I guess boredom got the better of me today.After doing inventory on parts for a couple hrs.I decided to open a can of venomous snakes.Yep,I started working on a PM310.I had to replace the fuel tank & with this saw I had to pull the carb & the air box in order to get the fuel tank off.Of course since the saw is pushing 40 yrs.old,& with heat things get brittle,like the sheathing on the throttle cable.I saw a complete throttle cable on Feebay for $60 & just kept looking.Chainsawr had them for $12.95 when they hadf them.I'll give old Bob a call in the a.m.& see if he's got anything more sensible.
McCulloch Chain Saws
- Thread starter Bruce Hopf
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Pm me a pic of that saw. I’d be glad to look through my inventory!
Thanks Bob,I'll do that a bit later.Before I read your post here I gave Bob J.a call to see if he had any throttle cables in stock.He does,but I guess Mac made 2 different length cables.The shorter 12 in.cable was used on the 310 & 320,& the longer cable was used on the 330 & 340 (according to Bob J.)The longer cable can be cut to fit though.
Even though he has only one size available,he wants me to measure the one I have (?).Also,I saw a video on YouTube where a guy said he used the sheath from a #10 electrical wire.IMO a #10 electrical wire would be way too big.I'd think either a #12 or #14 gauge wire would be the right fitment.Of course the guy in the video didn't look or talk like he was the brightest candle in the window.,Lol.
Lol just keep me posted. Peaked in the shed and there is a 310 in there if you are referring to the ones with the big flat brake flag.
Bob,Mac only made one PM310 (thank God,Lol).I finally got that stinkin' handle apart to get the throttle cable out.It looks like it was broken inside the handle too,& I didn't break it! It's broken in 3 or 4 places.I think I'd rather get a new one,no offense.The one you have will probably end up breaking too as they're all old & with time & heat they all get brittle & break.Bob J.told me they're only about $5,but I think they're a bit more.
Completely understand that!!! I would do the same sir!! Just wanted you to be aware of a back up just in case. Good luck with it.
McCullochKid
ArboristSite Operative
Thank you all for the information in the previous replies.
Alright so, that large mystery mac has had a presence in the back of my mind for several days. Even though I'm skeptical of it because of its outward condition, I've had a strong gut feeling that it was a deal I should be pursuing. So I did.
It turned out to be a somewhat fruitful opportunity, because the guy had more saws that he was getting rid of. In total, I came home with four macs for $160.
Here's the breakdown of what I know from giving things a quick 10 minute look over since I got home.
Big saw: In better condition externally than I thought it would be, although there's a chunk of material missing near the air filter. Appears to have the numbers 1-71 811 on the bottom. There's also "81" that were X'd out. Turning over the engine by hand does not inspire confidence, compression feels weak. Came with an Oregon 28" hardnose bar that is in really good shape beyond the surface rust.
10 series mac?: Haven't messed with it yet, serious mag rot happening on the bottom, everything else external seems decent. Model 60005.
Mac 300: In surprisingly good shape. Compression feels good and it starts on a prime. Came with a nice bar.
Partial Mac 33?: I think it's a model 33? Something funky happening with the coil and flywheel, it's like they're somewhat wedged together. Also came with a nice bar.
I have to admit, I'm not feeling so confident about this deal. I really wanted the big mac to be a runner, but the weak feeling compression doesn't inspire confidence. How do you remove the muffler off that saw? I need to get in and look at the piston and cylinder.
At the very least, I figure if nothing else I could keep the nice 300 and maybe make some of my money back selling the rest as parts saws if their engines turn out to be junk.
What do you guys think? Good or bad deal?
Some pics
Alright so, that large mystery mac has had a presence in the back of my mind for several days. Even though I'm skeptical of it because of its outward condition, I've had a strong gut feeling that it was a deal I should be pursuing. So I did.
It turned out to be a somewhat fruitful opportunity, because the guy had more saws that he was getting rid of. In total, I came home with four macs for $160.
Here's the breakdown of what I know from giving things a quick 10 minute look over since I got home.
Big saw: In better condition externally than I thought it would be, although there's a chunk of material missing near the air filter. Appears to have the numbers 1-71 811 on the bottom. There's also "81" that were X'd out. Turning over the engine by hand does not inspire confidence, compression feels weak. Came with an Oregon 28" hardnose bar that is in really good shape beyond the surface rust.
10 series mac?: Haven't messed with it yet, serious mag rot happening on the bottom, everything else external seems decent. Model 60005.
Mac 300: In surprisingly good shape. Compression feels good and it starts on a prime. Came with a nice bar.
Partial Mac 33?: I think it's a model 33? Something funky happening with the coil and flywheel, it's like they're somewhat wedged together. Also came with a nice bar.
I have to admit, I'm not feeling so confident about this deal. I really wanted the big mac to be a runner, but the weak feeling compression doesn't inspire confidence. How do you remove the muffler off that saw? I need to get in and look at the piston and cylinder.
At the very least, I figure if nothing else I could keep the nice 300 and maybe make some of my money back selling the rest as parts saws if their engines turn out to be junk.
What do you guys think? Good or bad deal?
Some pics
Sometimes what makes a good saw is somewhat subjective. 160.00$ for four saws that could be runners is a good deal in my opinion, imagine a 160.00 Stihl 044 or a Husqvarna 372xp ? It would be junk with maybe some useful parts.
Making a useful saw is part of the pride in the hobby for me ,buying a useful saw is something anyone can do.
matt_lamb_160
ArboristSite Operative
$160 is a bargain. Good to see a front tank saw that has so much paint still on the fuel tank!
If the coil lead is good on that 10 series saw, I bet it runs (might take a few primes).
I always take the front cover off of the tank on saws like the 300 before running them. They almost always have crud on the bottom and usually some rot, cleaning them save clogging the fuel system and might save the tank long term.
Pity about the compression on the 1-71, but it might surprise you. Might be worth taking the exhaust off to have a look. Main thing is not to give up once you start.
I have a shelf full of so-called 'parts saws' that all run. Most common issue I find is the people who pull them a part for no apparent reason and fail to reassemble them. Pull the carbs off and loose them when they probably weren't even the issue, etc. Most of the ones I have bought with missing carbs have had an air leak and there was likely nothing wrong with the now lost carb.
If the coil lead is good on that 10 series saw, I bet it runs (might take a few primes).
I always take the front cover off of the tank on saws like the 300 before running them. They almost always have crud on the bottom and usually some rot, cleaning them save clogging the fuel system and might save the tank long term.
Pity about the compression on the 1-71, but it might surprise you. Might be worth taking the exhaust off to have a look. Main thing is not to give up once you start.
I have a shelf full of so-called 'parts saws' that all run. Most common issue I find is the people who pull them a part for no apparent reason and fail to reassemble them. Pull the carbs off and loose them when they probably weren't even the issue, etc. Most of the ones I have bought with missing carbs have had an air leak and there was likely nothing wrong with the now lost carb.
Take the two screws off to remove the cover then you should be able to see the cylinder. 1-71 and 1-81 share the same block the difference is the 1-81 being gear drive if I recall.
The 10-series is a Super 10-10 or Super 10-10 A, fyi.
McCullochKid
ArboristSite Operative
Just a quick update, I'm feeling a lot better about this purchase now.
First off: So it's definitely a 1-71? 87cc "kart" saw? I checked and my saw does indeed have the removable head on it, which is a really cool deal. That means that even in the worst case scenario, I could take apart the engine and it would be relatively simple to have the cylinder rebored, right? Especially since it's cast iron.
Is this a desirable model at all? How does one in good running condition perform? It might not be one of the 99cc monsters, but it's still pretty exciting to get my hands on a 87cc mac. Any old saws over even 70cc are hard to come by over in my corner of the states, and usually really expensive to boot.
Anyway, I didn't really have the time to start digging into things in depth today, but I did do a little experiment with the 1-71.
I put the starter back on, then gave it a prime through the carb, just to see if anything would happen. Appears to have no spark, but what I did immediately notice was that the compression seemed to noticeably increase. Could it be that it's been so long since it last ran that things just sort of dried out in the cylinder? Does that kind of thing even happen?
Either way, I'll have to get my compression tester on it tomorrow, but just going by feel I would guess that it has somewhere in the range of 110-140 PSI compression. Feels like it should be able to run.
First off: So it's definitely a 1-71? 87cc "kart" saw? I checked and my saw does indeed have the removable head on it, which is a really cool deal. That means that even in the worst case scenario, I could take apart the engine and it would be relatively simple to have the cylinder rebored, right? Especially since it's cast iron.
Is this a desirable model at all? How does one in good running condition perform? It might not be one of the 99cc monsters, but it's still pretty exciting to get my hands on a 87cc mac. Any old saws over even 70cc are hard to come by over in my corner of the states, and usually really expensive to boot.
Anyway, I didn't really have the time to start digging into things in depth today, but I did do a little experiment with the 1-71.
I put the starter back on, then gave it a prime through the carb, just to see if anything would happen. Appears to have no spark, but what I did immediately notice was that the compression seemed to noticeably increase. Could it be that it's been so long since it last ran that things just sort of dried out in the cylinder? Does that kind of thing even happen?
Either way, I'll have to get my compression tester on it tomorrow, but just going by feel I would guess that it has somewhere in the range of 110-140 PSI compression. Feels like it should be able to run.
Oh I agree. I love tearing into these old saws and working on them. I'm just wary of approaching potential fix-up projects when a lot of mag rot and/or blown out engines are involved.
The two right on the front? I tried those, but they're very rusty and just spin in place.
Good to know, thanks. Would be nice if the piston and cylinder are still good. Here's a look at the scene going on underneath of it, in all its mag rot and rusted out muffler glory.
I forgot there’s nuts on the backside of the ones you say are spinning. Just take the entire muffler off there’s two bolts you should be able to get to. Pics are from my 1-70 that has the same 87cc KART engine. I’ve only made a few cuts with mine but it has no problem with a 24” bar. Not gonna win any races but it has gobs of torque
One of the things I did when searching about parts for my 1-70 was to visit the vintage Kart forums and do internet searches on the McCulloch MC10 Kart engine. I Found some cool mufflers and intakes and stuff but they would never work on a saw lol. Did find a nice filter screen setup for the carb and a copper muffler gasket
one of the sources.
https://www.vintagekartforum.com/showthread.php?tid=294
one of the sources.
https://www.vintagekartforum.com/showthread.php?tid=294
McCullochKid
ArboristSite Operative
Thanks for all those great resources, Goinwheelin!
Anyway, the state of this saw is pretty insane. Look at what I found under the muffler!
Against all odds, it looks like the piston and rings are still in good condition, or at least what little bits I can see of them.
Cylinders looking good too, except peeking through the spark plug hole reveals what looks like some light rust near the exhaust?
And speaking of the spark plug, it's pretty white and powdery on the end. However, there is indeed strong spark, which makes me wonder why it didn't even pop when I primed it yesterday. Although with how plugged the exhaust port is, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason why.
Took some other pics to give an idea of the general condition of things, including a spider that was living under the flywheel cover that tried to attack me.
I didn't even bother with the compression tester; I'm scared of pulling the cord any more until I take care of that enormous buildup in the exhaust port.
In this case, would it be considered acceptable to set the piston at BDC, then simply remove the head to clean up the exhaust ports and rust, rather than disassembling the entire saw right away?
Anyway, the state of this saw is pretty insane. Look at what I found under the muffler!
Against all odds, it looks like the piston and rings are still in good condition, or at least what little bits I can see of them.
Cylinders looking good too, except peeking through the spark plug hole reveals what looks like some light rust near the exhaust?
And speaking of the spark plug, it's pretty white and powdery on the end. However, there is indeed strong spark, which makes me wonder why it didn't even pop when I primed it yesterday. Although with how plugged the exhaust port is, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason why.
Took some other pics to give an idea of the general condition of things, including a spider that was living under the flywheel cover that tried to attack me.
I didn't even bother with the compression tester; I'm scared of pulling the cord any more until I take care of that enormous buildup in the exhaust port.
In this case, would it be considered acceptable to set the piston at BDC, then simply remove the head to clean up the exhaust ports and rust, rather than disassembling the entire saw right away?
Those rings packed with carbon are a likely contributor to your lack of compression. I'd say you actually got lucky under the hood despite all the carbon. Now you need to tear it down and clean it up.
I agree with Pogo. Tear it down and clean it up.
Ed - the wire inside the throttle cable is 0.030" diameter and fairly stiff.
1-71 is a desirable saw but not really a kart engine. Take the time to disassemble and clean it thoroughly, one chunk of that carbon in the cylinder could be bad.
FWIW a page or two back...there were 3-10 saws before there were 310 saws.
Mark
1-71 is a desirable saw but not really a kart engine. Take the time to disassemble and clean it thoroughly, one chunk of that carbon in the cylinder could be bad.
FWIW a page or two back...there were 3-10 saws before there were 310 saws.
Mark
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