Advice Sought on a Real Hotsaw

[dbabcock]

I've come to the conclusion of late, that even with as many distractions (read: obsesive interests) that I already have, I'm still just a hair on the bored side of life. I mess around with cars, boats, tractors, electronics, photography and usually just jump right in from the beginning. I'm basically a cross between a nerd and a gas station attendant, in that I can be categorized as both fitting into all these groups and not fitting into any of them.

Be that as it may, I think horsing around with a real hotsaw might be just the thing to bring me out of the doldrums and at the same time absolutely convince people who know me that I have yet again outdone myself my the quest for the ultimate in a$$holery.

What I'm thinking of is having a real dyed-in-the-wool hotsaw built, iene that will be only used for racing. I may never race it in competition although if I get the urge, I might. Initially, I just want to try it out on some logs or cants and see what it and I can do. Whipping a piped, race chained beast out in front of certain unsuspecting "weekend woodsmen" around here or firing it up at 1:00 in the morning, a'la Greffard, might be good for some laughs as well.

So what saw should I start with? 372, 385, 3120? Presently, my 3120 is with Ken for "woods saw" mods and Dennis is doing similar things to void the warranty on a brand new Jonsy 2149 for me. I have a 266 SE that I may leave stock (or maybe not). I'd like you guys to give me your opinions on what saw would be a good one to pick up for this project, as well as how far to go with the "alterations".

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[WOLF_RIVER_MIKE]

My advise would be, If you're going to do it, go on and do it. You know the stock appearing class will satisfy you for about 1 hour, maybe... go ahead and pull that dirt bike out of storage and get on with building a saw!!

 

[Dennis]

Doug...like a jonsered needs warranty...sheesh...lol...If you want the full blown saw..( a balls to the walls, alcohol induced, llama kissing, fuel injected monster)...I would recommend Ken Dunn...now I do know of a v8 hotsaw(not Roberts) for sale as well...not sure on the details of the saw yet..just heard about it not long ago...

 

[HUSKYMAN]

I can relate completely. I have gone in the last couple years from computers to cars to boats to snowmobiles to chain saws and now this weekend I am going to get another hot rod to piss around with. Since the 3120 was free I would have KD convert it to dual carb alcohol with a pipe. That should satisfy you for a little while and then you can take that experience and build a 406 small block hotsaw. Now your Loggin!

 

[chainsawworld]

doug,
do you wan to start with a chainsaw or do you want to get in a**hole deep right in the beginning?have you ever seen a Chauncey Varney 3120 saw run? they cut like crazy. i do not know exactly what he does but they come to life. a lot of people run them. Gary Hammond just sold a used one for $1,500.00.
i may still have an 066 that we started to modify but i think i am going to take the 258 out of my ski-doo and build that.
good luck in whatever you decide to build and protect yourself; marty

 

[dbabcock]

Husky,

A dual carbed 3120 sounds appetizing, but I think I'll let Ken finish this one as originally planned. If I did that, I'd probably just find another good used 3120 and have him do it up. Good point about starting off with one of the most powerful chainsaws to begin with. Why do it half a$$ed.

As far as a "Predator" type saw, I think maybe that could be down the road a bit, but I think I'm better off approaching this in stages. Heck, the biggest saw I've ever had my hands on is my 3120 and I've never even seen a hotsaw competition live or even know if there are any around here. Of course there's also the time element. When it comes to motors for such an abomination, I do have a couple of potential candidates. The first is a 1025 cc. Ski-Doo triple for a snowmobile that started life as a '97 Mach Z snowmobile motor that I had Larry Audette modify at The Crank Shop. On a Land and Sea dyno, it ran 213 corrected HP at 8,800 RPM with triple pipes on 91 octane. I sold the pro stock ice drag chassis that I had it in a couple of years ago. In that sled it ran 122 MPH in 660 ft with a shaved racing track and 384 steel ice picks. The second motor would be so ridiculous that even psyhopaths would shy away from it. I had it in a drag hydro some time ago. It's an aluminum block Arias motor at 500 CID and loaded with the some of the best parts on the planet. It has a 12-71 Littlefield blower on it running dual 4500 Holleys. On the dyno, with a relatively low boost pulley on it running 100 octanne av gas, it was making about 1300 HP. I sold the 20' Deaver hydro it went in a few years ago. Out at Firebird Lake in Chandler, AZ, I was running 160 or so in the liquid quarter mile at the World Drag Boat Championships and made it into the quarterfinal round before the V Drive scattered and took out the prop shaft in the process (the boat corkscrewed at about 120 and I got tossed out early, thank God. At any rate, I think this motor might be a little bit too heavy and potent for a chainsaw.

Marty,

Who is Chauncey Varney? I never heard of him. Of course based on my experience in this field, that's not surprising.

 

[chainsawworld]

doug,
Chauncey Varney builds and races modified and unlimited hot saws. some of his saws have been on Timbersports. he holds the world record for 10x10 white pine, 3.95 seconds, 3 cuts, cold start. he is an everyday guy too. the saw of choice is the 3120. he designed a new carb for it and it screams. hard to beat in the "started as a chainsaw" class. marty

 

[kdhotsaw]

daul 3120's

hello doug,
theres a fellow in austraulia that run 2 090's bolted together. all you have to do is get 2 3120,s from dennis and we'll make you a firebreathing hot saw.
Marty, chauncy varney is indeed one top competitors back in your area. he also cast's his own 9 port barrel for the 3120. it was so fast they wouldn't let the fellows run it at some of the shows. according to chris cicora(Stihlman036) he's not building motors anymore. To bad, He made some of the fastest.
Here'
s some of the fast times of the 2000 season sent to me from chris cicora
8 by 8 inch cant cold start Jerry Gringas 2.52 seconds
10 by 10 inch cant c.s matt bush 2.60 seconds
12 by 12 cant c.s paul woodard 4.65 seconds
Don't know the type of saws, contact chris ciroca (stihlman 036) He runs his saws with these fellows back east so he'll know what type of saws their running
P.s, Chris, Got your 3120 almost ready to send, got your package.
ken

 

[dbabcock]

Yeah Ken, it looks as if Chauncey is up in Vermont. I guess he used to be or is currently an engineer for IBM; maybe at their facility in Burlington. As we were discussing dynos the other day, it appears that Chauncey also had a hand in a data acquisition system for race cars and karts that includes strain gauge inputs for torque.

At any rate, whether he still builds saws or not is of little consequence to me. If I decide to take the plunge, you'll be the first to know.

 

[ccicora]

Hey guys,
I have video of Gary "tiny" Hammond running that saw at Avoca, NY about 3 years ago. I wanted to buy that saw but didn't have the money. Its the fastest stock appearing saw I have ever seen.
Chauncey is up in VT, but is not building any more. From what I know it was a hobby until everybody was calling him for saws. thats all I know.
The show Ken is thinking about I found out that they wanted to disqualify the saw, although the rules state anything goes but it must look stock on the outside.

Hey Ken, I'll call you later tonight( thurs. 8 pm my time now)

Later,
Chris