SOLO 603...........'Mo Betta'

[Flintknapper]

Had been looking for a Solo 603 for quite some time…. and finally came across this one. It was a little rough…but I figured I could still make a decent saw out of it with a little work.

I will only use it now and then to handle some of the larger trees on the ranch.

The saw came as a ‘West Coast Version’ replete with the ugly K&N air filter and ridiculously large dogs/spikes.
Oh well…..can’t have everything….I guess.

Anyway, I stripped the saw down to its basic parts, bead blasted everything, added new parts where needed and slathered some paint on it. Time to put it back together.

Here, I have new rings on the piston, the cylinder back in place (sans paper gasket)…and the clutch installed.

I left the exhaust alone…..just cleaned up a couple of casting marks and made sure the radius’ were smooth. You can see the new rings and the (Yamabond 4) sealer in this pic also.

Got the ‘Ginormous’ muffler in place and bolted down.

Continued next post:

 

[Flintknapper]

Carburetor, fuel lines, heat shield, etc…..in place. We’re getting closer!

Full-Wrap handle installed. Another look at the cavernous muffler! Really no need to ‘mod’ it if you haven’t had port work done. The ‘innards’ are Spartan and consist of one baffle that redirects the exhaust 90°, followed by an exit hole (1” in diameter), a spark arresting screen and a front cover that forces the exhaust straight down. Amazingly quiet saw for its size.

A side view showing the adapter needed to accommodate the K&N air filter. I can’t imagine the K&N being one bit better than the stock set up (eye candy in my opinion), but who knows.

Starter cover and Air Filter installed.

All buttoned up. I purposely deviated from the stock color scheme (all red)…since I had no intention of ‘restoring’ this saw. It doesn’t look too bad in black and red.

Any number of combinations could be used. If I were to do it again….I would probably carry the black completely down the handle, but this what I settled on.

Just another view.

Maybe tune it ‘in the wood’ this weekend.

Flint.

 

[ozflea]

Sad really ....................................

 

[Eccentric]

Lookin' good. Don't pay any attention to the grumpy McOzman.

 

[moody]

Beautiful saw.

 

[SawTroll]

Sad really ....................................

Sad that he used paint on it, yes - and I suspect he is right about the air filter.......

 

[Arrowhead]

Great saw. Looks good.

 

[axlr8]

Sweet looking saw

May I ask what you painted it with???

 

[ozflea]

Sweet looking saw

May I ask what you painted it with???

Paint

And by the way I have one two

 

[SawTroll]

Cool saw anyway, but a bit too large to fit in the 6 cube class, at 103cc. Who really cares anyway?

 

[gritz]

Looks nice! I think that K&N would have to go if it were mine. I've never been a fan of those. I'd at least try to find a pre-filter to throw over it or a foam wrap around. I'd think you'd get all kind of chips clinging to that filter. The black over red is fine to me. Many Solo saws have that kind of color scheme anyway. I'd never messed with Solos until I moved to Germany. They are pretty decent saws, but the homeowner models seem pretty cheap even for a base model saw. Played around with a real nice 651 the other day.

 

[Flintknapper]

Sad really ....................................

Not to anthropomorphize, but I think the saw is fairly 'happy'. :hmm3grin2orange:

It got the following new parts:


Carb Kit
Spark Plug
Fuel Lines
Fuel Filter
Crank Seals
Oil Drive
Piston Rings
Air Filter
Clutch Hub & Bearing
7 and 8 Pin Rims
Pull Rope, Recoil Spring and Pawl
24” Oregon Power Match Bar and Chain
Chip Deflector and Various Gaskets
Available Decals


Then... got a thorough cleaning of ALL parts and fasteners, the squish reduced to .035 and a nice carb tune.

If the only indignity suffered....was a little black paint, its probably a fair trade.

I do realize...some folks are sticklers for keeping things 'stock' and I can appreciate that.

I don't feature this saw ever being a highly sought after 'collectors' saw, but it does have some appeal (for a circa 1986 machine).

It will have a leisurely life here on the ranch.

 

[Arrowhead]

I'd like to find a 603, I have a few 670's and a few 680's. I haven't ran any of them yet, they need a little love.
I hear there a great saw, a little bulky though.

 

[blsnelling]

Great work on a cool saw. Ignore the nay sayers. What kind of paint did you use?

 

[weimedog]

Nice job and great old saw! Thanks for sharing. I have a nice one ...in excellent shape thanks to Spike60...thing has solid 100cc power and sounds like an old 1970's era dirt bike! Just love those old saws.

 

[1Alpha1]

Very nice job!

 

[o8f150]

looks good,,,, this is the one I got not to long ago,,, he bought it as nos and only put 6 tanks through it,, he needed the money so I got it for a song,,, should say I stole it:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:,,, I have all the original paper work with it too,, all I have done to it is pull the base gasket and opened up the muff


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[Eccentric]

Nice legs Scott.

 

[ozflea]

Nice legs Scott.

Yeah shame about the face eh

 

[Flintknapper]

looks good,,,, this is the one I got not to long ago,,, he bought it as nos and only put 6 tanks through it,, he needed the money so I got it for a song,,, should say I stole it:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:,,, I have all the original paper work with it too,, all I have done to it is pull the base gasket and opened up the muff

Actually, one of your posts about the saw (maybe a year ago), prompted me to try and find one. I'd love to have found one in that condition, it would have remained bone stock (appearance wise).

Very nice saw.

I really like the attention to detail and the thought put into these saws. You don't readily see those things until you tear one down. (I.E. stainless steel fasteners, heat shields, easy to work on)....it is evident they strove to make the best saw they could... NOT the cheapest.

Yours is a pristine example.

I do wish mine had a de-comp valve though. It is an early model (number 61 from the first year of production 1986) so it has the older cylinder with the removable ports, but NO de-comp.