Dad's P20 needs a modern upgrade

[Matt Thompson]

Hey folks, I'm new here. How y'all doon', friends?

Dad gave me his oil Pioneer P20 and granddad's 1072 Holiday II. The latter needs a primer bulb but the P20 has been cutting okay for firewood and old snags. I'd like to cut a bit better without modding the motor.

So I'm thinking about getting a NOS 14" hardnose Pioneer bar so it sits pretty on the shelf, as well as a 0.050" gauge Oregon bar and chain. Since I could also use a new sprocket/drum, I'm thinking about getting the Oregon 11891 rim. I'd like to go 16"+ with a "normal" (even) number of drive links. I'm thinking 54 DL 0.325" pitch with a sprocket nose, if that works out on the rim okay.

Or would I be better off with another setup? Is there a 0.375" LP rim available for the stock clutch? Doesn't seem like there would be.

 

[rupedoggy]

pretty on the shelf? Ah I ain't goin'a say it.

 

[Matt Thompson]

pretty on the shelf? Ah I ain't goin'a say it.

I intend on using it, but I also intend on putting it away during the winter.ike last winter, I took it apart and cleaned all the gunk up. I think a new bar with original artwork would look great when by buddies and I are hanging out in the shed and grilling during these long winters.

It's still my primary saw, and I've got a 50-foot cedar getting felled next month... She's leaning bad over the house with two leaders going each way starting 8' up. I told them if they could fell it safely, I'll take over the rest. This saw also bucked up a 60' spruce that got knocked over last year, about 24" at the stump. With the original 14" bar.

She gets used. But she also needs the spa treatment once a year. The plastic Poulan and Husq don't get that kind of care.

 

[Brent Nowell]

I’m sorry I have no input on the pioneer and what to recommend but sort of on topic is it not possible to just delete the primer bulb from the system? Would be nice to never have to worry about that rotting out ever again

 

[Matt Thompson]

I’m sorry I have no input on the pioneer and what to recommend but sort of on topic is it not possible to just delete the primer bulb from the system? Would be nice to never have to worry about that rotting out ever again

It is currently bypassed, but I haven't gotten it running yet. Haven't needed to. I'm the kind of guy who likes to keep it as it was made. Once the P20 is cutting better I'll start playing with the Holiday. Dad said it always worked fine when he used it, but he used them less than I do and he has more patience than me.

While we're talking about these mid-70s saws, is it REALLY better to keep using 16:1 or should I go thinner? Neither saw has seen less than 16:1 and they're just chromed cylinder walls so I'm a little worried about going 32-40:1, especially when I'm using 90 octane. Only way to get ethanol free, though I may change a the lines next.

 

[Brent Nowell]

Well being new here the first thing I realized posting was don’t ask about oil ratios and what’s best, lol search and you will see tons of threads on the issue.
For me my McCullough super pro 60 asked for 20:1, now I know through searching that you do not need to run that much oil with the modern water stroke oil products. I did cause I like how the old saw smokes

Run what the manual recommended for the time if you like keeping things original such as myself

 

[Matt Thompson]

Well being new here the first thing I realized posting was don’t ask about oil ratios and what’s best, lol search and you will see tons of threads on the issue.
For me my McCullough super pro 60 asked for 20:1, now I know through searching that you do not need to run that much oil with the modern water stroke oil products. I did cause I like how the old saw smokes

Run what the manual recommended for the time if you like keeping things original such as myself

Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing, unless someone says that modern oil at that ratio is actually bad for the saw.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I run 40 :1 in all my old Pioneers and have done so for about 20 years now, cast iron bores and chrome bores alike. The newer two stroke oils actually lubricate and burn better than the old crankcase oils that were used back when these saws were newly made.

 

[Little Al]

The 3 or 4 1072's Iv'e had & flipped none had a primer bulb. IIRC the P20 came with 3/8th x 058 chain size I wouldn't run a fuel mix south of 32/1 & use modern oil ,if you cut for any length of time i' m thinking you will get fed up with excessive smoke & possibly numb fingered with no AV. Good saws though if kept up together Why don't you get a Pioneer bar for it's shelf queen days, Brice on custom chainsaw parts used to have them listed on E Bay There are some up market bars for reasonable prices Sugi,Total, Tsmura,etc. Bling your saw what

 

[Matt Thompson]

The 3 or 4 1072's Iv'e had & flipped none had a primer bulb. IIRC the P20 came with 3/8th x 058 chain size I wouldn't run a fuel mix south of 32/1 & use modern oil ,if you cut for any length of time i' m thinking you will get fed up with excessive smoke & possibly numb fingered with no AV. Good saws though if kept up together Why don't you get a Pioneer bar for it's shelf queen days, Brice on custom chainsaw parts used to have them listed on E Bay There are some up market bars for reasonable prices Sugi,Total, Tsmura,etc. Bling your saw what

Yup, the 14" bar is 0.058" gauge, 3/8" pitch. I'd like a thinner profile to hopefully slice a little quicker, assuming it doesn't load up too bad. The Oregon rim listed for my saw is a 0.325" pitch, so I'd really like to find a combo that offers full-comp instead of the 53 drive-link chain that I need for the OEM setup. I'm kind of nit-picky about stuff like that... ;-)

But I still want the NOS OEM bar, just for looks. I'll use it like that too, but not as often.

As for the 1072, this one had the bulb but it was eaten away by ethanol. I don't think dad or granddad thought much about it when we started getting it in our pumps. Dad had to replace the fuel cap on the P20 because the ethanol killed that, too. He machined a brass plug with a buna o-ring and that looks fine. I don't feel like it will break off when it gets too snug, either.