Big old McCulloch questions

[Vibes]

I'm at the flea market today and a guy has a nice old Mac. From what I see on Acres site, its either a 1-53 or a 300/380. It was in real nice condition but not running. I didn't have the money for it ($75), but the guy is coming back next week and said it will be running. I did a search here and from what I saw it has a Tilly carb, and not the MAC carb, but from what I could tell, it had 1/2 inch chain on it. I also didn't see any serial numbers on it.

My questions are, were there any other Macs that looked like these that came with 1/2 inch chain? Where are the serial numbers on these saws? Are these saws gear drive or direct drive, and should the chain be able to turn around the bar like on a saw with centrifical clutch. This chain would not move on this saw.

 

[leeha]

The model of the saw will
be stamped into the bottom
of the block.



Lee

 

[heimannm]

The 1-53 and 380 are both 87 cc saws, the 300 is 80, difference is the stroke; 80 cc saws are 1.375 and the 87's are 1.5".

You can't always go by the carburetor, as they were pretty interchangeable and many models came with either option, I have two 660's (gear drive saws) and one has the McCulloch and one has the Tillotson.

Check the chain again, I don't think any direct drive saws came with 1/2" pitch chain, some earlier ones may have had 7/16", and any saw could be converted to 1/2" pitch just by changing the sprocket since they all had hard nose bars and could run any pitch.

If you get a big old brute like that you will love the sound and the torque, but maybe not lugging it around or swinging it through the tree on a limbing task.

Mark

 

[RandyMac]

Looks 1-50ish, has 1/2" chain, could be 650/660.

 

[heimannm]

Excellent point Randy, if you didn't know to look closely at the clutch cover and what's behind, you might not recognize the 650/660 saws as gear drives.

Very common, expected in fact that a gear drive would come with 1/2" pitch chain, pretty odd for a direct drive saw to have 1/2" pitch unless someone changed it to keep all their chain the same.

Mark

 

[Saw Dr.]

I'm at the flea market today and a guy has a nice old Mac. From what I see on Acres site, its either a 1-53 or a 300/380. It was in real nice condition but not running. I didn't have the money for it ($75), but the guy is coming back next week and said it will be running. I did a search here and from what I saw it has a Tilly carb, and not the MAC carb, but from what I could tell, it had 1/2 inch chain on it. I also didn't see any serial numbers on it.

My questions are, were there any other Macs that looked like these that came with 1/2 inch chain? Where are the serial numbers on these saws? Are these saws gear drive or direct drive, and should the chain be able to turn around the bar like on a saw with centrifical clutch. This chain would not move on this saw.

If you pass on this saw again, please get a contact number from the guy and pass it along to me.

 

[Cantdog]

The 1-53 and 380 are both 87 cc saws, the 300 is 80, difference is the stroke; 80 cc saws are 1.375 and the 87's are 1.5".

You can't always go by the carburetor, as they were pretty interchangeable and many models came with either option, I have two 660's (gear drive saws) and one has the McCulloch and one has the Tillotson.

Check the chain again, I don't think any direct drive saws came with 1/2" pitch chain, some earlier ones may have had 7/16", and any saw could be converted to 1/2" pitch just by changing the sprocket since they all had hard nose bars and could run any pitch.

If you get a big old brute like that you will love the sound and the torque, but maybe not lugging it around or swinging it through the tree on a limbing task.

Mark

Hey Mark according to Acres site all the 1 series saws from 1-40 to the 1-63 were 80cc. 1-70 and above were 87cc or larger. Just wondering is this true or a misprint? I've found a bit of misinformation on his site before. Not being a pain but I am interested.

 

[heimannm]

The 1-52 and 1-53 were indeed 87cc saws. This can be confirmed by the workshop manual (specifications on page 123), Archie (Pes+), or simply measuring the stroke. Acres sight does happen to be incorrect on those two saws.

All of the other 1-40/50/60 series saws had one needle and one ball bearing on the crank shaft, the 1-52 and 1-53 were two ball bearings like the 200 and following saws.

Mark

 

[heimannm]

I just remembered, saw this over on e-bay. Seller doesn't know what they have but I'd say a Super 55A.

I don't know if my computer skills are up to the task, but I've attempted to put the link here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380235213287&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Mark

 

[Saw Dr.]

I just remembered, saw this over on e-bay. Seller doesn't know what they have but I'd say a Super 55A.

I don't know if my computer skills are up to the task, but I've attempted to put the link here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380235213287&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Mark

You have to love how they put that air filter lid on.

 

[leeha]

I had seen that saw Mark,
and would say your correct.
Looks like a super 55A to also.
Definatly a geardrive.


Lee

 

[RandyMac]

You have to love how they put that air filter lid on.

Din't ya know, hood scoops make ya go faster.

 

[Vibes]

I looked at the Acres site some more, and it could be the 650. It didn't look like a 1-60. It had the black air cleaner cover with the rounded edges. It didn't have the intake slots like on the 1-60 cover. It had the small round choke button that you pulled out and turned to the side to hold the choke open. I guess the other round button is a primer. I don't remember if it had 2 thumb screws holding the air cleaner on. The seller removed the cover when he tried to get the thing running. It did have that silver or white decale where the choke and primer buttons were. The model number decale was on it but completely faded to where it looked like clear tape. Unless some of the saws on Acres that aren't pictured are it, I'm leaning toward the 1-53.

This saw was nice and it looked to be a homeowner saw because it wasn't nicked up like the tree company guys saws usually are. It did have a full wrap handle though, but only a 20'' bar. The chain did seem huge though. I have a piece of .404 chain and it seemed bigger than .404. Its pretty unusual to find big saws around here.

If the saw isn't running, and the chain is still stuck, is this a problem? I've never had any gear drives.

Now I'm going to have to plan my holiday weekend around this flea market so I can get this thing.

 

[Cantdog]

The 1-52 and 1-53 were indeed 87cc saws. This can be confirmed by the workshop manual (specifications on page 123), Archie (Pes+), or simply measuring the stroke. Acres sight does happen to be incorrect on those two saws.

All of the other 1-40/50/60 series saws had one needle and one ball bearing on the crank shaft, the 1-52 and 1-53 were two ball bearings like the 200 and following saws.

Mark

Thanks for the clarification on those motor sizes. Not a big Mac guy so I only know what I read concerning those. The 1-52 in my sig my BIL bought new and I've had it on and off since 1967, (Very long and interesting history)good to know it's 87cc instead of the 80cc I thought it was. Acres site is a wonderful rescorce but with so much info to gather from a number of companys and countries it's understandable that errors occur. Thanks again!!