Any info on a Husqvarna 268??

[Whitelightnin]

Hi guys, newbie to the site here. Ive gotten into firewood cutting pretty serious this year and have quite a stash stuck back praying for a good cold winter. Ive been running 2 Husky 450 ranchers and have no complaints with them. However i ran my dads 372xpw for a day and fell in love. I decided I wanted a chainsaw with a little more umph than my 450s. I had a fella from another site offer up a mint condition husky 268 non xp. with 2 - 24" bars and 2- 16" bars with chains. For $300. The saw truly looks unused. I took a chance and bought it. When i first used it it didnt sound right. I had our mechanic tune the carb and now its a mean running machine. Can anyone shed some light on this saw please? Is there any differences from the xp other than being open ported and a little less torqued? How many cc's is this saw? Did i make a good purchase in anyone else's eyes? Ill try to post some pics.

 

[Whitelightnin]

 

[Whitelightnin]

 

[Whitelightnin]

 

[Whitelightnin]

 

[Whitelightnin]

 

[Jet47]

They made two versions of the 268. The first was a 268xp. Then later they dropped the xp. I am not sure why but would guess they de-tuned them a little. i think the 272 may have replaced it but not sure on that.
The saw looks like it is well worth what you paid.

 

[Big_Wood]

i would say you got one heck of a deal. the tuning thing is likely cause it was rich. everyone on forums are scared stiff to score a saw so tune so bloody rich it damn near makes a saw unusable in some cases. the average ear wouldn't even be able to hear my saws 4 stroke and they live long happy lives.

 

[svk]

That's a beautiful saw! If you do need to replace piston and cylinder in the future you can bolt a 272 right on.

 

[Whitelightnin]

Thanks guys! Ive also been trying to find out if this saw is stout enough to handle a 24" bar. Ive heard some say its ok others recommend a 20-22" it ran fine with the 24" the other day but i dont want to cause any unnecessary damage later on if it is an issue. I really wanted a 372xp but don't have the cash to drop on one. My dad bought his 372xpw from his buddys pawn shop for $150!!!!!!! Makes me sick all the great deals he gets! Ha!

 

[Husky394268]

That is one of my favorite saws. You can buy and mod them very cheap. Find a 272 PC. Do a mild port job and a muffler mod you just might surprise your dad. 20" bar is my favorite for this saw.

 

[burnses]

get a good tune on that thing and cut some wood and get a good feel of the power and balance....then get with the chain and get good at sharpening if you are not already and I think stock will be plenty of power....if ya only gonna do fire wood could change to 325 chain....could be some performance gain there...that thing is too nice to mod....just my opinion

nice score

 

[Whitelightnin]

get a good tune on that thing and cut some wood and get a good feel of the power and balance....then get with the chain and get good at sharpening if you are not already and I think stock will be plenty of power....if ya only gonna do fire wood could change to 325 chain....could be some performance gain there...that thing is too nice to mod....just my opinion

nice score

My thoughts exactly on the modifying. I wish it was an xp but im not gonna fret over that. It cut through a 14" oak log like butter yesterday so i feel i may have plenty of power as is. If it ever craps out on me i may rebuild with 272 components.

 

[computeruser]

You have a great example of a great saw and you got it for a great price. I'd gladly pay that, or maybe a bit more, for it PHO.

The whole need to tinker/modify seems to be contagious around here, but if that were my saw, I would leave it alone. It is a classic and you owe it to the saw and to its dignity to respect it for what it is. Take good care of it, keep it clean, and enjoy it. With care, it will last many years (or decades) before needing to be torn down. If you want more cutting speed, do a better job sharpening your chains - there is a lot of potential there, and it's a lot cheaper to get your performance there than by way of porting and machine work! And if you're hell-bent on modding one up, ugly but mechanically sound ones are dime a dozen, so go hack on one of those instead.

You should be fine anywhere up to and including 24" bar in hardwood, or longer in softwood. I think that they feel and balance best with 18", personally, but I prefer to run short bar/big powerhead for my style of cutting and to keep the bar tip out of the dirt!

 

[hseII]

View attachment 515869

I've sold 2- 268s locally for $300 w/ 20" bars, and they were not that nice.

Those are good saws.

If the muffler needs opening a bit, go ahead: otherwise leave it alone.

I'd stick with 20" 3/8" if it were me, unless you like the way it handles with a 24".

It's your saw, run it the way it fits you the best.

 

[SEAM]

A 268 that nice would end up on the shelf in my collection room...

Great deal!!

 

[Whitelightnin]

You have a great example of a great saw and you got it for a great price. I'd gladly pay that, or maybe a bit more, for it PHO.

The whole need to tinker/modify seems to be contagious around here, but if that were my saw, I would leave it alone. It is a classic and you owe it to the saw and to its dignity to respect it for what it is. Take good care of it, keep it clean, and enjoy it. With care, it will last many years (or decades) before needing to be torn down. If you want more cutting speed, do a better job sharpening your chains - there is a lot of potential there, and it's a lot cheaper to get your performance there than by way of porting and machine work! And if you're hell-bent on modding one up, ugly but mechanically sound ones are dime a dozen, so go hack on one of those instead.

You should be fine anywhere up to and including 24" bar in hardwood, or longer in softwood. I think that they feel and balance best with 18", personally, but I prefer to run short bar/big powerhead for my style of cutting and to keep the bar tip out of the dirt!

I agree 100%. It's too nice to hack on. Almost like a work of art you dont want to get dirty ha. Its got plenty more ass than my 450 ranchers so id have to say im well satisfied. I may drop down to a 20" bar for 90% of its use and keep the 24" around for the bigger oaks like the 4' diameter oak dad wants cut up.

 

[Whitelightnin]

A 268 that nice would end up on the shelf in my collection room...

Great deal!!

My buddy/partner in the firewood business collects older mccullochs. He drooled when he saw my 268!

 

[jerhurt]

Nice saw and a heck of deal


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[Cantdog]

Very nice....the non XP 268 is a great runner and the casting on the Gilardoni cyl is superb...plus it has 1 more cooling fin the the Mahle XP version. I built the 61 conversion in my sig first using the Gilardoni cyl....ported and went very well....no complaints. That said if you are concerned about power the closed port XP cyl ported is a big step up....these cyls have larger tranfers than the 50mm 266XP cyls. My 61/268XP (ported) is much more capable than it previously was. The 272 is often over hyped IMHO unless you are wanting to run more the 24" of bar.....The 268XP and 272XP are practically indistinguishable in cut speed with any bar up to 24".....after that the 272 will finally start to pull away and show that there's no replacement for displacement. This family of saws balances best with an 18" bar...20 is good too...24" and they get a bit nose heavy and that just gets worse the longer you go. Great saw you have there...personally, as others have already said, I wouldn't alter that saw a bit.....run an 18" or 20" and enjoy. You need to run a longer bar, build yourself a ported 272XP from bits pieces for short $$$ and enjoy that too!!!