buy new, or buy used and mod?

[A.D.]

Hey all,
I am a newbie.
If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions to ask.
I found a chainsaw mill that used to be my grandfather's. I have his old saw too(Poulan 361). It is very old and never had anything done to it except the carb was rebuilt once. It doesn't have much comperssion anymore, so it won't do. I have been looking at getting a new Stihl 440 and doing a muffler mod to it. How much horspower could I expect out of that? I need enough power for the saw mill. Or should I buy a used 044 or 066 off ebay and smothe the ports and open up the muffler? I have worked on 2 stoke engines before and smothed out the ports on a 125 dirt bike, so I am willing to take it all apart. But is it worth it, how much powercan I gain? I want to use the saw for regular use too, so I don't want it to be super big(deminsionaly). My Poulan 361 is ALL metal so it doesn't have to be super light either. I looked at some Husky's but I don't care for the controls. I think Stihl is what i am going to get. Basically is it worth the risk to buy a used chainsaw off ebay? How much can I expect to spend on piston, rings, and gaskets? About how much does a jug run if I have to change it? Thanks for all the replys you have made over the years to others. I have learned a lot already.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Welcome to the site!

I'd recommend staying away from an 044/440 for milling, unless you're milling smaller, softer stuff, and don't mind being a bit on the short end of power. The 440 is a great saw, with great power, but milling, and cutting with the grain simply sucks up the hp, and therefore, the need for more. I'd look for a good 066/660. They're out there. Watch ebay for a while, and you'll start to see who regularly offers good, clean saws, and then buy from him. It helps to have a seller who knows what he's talking about. You can find good saws that come from estate sales that were owned by some old guy who died, and harldly ever used it beforehand. Just watch and ask questions. A new, factory jug and piston is easily what, $150+? I don't know, never bought one, but the 660 is still made, so it won't be like getting parts for an 056 or 075 or something like that. If you change a piston, I'd change the jug with it, as a set. Just my opinion. As far as weight and dimensions, I just used my buddy's 660 yesterday, as he had out it out here at the house, and I was using my 361 and 460, and he offered it up to buck and limb this pretty good size WRC I just brought down, and let me tell, I forgot I was using a 660. It felt like my 460 and it had a 32" bar on it. A very well handling saw in my opinion. If you're wanting to mill and use for bucking and felling, all in one saw, that's a tall order, but I think the 066/660 is a good saw for that.

Take care all,
Jeff

 

[Lawn Masters]

Mod one of those, and you've got it made. it would be like having an 088 in a lighter weight machine.

 

[A.D.]

Thanks guys!
How much can I open up the muffler on the 660? I think I read somewhere on this site that 85% of the exhaust port area was a good reference??
Does anybody know where I can get parts for a 361 poulan?? All it needs are rings and a carb kit, but I can't find either around here. I think it was bought new around 68-69. It's a tough old saw. Poulan sure doesn't make them like that anymore!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

If you get an 066 that's older, you won't need to do the muffler. If it's newer, you can order an old dual port muffler cover and switch it out. If you need the part number, somebody here can get it for you, or I'll dig it up as a last resort. Otherwise 125% worked best for me.
If I were looking for a used 066, I'd look for one of the old (1991 (?)) red light specials. Dubbed for the little red tachometer light built into the side cover. for some reason these saws really burped out the power.
Just my opinions.

 

[njforestfire]

Try eBay for the parts...other than that I'm not sure. Possibly finding another Poulan collector on here could help you out. I have 2 mufflers opened up to 80% (365 and 036 pro) and they work great! Each does have a little more umph now. I kept it at 80% to keep SOME back pressure in the expansion chamber.

 

[DirtTroll]

For milling you are looking for raw torque and ignore the RPM's issue. 660 is a great saw, but for milling look to a 084, 088, 090, 070, 075, or other low rpm and high torque saw. Even the old big MACs are good in this regard. Like I said look for raw torque. The 660 builds most of its torque at really high rpm's. Milling will bog a saw down. Simple fact, and that isn't good for the longevity to a 660. There is a reason why the old, heavy 090's still command heathly $$$. That reason is that they just can't be beat for the raw torque needed for milling.

 

[Cut4fun]

Poulan parts http://www.odref.com/index.html try this sight. Just ordered from there too. They have complete breakdowns of part numbers and parts in pits.