McCulloch Chain Saws

[Duke Thieroff]

The 650 is most certainly a compact gear drive saw. 87cc.

The saw in question is direct drive, which rules out a 650.


My best guess would be 250, S250, 300 or 380. The 450/550 saws had a rubber handle grip.


First I would measure the bore to determine what it is, then measure the stroke, as the 87cc Macs are not larger in bore than the 80cc, but have a longer stroke.


The bore size would indicate if it is an 80-87cc Mac or if it's larger.

Being that it has a full wrap and that it does not have a number stamped on the block I would be more than willing to bet that it is an 87cc Mac of the Super 250 variety.


Many of the Super 250s had a stamped nameplate, similar to the 10 series Macs.

What carb does it have on it?

Tillotson HL?
Mac with primer?
Mac with choke butterfly?


Chris

 

[Brian13]

The 650 is most certainly a compact gear drive saw. 87cc.

The saw in question is direct drive, which rules out a 650.


My best guess would be 250, S250, 300 or 380. The 450/550 saws had a rubber handle grip.


First I would measure the bore to determine what it is, then measure the stroke, as the 87cc Macs are not larger in bore than the 80cc, but have a longer stroke.


The bore size would indicate if it is an 80-87cc Mac or if it's larger.

Being that it has a full wrap and that it does not have a number stamped on the block I would be more than willing to bet that it is an 87cc Mac of the Super 250 variety.


Many of the Super 250s had a stamped nameplate, similar to the 10 series Macs.

What carb does it have on it?

Tillotson HL?
Mac with primer?
Mac with choke butterfly?


Chris

Thats more or less along the lines of what I was thinking. With so many parts interchanging, it could be a bit of all of them LOL.

 

[8433jeff]

Hey guys bear with me this post will be a little long but should be worth reading.
I visitied my dad this weekend. Cut a load of fire wood for him and patched his roof. My dad was a timber cutter through most of my child hood untill his mid 40 s when he gave it up saying it was a young mans game. he the4n went to farming and construction work. we spent twenty years not speaking to each other over some probs that arnt relevent to this post. a few moths ago he was diagnosed with ternminal cancer. We both decided to try to get to know each other again to get a sense of closure. It has been awkward but we have a few common interests that have given us something safe to talk about. One of those i s saws. this weekend dad took me into his storage trailer while we were looking for a part to a mini mac I am working on. That is where his saws are all stored. He is a Mcculloch fanatic and never threw anything away. He has 4 sp80s 3 runners 1 needs rebuilt,3 805s one of which appears in nearly new shape and one he modified with an old rh start cover so it can be started from either side due to his arthritis, 2 850s both runners,1 7-10a runner,6 or 8 610s all but 2 are runners, 1 cp 70 dissasembled in box needs seals,1 sp125c runner with concrete saw attachment, 1 nearly complete super 797 runner needs misc parts but does run, 1 old two man i couldnt identify, 3 homelite ez autos two runners 1 parts, a homelite c91complete good comp no spark and another homie i couldnt identify and a stihl concrete saw. Then the parts. New pistons rings seals bearings and gaskets for all the macs. actually 4 sets for the sp 80s. a new old stock cylynder piston crank etc. for sp 80. He says he wants to build a nos motor for one of the sp 80s before he dies so I can "have a decent damn saw'" instead of the 10-10 i rebuilt and love. also a nos cylynder piston and rings and reed assembly for th s797. Then boxes of parts that he says contain all the parts to buiold maybe two more sp80s a 10-10 and maybe anothe 610. pluss another box which has a complete 380 and most of another 1. Also a couple boxes of covers cranks cylynders air boxes card etc. etc. etc.. He told me to load it all up and take it home cause it was all old junk he aint gonna need anymore. I told him i wasnt ok taking all this stuff for nothing at which time he responded " U better F****** get ok with it or ill hit u with one of these saws." Dad was never much for diplomacy. Long story short I told him I would take them a few at a time as we sorted them out . Added to my own collection of saws i now have no room in garage for the harley forget about the truck. I dont know how to feel bout falling into these. on one hand I want to drool. On the other I want to cry.

Hi, my new best friend!

Seriously, sounds like Dad wants you to have them. So its OK to have them, since no one leaves life alive, including me and you, its good for him to know something hes saved and felt good about makes you feel good. It takes a little of the Jedi mind trick to remember him and the saws after he passes and feel good about it, and it will be completely natural to want to associate the two in a bad way, but thats not the way he wants you to remember him. So don't. You have a lot of catching up with him to do, and that may or may not involve the saws to a great extent, but I hope you spend the time with him. Whatever happened before, happened, and theres no changing the past, but its the past, not the gift you have now (thats why its called the present), you now need to let this happen, and thank him. Its the best thing you could do, and what he'll appreciate the most anyway.

And it would be cool to see pics of the two of you, maybe with some saws.

 

[Eccentric]

I agree. It's a 1-50series, 250, 300, or similar. Acres listing for the 650 is in error. As I stated before, 650 is a gear drive, with a compact gearbox under a large clutch cover and a longer fuel tank. The saw pictured has a smaller direct drive cover and fuel tank. Check out the pics of my 650 that I posted earlier...

 

[djones]

The 650 is most certainly a compact gear drive saw. 87cc.

The saw in question is direct drive, which rules out a 650.


My best guess would be 250, S250, 300 or 380. The 450/550 saws had a rubber handle grip.


First I would measure the bore to determine what it is, then measure the stroke, as the 87cc Macs are not larger in bore than the 80cc, but have a longer stroke.


The bore size would indicate if it is an 80-87cc Mac or if it's larger.

Being that it has a full wrap and that it does not have a number stamped on the block I would be more than willing to bet that it is an 87cc Mac of the Super 250 variety.


Many of the Super 250s had a stamped nameplate, similar to the 10 series Macs.

What carb does it have on it?

Tillotson HL?
Mac with primer?
Mac with choke butterfly?


Chris

It appears to be a Mac w/ choke butterfly, spring loaded lever on top right near the handle. I'll pull the muffler off tomorrow and check the bore and stroke.

 

[Eccentric]

We need to see a pic and some block numbers from underneith (as you stated) before we can go any further in this identification. A McCulloch 650 gear drive wouldn't have a "flap for a throttle lock" (or any type of throttle lock). Probably wouldn't have an 18" bar either..........but it could have one I guess. Would likely have a full wrap handlebar (mine does). A 650 would have a small gearbox under the clutch cover. Most likely, he has some other front-tank Mac. 1-50something. 250. 300. 380. 450. Something more exciting maybe (such as a Super 250, a 550, or a Super 550). Who knows..... Here's my 650...

My 650 has a side kill switch because I swapped on a flywheel cover from a 250. McCullochs are hard to possitively identify because of the parts swapping that has gone on over 40+ years. My guess here is a 300 or Super 250. I'll look up that block # when I get home. A choke type flatback (verses a primer-flatback or a Tillotson HL) does indicate a Super 250......but it could have been swapped on. A 300 would have a Tilly HL.......if it wasn't swapped out...

 

[struggle]

Thought I would share this over here as well. TALLGUY took this video of me cutting with the SP125 at the Iowa GTG

THe log was Hackberry and that crap is kind of hard. But 37seconds for a cut that big seems pretty respectable in my book:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

[video=youtube;d2wQfBA55Zw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2wQfBA55Zw[/video]

 

[djones]

I think I have it figured out now, my $20 chainsaw is probably a 250 frankenberry, it is 80 cc, with a 650 full wrap handle, 300 tuna can muffler, flywheel cover of a 650 w/ top on / off switch and a Mac carb. which added together makes it an early model 250 and it runs and cuts. That is my best estimation. Any other opinions ??

 

[Urbicide]

I think I have it figured out now, my $20 chainsaw is probably a 250 frankenberry, it is 80 cc, with a 650 full wrap handle, 300 tuna can muffler, flywheel cover of a 650 w/ top on / off switch and a Mac carb. which added together makes it an early model 250 and it runs and cuts. That is my best estimation. Any other opinions ??

The muffler alone is easily worth $20, provided it's not a rusted out StarKist can. opcorn:

 

[heimannm]

djones - you only gave us part of the numbers from the bottom of that saw. Look on the other side of the rib and you should find the model number stamped in the casting.

What you are showing is most likely a 1-52 or 1-53 with the long black top cover and the full wrap handle unless someone has already started swithing parts around. The 1-52/53 saws are in fact 87cc and have a lot of pull, not bad saws own and even use from time to time.

It is possible that the block could be a 300 or 650 as well, again 87 cc but the 300 rarely came with the full wrap.

Biggest drawback with any of the older McCulloch saws is the lack of an automatic oiler; you must be aware of the need to constantly oil manually if you actually use the saw.

Mark

 

[Eccentric]

I think I have it figured out now, my $20 chainsaw is probably a 250 frankenberry, it is 80 cc, with a 650 full wrap handle, 300 tuna can muffler, flywheel cover off a 650 w/ top on / off switch and a Mac carb. which added together makes it an early model 250 and it runs and cuts. That is my best estimation. Any other opinions ??

The full wrap handle, round muffller, and flywheel cover with the top sliding switch were not exclusive to those models you mentioned. How did you conclude that you have an 80cc saw as opposed to an 87cc saw? Both have the same bore. The difference is in the stroke. 87cc saws have a 1.5" stroke, while 80cc saws have a 1.375" stroke. Look in my pics above. The top pic shows my 650, with my 550 in the background. The 550 also has a full wrap bar, top switch flywheel cover, and round muffler. The only external differences between it and your saw are the black paint on the flywheel cover, and the more angular "mailbox" AF cover that my 99cc 550 has. Several McCullochs used the same parts, and most of these parts can be interchanged between models. I haven't been able to find a match to that block number (2183) that you found. Your full-wrap handlebar is chromed, which is ususally something you see on a 1-53 or other earlier saw in this family. Of course, it could easily have been interchanged. Whatever you've got, it's a nice looking and running McCulloch!

 

[Eccentric]

Here are two pics of my 550, and one of my 550 and 650 together.

 

[OREGONLOGGER]

Here we go once more. I've attached some fotos of what I think is a 650, given the description I found in mikes but I need a better estimate from you more qualified collectors as to it's true identity. On the bottom is stamped 2183. No other numbers are found. Tell me what I've got, please.View attachment 202601View attachment 202602View attachment 202603

Looks like a 1-52 with the choke on the right should have a HL-63D carb on her with that tuna can muffler and full wrap. The 650's should have a Flatback carb with a primer which your saw does not. So many different app's can be swaped on these saws the carb should give it away sometimes but not always..hope this helps!!

 

[Eccentric]

Looks like a 1-52 with the choke on the right should have a HL-63D carb on her with that tuna can muffler and full wrap. The 650's should have a Flatback carb with a primer which your saw does not. So many different app's can be swaped on these saws the carb should give it away sometimes but not always..hope this helps!!

Yep. I swapped the primer-flatback out of my 650 in favor of a Tillotson HL. A person could just as easily swap in a choke-flatback from a S-250, S-550, or 660 (a few 660's had the choke-flatback). Looking at a 650/660 gear drive IPL is a kick. There are SEVEN different sub models based on model number, serial number prefix, and serial number range (saws "A" through "G"). Some are 650s. Some are 660s. All are gear drives. Some have 2/1 gearboxes, while others have 3/1. Some have Tillotson HL's, some have primer-flatbacks, and some have choke-flatbacks...

On my 650 (which has both "300" and "650" stamped on the block), I also swapped on the side-switch flywheel cover from an early 250 because the top-switch cover had a broken button and wire. I actually like the side-switch covers far better, as that switch design is EXTREMELY simple and robust. No fragile wires. Just a slider and a piece of flat spring stock.

 

[OREGONLOGGER]

Yep. I swapped the primer-flatback out of my 650 in favor of a Tillotson HL. A person could just as easily swap in a choke-flatback from a S-250, S-550, or 660 (a few 660's had the choke-flatback). Looking at a 650/660 gear drive IPL is a kick. There are SEVEN different sub models based on model number, serial number prefix, and serial number range (saws "A" through "G"). Some are 650s. Some are 660s. All are gear drives. Some have 2/1 gearboxes, while others have 3/1. Some have Tillotson HL's, some have primer-flatbacks, and some have choke-flatbacks...

On my 650 (which has both "300" and "650" stamped on the block), I also swapped on the side-switch flywheel cover from an early 250 because the top-switch cover had a broken button and wire. I actually like the side-switch covers far better, as that switch design is EXTREMELY simple and robust. No fragile wires. Just a slider and a piece of flat spring stock.

You school me with every post on all these different app's...Thanks E

 

[djones]

Here we have it, the winner is mister Heimannm, the numbers on the other side of the bottom rib were very faint and almost unreadable by my shop light, but in the bright daylight the numbers 1-46 stood out after some heavy duty cleaning. so the total number is 1-46 2183. It shows that brighter minds prevail in the final analysist. The longer AF cover threw me in my research and the carb as well. Thanks to all of you for your input and time. The AS crew comes through again. Now I know what machine I have to get parts for. It kind of helps to know for sure. Thanks again all of you.

 

[HeRoze]

550 650 brag pics

what did you wrap the handles with?

 

[Warped5]

what did you wrap the handles with?

I'm not convinced they are stock .... but they could be.

I've wondered myself about spray-in bedliner. A guy over here will do it for me when they 'shoot' a pickup truck. That stuff is bullet-proof.

 

[Eccentric]

what did you wrap the handles with?

I'm not convinced they are stock .... but they could be.

I've wondered myself about spray-in bedliner. A guy over here will do it for me when they 'shoot' a pickup truck. That stuff is bullet-proof.

They have the vinyl-dip coating from the factory on them. My SP-81, 740, and 790 all have the same coating on the tops of the handlebars as well. The 550 has a bit of black tape repair on it as well. You can see that in the pic. Both saws came to me with the handlebars just as they are now. I've done nothing with the handlebars other than wipe the steel with some light oil to prevent rust.

 

[Eccentric]

Here we have it, the winner is mister Heimannm, the numbers on the other side of the bottom rib were very faint and almost unreadable by my shop light, but in the bright daylight the numbers 1-46 stood out after some heavy duty cleaning. so the total number is 1-46 2183. It shows that brighter minds prevail in the final analysist. The longer AF cover threw me in my research and the carb as well. Thanks to all of you for your input and time. The AS crew comes through again. Now I know what machine I have to get parts for. It kind of helps to know for sure. Thanks again all of you.

Cool. Sounds like somebody "updated" that 1-46 with several parts from later McCullochs.