing it's spring so i just forced that one to the side for now and left it stiff so it wouldn't bounce around in there. the other one had the spring so after 15 min of penetrating lube and a screw driver forcing it back and forth she free'd up also.
oh ya i guess i should have mentioned the actual engine first. pulled the plug and noticed oil on it. i figured thats a good sign. thread hole is also heli coiled. the cylinder was seized but i could just get it to turn slightly so put some 2 stroke oil in there and just rocked it back and forth for about half hour and it was completely free'd up. i couldn't believe it cause i've had saws sit for no where near as long as this one did and they were harder to unseize. this one was also sitting in way worse conditions. anyways, threw the starter back on there tested for spark and whatya know it had spark. gave her a shot down the intake and one pull she fired up. didn't run long cause the carb still needs some serious cleaning. fuel and impulse lines as far as i can see right now look completely intact so i will clean the carb this thursday or friday and see if i can get it to run perfect. needs a muffler and probably a gas cap. muffler i thought i could weld but it is completely shot and the gas cap is rotten but it will work. it is also extremely loud right now because it is just an open exhaust port. has massive compression also.
so after i got it to fart i decided i had to talk to my father in law. i asked him when was the last time he used it because it was way to easy to unseize. i expected a good couple weeks soaking in diesel fuel. he actually sat down and thought about it. he figures he bought the saw in 1988, used it for 2 years, the put it in that shed where it has been sitting ever since. so that means it sat from 1990 til now. i didn't believe him because of how easy it was but he said " maybe it's because i ran it on 16:1 fuel/oil mix". then i came on here to post. sorry for the long post i'm just amazed at how easy this thing was.

 

[cpr]

That's a good thing.

That it sat so long in those conditions, you'll really be doing yourself a favor by removing the top tank and inspecting the carb boot. They are a known weak point on these. That'll save you from frying it do to a dry-rotted one. Also, if the seals are hard and won't work, you can still get them new. Pressing some in a Super 797 today as a matter of fact...

 

[Big_Wood]

That's a good thing.

That it sat so long in those conditions, you'll really be doing yourself a favor by removing the top tank and inspecting the carb boot. They are a known weak point on these. That'll save you from frying it do to a dry-rotted one. Also, if the seals are hard and won't work, you can still get them new. Pressing some in a Super 797 today as a matter of fact...

I inspected the boot from the inside and it was still soft and looked good but i will remove the tank also. Will make it easier to flush it out. Won't get around to it til thursday or friday. The thing i'm most worried about is the carb. It's just a mass of corrosion. Tiny little carb too. Looks like the size of a 266 carb. Same cc as my 3120 but the carb throat is just tiny for such a big saw. I don't know if i'll restore it. maybe spray it down with some fluid film and put it in a safe place til i get time or hand it off to someone else to restore it. Not sure what i'm gonna do yet. Might try get the bar off of it tonight if i get time. Chain is one with the bar. Will probably have to cut the chain to get it off. I just have to much milling to do right now. Gotta finish my fence and start on a nice heated shop. Right now i just got a room in the house set up as a shop and the wife don't like that. Then once that is done i got a deck to build so my time is taken from this saws restoration.

 

[cpr]

Carb should be an SDC19 or SDC20. Don't let its size fool you, that saw will embarrass your 3120. Besides, the biggest bottleneck on these 7.5s is the reed plate anyway. A bigger carb without changes to the reed passage will weaken the vacuum signal hurting performance.

 

[blsnelling]

I would never recommend starting a valuable old saw like that without a full teardown.

 

[mitch95100]

I would never recommend starting a valuable old saw like that without a full teardown.

i tend to agree... too many things to go wrong

 

[Big_Wood]

I would never recommend starting a valuable old saw like that without a full teardown.

if you saw the bolts holding it together you'd know why i didn't tear it down. every bolt is so corroded they don't even have workable bolt heads anymore. they are bolts with a rivet head on them now so no tool can get them out . no room the cut a slot into the bolt either.all i did was give it a little sip down the intake to make her fart. i know the thing ran good before it was stored and for real it was free so i'm just gonna get it running the way it is right now. just flush the tank and make sure she's running rich. i really don't care. i am not a saw collector but this saw is tempting me to become one. it looks way better in the pics on my last thread then it does when yer looking at it in person. i will get it running and decide after i try it out whether to restore it or not. i will keep it in a safe place and once my shop is done i will restore it. when you saw old valuable saw how much do you figure it's worth. it is seriously ugly and everything is stiff. even the plastic choke leaver don't move. it has lots of compression. more then my 3120 it feels like. could just be the old school recoil making it seem like it has more though. i'm interested in how much it's worth. i never really cared for mcculloch but after getting this thing i am really liking it even if it has spider climbing out of it every 2 minutes. i plan to restore it and put it on display in my shop when it's done. it's not getting a full tear down i'll tell you that. just far enough where i can get a nice detailed paint job done to it. it having spark just amazes me. almost every saw i've ever got with points that had been sitting for more then a couple years has had spark issues. i'm not argueing with you brad. just letting you know that for now i am a saw user not a collector. this saw will decide for me if i will become a collector.

 

[OREGONLOGGER]

if you saw the bolts holding it together you'd know why i didn't tear it down. every bolt is so corroded they don't even have workable bolt heads anymore. they are bolts with a rivet head on them now so no tool can get them out . no room the cut a slot into the bolt either.all i did was give it a little sip down the intake to make her fart. i know the thing ran good before it was stored and for real it was free so i'm just gonna get it running the way it is right now. just flush the tank and make sure she's running rich. i really don't care. i am not a saw collector but this saw is tempting me to become one. it looks way better in the pics on my last thread then it does when yer looking at it in person. i will get it running and decide after i try it out whether to restore it or not. i will keep it in a safe place and once my shop is done i will restore it. when you saw old valuable saw how much do you figure it's worth. it is seriously ugly and everything is stiff. even the plastic choke leaver don't move. it has lots of compression. more then my 3120 it feels like. could just be the old school recoil making it seem like it has more though. i'm interested in how much it's worth. i never really cared for mcculloch but after getting this thing i am really liking it even if it has spider climbing out of it every 2 minutes. i plan to restore it and put it on display in my shop when it's done. it's not getting a full tear down i'll tell you that. just far enough where i can get a nice detailed paint job done to it. it having spark just amazes me. almost every saw i've ever got with points that had been sitting for more then a couple years has had spark issues. i'm not argueing with you brad. just letting you know that for now i am a saw user not a collector. this saw will decide for me if i will become a collector.

I will tell you that all my 797's I have and I have a few were all barn finds here in the PNW sitting for many years as my latest Super 797 was not run for 20 years or so..cleaned the tank a must, cleaned the reeds and new SDC carb kit and new NGK plug and cleaned all the crud off the saw...took 3 hours...and fired right up with 170+psi and use it all the time at the mill pile. Sure you can take the whole block apart if you wish on a restore and install new seals and bearings points and condenser. Most collectors will take the time to take the whole saw apart and restore it but it's a Mac clean it make sure it's safe to run and don't make it a shelf queen...congrats on 125c

 

[Big_Wood]

I will tell you that all my 797's I have and I have a few were all barn finds here in the PNW sitting for many years as my latest Super 797 was not run for 20 years or so..cleaned the tank a must, cleaned the reeds and new SDC carb kit and new NGK plug and cleaned all the crud off the saw...took 3 hours...and fired right up with 170+psi and use it all the time at the mill pile. Sure you can take the whole block apart if you wish on a restore and install new seals and bearings points and condenser. Most collectors will take the time to take the whole saw apart and restore it but it's a Mac clean it make sure it's safe to run and don't make it a shelf queen...congrats on 125c

ya for sure. i'm thinking i will restore the original cosmetics of it but i ain't gonna rebuild it. it will be a display item but will still get used let me tell you that. i do agree with what brad said about tearing it down to at lease the block and cylinder but this thing was free and getting it apart ain't gonna happen until i want to restore it cosmetically.the only way to get the corroded bolts out is the drill the heads so i can get them out with an easy out unless there's some other way you guys can teach me. they are in a deep recess so cuttimg a slot in them isn't gonna happen. i will be inspecting the intake boot like cpr said and will replace crankseals if needed but that is it. for now my intention is to make a runner out of it so at least it's not junk in the wifes eyes. i need some kind of excuse to keep it otherwise she will try get me to get rid of it. the teardown will happen once i have a nice cozy shop built. debating a wood stove in the shop but regualations here would be like jumping through fire to meet so i think i'm gonna have to go with an oil heater just to avoid that. i am very excited about this saw. after hearing all the good things about it and how it will embarress my 3120 i really want to get it in some wood. i found a pretty well brand new 32" McCulloch bar in my stack for it so all it has to do is run and i can try it. would be nice if i could get a bigger bar but this will do for now.

 

[jra1100]

I have a SP 125, your gonna love this saw. Allow me to be the first to say "NO PICTURES IT DIDN'T HAPPEN" LOL. JR

 

[Big_Wood]

I have a SP 125, your gonna love this saw. Allow me to be the first to say "NO PICTURES IT DIDN'T HAPPEN" LOL. JR

look at my first thread when i got this saw. there are pictures of it there. i ain't no jr now i got it figured. it didnot happen without pics. period.... hahahhaahah my internet is painfully slow uploading so i won't be able to upload vids but i will upload a pic here of it puffing blue smoke to prove it's running and then upload a video when i get my new internet set up.

 

[Big_Wood]

so last night i got home around 10 and coukdn't help myself. i had to do something to it. i cleaned the carb, checked the intake boot. all is good. the manual oiler was seized but was fairly easy to free up and the choke knob was just not going anywhere. didn't want to wreck it so i took my time and 1.5 hours later it was out. then the kill switch was a bugger also. got that fully operational in about 20-25 min. so now i got it all together and ready to go. gonna put some fresh mix in it tonight and pull the rope if i get home early enough. last night it was 2 am and i was really tempted to start it but the neighbours are close and would most likely piss them off especially because it pretty much has no muffler right now. once it's running i'm gonna cal chainsawr to see if the have a complete muffler, starter pawl spring and the tank av mounts. they are holding but don't look healthy. checked their site last night and all i could find is the starter pawl spring. after i get these parts it will be a good runner. it'll just be extremely ugly. i gotta cut the chain to get the bar off but wil recondition the bar to use it again. it's running .404 but luckily for me it's got a replacable sprocket so i can use a 32" 3/8's bar and chain i had laying around for a mac for now. it's a brand new windsor speed tip. totally forgot i had it til i got this saw. with the way it sits right now i'm sure all it needs is fresh mix and she will run like new. only thing left thats seized is the decomp lever.

 

[Big_Wood]

got to playing with the saw today. fresh mix couple pulls and no go. hahahah. was like what the heck is going on here. checked the spark again to find it had none. immediately i figured it must be the kill switch because before i worked on unsiezing that it had spark. pulled the kill switch out with wire not touching anything i gave it a pull and what the heck still no spark. i figured for sure that would be the issue but it didn't do anything. not even getting an intermittant spark. i don't have alot of experience with points but in my experience if they work they usually work good for the whole time i own the saw and if they don't i usually just have to clean them up to get them working. only condensor i ever had to replace was on an old 15hp evinrude outboard. it had fat blue spark before then after i messed with the kill switch it had none. i don't have time to be fighting with all the rounded rotten bolts holding it together so i will investigate it again tomorrow and if i can't figure it out without pulling it right apart it will have to wait til my shop is built. would have been pretty cool to have it running today. it's getting fuel to the plug so i know it will run just gotta get it sparking again. i'm wishing now i woulda cleaned the carb and got it running before i unsiezed the kill switch.