Help with rebuild & Upgrades for a Husky 359

[BING38RT]

I got a hold of another Husqvarna 359 e-tech saw with the Walboro carb on it.
I'm looking for opinions & options as what to do to increase the power or open it up.

The 2 OEM heads I have for them are shot, I did try to clean them up but too much plating damage.

I have 2 different heads( 1 Hyway & 1 Dukes ) for it neither of which seems easy to port the upper transfers and with my limited knowledge of porting I'm afraid to do anything to aggressive and yes I have a Dremel & a Timing wheel. Here's the kicker, I understand the basics of porting and how to use a degree wheel but I've never done so.

With that being said I think my best option is a base gasket delete, a pop up piston from LRB with some Caber Rings and a Wide open single port muffler and some carb retuning.

Or I could buy A Meteor Head Kit and do a base delete with their flat top piston. I'm also going to run new gas and oil lines, new filters, a new bar plate, and possibly replace the crank seals if there leaking.

What would you do if this was your saw??

 

[GusGus2020]

I'd suggest the same things you've got in the post - BGD, open muffler - but also widen the cylinder exhaust port and open that up a bit. I'd also use the dremel to better match the lower transfers to the case and narrow the divider for a smoother transition. I like Meteor over LRB, but I've also run LRB pistons in some of my saws with no issue for a couple of years now. Make sure you vent the metering side of the carb if you haven't already, too.