Picked up a McCulloch CP70 from an estate sale that hasn't seen much use. I'd say it's a 9 out of 10. I have a Mac Super 250 that I fool around with a little sometimes, but it's like carrying a mine sweeper anchor. Fun to run but not fun to lug. Anyway, I generally always go for Stihls and have way too many of those now, but have become a little fascinated with the old American Iron lately, guess just for a little variety. I saw the CP70 in the basement and kinda tinkered around with it a little, pulling the starter cord to check compression and discovered it was very weak. Otherwise, it looked to be in really really good shape. Also had an original McCulloch bar & chain. I had never seen or even heard of one of these. Figured maybe somebody had straight gassed it or something, and it would be another one to take apart and learn a little. Anyway, he said he'd take $20. for it, so naturally I brought it home...started really looking at it closely, and discovered it had a funky looking little wire lever on the right side, above the muffler that could rest in one of two notches in a small frame in which it was mounted. OK, internet time. Found out this fairly compact saw was 70cc!! Had no earthly idea. From it's size, it looked like maybe something in the 50cc range. OK, I'm really interested now. Found out the wire contraption is a lever for a compression release! Now I can see why it was so weak on compression but looked so good - the compression release was in! So I start seeing what all I need to do to get it running. The guy said it was his dad's, but that he thought it had seen little use and had been sitting for years. Made sense, since his dad had just passed at 87 years old. He said he had tried to start it but got nowhere...
Just got it apart this morning and I see why...2 reasons actually. One, was that the wire from the switch on the handle had become unplugged inside the recoil housing. It was just laying next to the coil. Two, was the old gas. It must have sat for at least 10+ years with about a half a tank of gas in it. Smelled awful when I got the cap off. More like paint varnish than gas. Of course, the fuel line and filter were like a semi petrified slimey noodle. The carburetor box side of the line was almost new looking, so I'm thinking/hoping that the carb wasn't full of this crap too. When I pulled the fuel line off of the carb nipple, there was no fuel in it. Haven't gotten into the carb yet but did go ahead and order a rebuild kit for it...So I need an OE fuel line for it. Would like to have the same kind of filter they use too, just for correctness, but that part really is no big deal. The fuel line is the thing right now...Anybody out there know where these can be had? Looks pretty specific to these kind of saws. I did see where some guy on Ebay had one for 25. bucks + almost 5. bucks shipping, but I don't plan on giving somebody 30 bucks for a 4" piece of molded rubber, I don't care how rare it is. You'd think it was a Stihl part! Anybody know if these lines can be had aftermarket? Really looking forward to firing this old girl up when I get the fuel situation sorted out. Looks like a really well built and substantial piece of equipment. Also, any good ideas on how to really clean out the inside of the gas tank? It looks like this old fuel was causing whatever they use to coat the inside of these tanks to buckle up and feel gummy to the touch. Did they paint these on the inside? Looks for all the world just like the paint on the outside...Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Just got it apart this morning and I see why...2 reasons actually. One, was that the wire from the switch on the handle had become unplugged inside the recoil housing. It was just laying next to the coil. Two, was the old gas. It must have sat for at least 10+ years with about a half a tank of gas in it. Smelled awful when I got the cap off. More like paint varnish than gas. Of course, the fuel line and filter were like a semi petrified slimey noodle. The carburetor box side of the line was almost new looking, so I'm thinking/hoping that the carb wasn't full of this crap too. When I pulled the fuel line off of the carb nipple, there was no fuel in it. Haven't gotten into the carb yet but did go ahead and order a rebuild kit for it...So I need an OE fuel line for it. Would like to have the same kind of filter they use too, just for correctness, but that part really is no big deal. The fuel line is the thing right now...Anybody out there know where these can be had? Looks pretty specific to these kind of saws. I did see where some guy on Ebay had one for 25. bucks + almost 5. bucks shipping, but I don't plan on giving somebody 30 bucks for a 4" piece of molded rubber, I don't care how rare it is. You'd think it was a Stihl part! Anybody know if these lines can be had aftermarket? Really looking forward to firing this old girl up when I get the fuel situation sorted out. Looks like a really well built and substantial piece of equipment. Also, any good ideas on how to really clean out the inside of the gas tank? It looks like this old fuel was causing whatever they use to coat the inside of these tanks to buckle up and feel gummy to the touch. Did they paint these on the inside? Looks for all the world just like the paint on the outside...Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!
