Homelite 8-29 Restoration

[torinocobra]

I have had this saw on my bench all torn down for quite a while now as I have been accumulating parts for a restoration, and was excited to start assembly. It is a Homelite 8-29, from around 1958, and is a 129cc belt drive. The largest displacement Homelite ever made.

View attachment 218665
View attachment 218666
View attachment 218667

This one came with a Brown 1-CS carb. A Tillotson HP-19B was also available.

View attachment 218668

It has taken lots of donor saws and help from Chain Saw Lady, Tori, Keith, and an online auction site over the last year or two to get this saw back on track.

View attachment 218669

Luckily the saw had a good belt, or it would have been a wall hanger because each Homelite uses a different gilmer belt (20MCS, 26LCS, 5-30, 7-29, 8-29) and I have never seen another available. These saws are nearly 50 years old, and so putting together a straight saw with all the parts took time. The 7-29 and 8-29 saws use a wider gas tank and air filter, the thicker drive case cover, and were the first of the opalescent green color Homelite used for a while.

 

[Brian13]

Pics say invalid attachment.

 

[torinocobra]

Should be fixed. Now Im trying to figure out how to show images instead of links.

 

[Brian13]

Here you go.

I have had this saw on my bench all torn down for quite a while now as I have been accumulating parts for a restoration, and was excited to start assembly. It is a Homelite 8-29, from around 1958, and is a 129cc belt drive. The largest displacement Homelite ever made.

This one came with a Brown 1-CS carb. A Tillotson HP-19B was also available.

It has taken lots of donor saws and help from Chain Saw Lady, Tori, Keith, and an online auction site over the last year or two to get this saw back on track.

Luckily the saw had a good belt, or it would have been a wall hanger because each Homelite uses a different gilmer belt (20MCS, 26LCS, 5-30, 7-29, 8-29) and I have never seen another available. These saws are nearly 50 years old, and so putting together a straight saw with all the parts took time. The 7-29 and 8-29 saws use a wider gas tank and air filter, the thicker drive case cover, and were the first of the opalescent green color Homelite used for a while.

Nice project!!

 

[leeha]

Sweet saw, Congrats on saving another old Homie from the dead.
I like those 7-29 and 8-29. They are pretty beasty saws.
I have a 7-29 that is in need of a few parts. If you have any left
overs, Let me know.

How do you get you name torinocobra.



Lee

 

[torinocobra]

I ran the parts through the blast cabinet to clean them up, and filled nicks and scratches with JB Weld and sanded smooth.

View attachment 218686

I assembled the gas tank halves and fuel pickup with fuel line with aviation sealer, let it cure, then sanded out the excess sealer before paint.

View attachment 218689

The crankcase, intake, and back plate were all an aluminum color and the best match that I liked was VHT Flame Proof Ceramic Header Coating. It is a heat and chemical resistant paint in a rattle can that needs to be baked on to reach full strength.

View attachment 218690

While they were being baked I cut the gaskets and cleaned up motor parts and hardware. The gaskets were 2 different materials in 3 thicknesses. The thickness had to be right so that the intake/carb/aircleaner all went together correctly without snaping something. Several of the gaskets could have been bought, but I wanted to save the money. I did buy a head gasket though.

View attachment 218687

The cylinder was blasted on the outside, and I used gasket remover to clean the bore and piston. Everything got washed with hot water, and Im ready to assemble the motor.

View attachment 218697

 

[torinocobra]

Sweet saw, Congrats on saving another old Homie from the dead.
I like those 7-29 and 8-29. They are pretty beasty saws.
I have a 7-29 that is in need of a few parts. If you have any left
overs, Let me know.

How do you get you name torinocobra.



Lee

Let me know what you need Lee and I will try and help, Im kind of aware of what is available right now. As for the name, out of high school I started in on a 70 Torino, fixing it up into a cobra wannabee. I registered on ebay with the name cause it was my baby, and used it online ever since. Thats actually one of the reasons I tinker with chainsaws so much now. The cars and trucks take up more room, are expensive, and never get finished.

 

[hoss]

:msp_thumbsup:opcorn:

 

[leeha]

Your doing an excellent job, My kind of thread.
Making those gaskets can be very teadious to make.
I will give my 7-29 a look this weekend and see what
it needs. I do know it needs the belt cover. Corosion
took over but not sure what else it needs.

The torinocobra name i ask because i have a
70 Torino Cobra with 429SCJ DragPack with 4 speed and 4:30 rear.




Lee

 

[buzz sawyer]

That's gonna be a fine lookin Homie. I do the same thing with the JB weld. No problems yet. Do you have you paint colors picked out yet?

 

[homelitejim]

opcorn:

 

[Mr. Bow Saw]

I ran the parts through the blast cabinet to clean them up, and filled nicks and scratches with JB Weld and sanded smooth.

I assembled the gas tank halves and fuel pickup with fuel line with aviation sealer, let it cure, then sanded out the excess sealer before paint.

The crankcase, intake, and back plate were all an aluminum color and the best match that I liked was VHT Flame Proof Ceramic Header Coating. It is a heat and chemical resistant paint in a rattle can that needs to be baked on to reach full strength.

While they were being baked I cut the gaskets and cleaned up motor parts and hardware. The gaskets were 2 different materials in 3 thicknesses. The thickness had to be right so that the intake/carb/aircleaner all went together correctly without snaping something. Several of the gaskets could have been bought, but I wanted to save the money. I did buy a head gasket though.

The cylinder was blasted on the outside, and I used gasket remover to clean the bore and piston. Everything got washed with hot water, and Im ready to assemble the motor.

Nice rebuild thread.:msp_thumbup:

 

[Jacob J.]

Inserting the links for Gilmer belt/drive belt info:

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/149221-2.htm

http://www.arboristsite.com/stickies/101147-33.htm#post2430304

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/137933.htm#post2252506

Nitroman was the first to get me the info.

 

[Eccentric]

Fantastic project. opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

 

[belgian]

Nice saw that one ......my backs hurts just by lookin at it...LOL.

 

[cbfarmall]

Inserting the links for Gilmer belt/drive belt info:

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/149221-2.htm

http://www.arboristsite.com/stickies/101147-33.htm#post2430304

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/137933.htm#post2252506

Nitroman was the first to get me the info.

Did anybody actually follow thru and try one of these AM belts to check the fit?

Chris B.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Should be fixed. Now Im trying to figure out how to show images instead of links.

My contribution to this rebuild will be to offer the instructions in my sig on embedding pics.

 

[Somesawguy]

opcorn:

 

[torinocobra]

That's gonna be a fine lookin Homie. I do the same thing with the JB weld. No problems yet. Do you have you paint colors picked out yet?

I had the paint made up already, it is PPG omni AU. I had them paint match the opalescent green and the homelite red. The green came off of the back of the flywheel shroud, which was protected by a half inch of goop. The color in this area seemed to be pretty consistent between a few saws and wasn't faded, so I went with it. The homelite red I had them match an nos piece I had. Going with the omni paint was a mistake, I think, because it is a single stage paint. I thought this would look best because I wanted to try and replicate the industrial, flat look of the original. But now it is causing me hassle because I didn't consider the decals, which need to be cleared over to protect them. So I'll be on a strict timeline with the prime, paint, decals, clear process.

 

[leeha]

I use all single stage paint for my resto's.
I like it alot but it doe's give much more
of a shine than original. As for the decals,
I don't clear over them. I look at it this way.
Be carefull when fueling, Not a saw your going
to run everyday. And the factory didn't clear over
the original decal and they had no problems.
You can also add a flatening agent to the paint
to get rid of some of the shine.




Lee