My frist saw was a poulan wild thing. I was 13 when my dad bought it. Still have the saw to this day. Sits in Basement with a Bunch of new parts on it. I have put more money in that saw than what it's worth , but to me it's priceless
You will never regret the money spent on restoring your fathers saw. I was left all my dad`s saws after his passing, all still running in fine condition but I let my younger brother borrow dads newest saw he got shortly before his passing. He brought it back to me smashed up from a tree dropped on it, a Sachs Dolmar 116si. I rebuilt that saw with all OEM parts, replaced every damaged piece and it cost me near double what a new saw could be bought for, no regrets there at all.