Nik's Poulan Thread

[jerrycmorrow]

Hi guys, my name is Ronnie and I am a former Poulan employee of nearly 30 years. I started in production in 1982 and and worked my way up to research and development. I was there for a lot of the history that was being discussed in previous posts on this thread so if y'all have any questions maybe I can answer them if not then I am not scared to say I Don't know. I recently finished refurbing a Super 33 and putting a dual exhaust system on a PP 380 (my personal favorite because of the power to weight ratio). I will post pictures when I figure out how.

ron

welcome to AS. looking forward to your insight. got an ark-mo-ok-ks gtg shaping up if you're interested.

 

[HeRoze]

Hi guys, my name is Ronnie and I am a former Poulan employee of nearly 30 years. I started in production in 1982 and and worked my way up to research and development. I was there for a lot of the history that was being discussed in previous posts on this thread so if y'all have any questions maybe I can answer them if not then I am not scared to say I Don't know. I recently finished refurbing a Super 33 and putting a dual exhaust system on a PP 380 (my personal favorite because of the power to weight ratio). I will post pictures when I figure out how.

ron

Welcome aboard ron!

Vic

 

[FATGUY]

Hi guys, my name is Ronnie and I am a former Poulan employee of nearly 30 years. I started in production in 1982 and and worked my way up to research and development. I was there for a lot of the history that was being discussed in previous posts on this thread so if y'all have any questions maybe I can answer them if not then I am not scared to say I Don't know. I recently finished refurbing a Super 33 and putting a dual exhaust system on a PP 380 (my personal favorite because of the power to weight ratio). I will post pictures when I figure out how.

ron

Welcome Ronnie, what an awesome asset to our little group you'll make. I can't wait to hear your stories. Think there's a cashe of stored parts anywhere?:yoyo:

 

[Duke Thieroff]

This one here is for all the Poulan guys, especially Modified Mark, he hooked me up with some parts for this thing.

Did a fuel system rebuild, replaced the rear handle, carb cleaning and broken down, cleaned, made a new choke lever.

And we have a good running chainsaw. Just needs a new air filter and chain and we're good to go.

[video=youtube_share;uq6CDDM8CCs]http://youtu.be/uq6CDDM8CCs[/video]

Sorry for the bad lighting in the vid, atleast you can hear how it sounds.


This little sucker cuts pretty fast. I like it.



Chris

 

[jbgorecom]

I have a Poulan 3300. Is my saw the counter vibe, or did Poulan make two different 3300'S????
Mine does not show counter vibe anywhere. basically 3300 and shows (type I).

any help

Thanks :msp_confused::msp_confused::msp_confused:

JB

 

[Duke Thieroff]

I have a Poulan 3300. Is my saw the counter vibe, or did Poulan make two different 3300'S????
Mine does not show counter vibe anywhere. basically 3300 and shows (type I).

any help

Thanks :msp_confused::msp_confused::msp_confused:

JB

The 3300 is an Electrolux saw, not a Beaird Poulan saw.


I don't know much of the differences in the Poulans, I'll leave that up to someone else.



Chris

 

[rms61moparman]

I have a Poulan 3300. Is my saw the counter vibe, or did Poulan make two different 3300'S????
Mine does not show counter vibe anywhere. basically 3300 and shows (type I).

any help

Thanks :msp_confused::msp_confused::msp_confused:

JB

Yes your saw is equipped with AV (or CV for us in the Poulan world) mounting.
But by the time your 3300 came to the market, mounting the engine in some manner to reduce the amount and intensity of felt vibration was the norm and not "new and improved" as it was with the counter-vibe series.
HTH


Mike

 

[barneyrb]

Hi guys, my name is Ronnie and I am a former Poulan employee of nearly 30 years. I started in production in 1982 and and worked my way up to research and development. I was there for a lot of the history that was being discussed in previous posts on this thread so if y'all have any questions maybe I can answer them if not then I am not scared to say I Don't know. I recently finished refurbing a Super 33 and putting a dual exhaust system on a PP 380 (my personal favorite because of the power to weight ratio). I will post pictures when I figure out how.

ron

Welcome Ron, you will get along really well in here as you are not the only Poulan & Hog fan in this thread....

 

[hogron]

Hello, I for one want to welcome you here!

I will have lots of questions as we go. Seems everytime I think I get a handle on what was going on with Poulan through the years I find something pops up to conterdict what I thought was what.

I myself am very interested in the history of the Elux buyout, the move to Nashville and the reason for the rebaged saws in the Poulan pro lineup. That ought to give you something to start put with!

Thanks for the welcome. When I started we were the #3 manufacturer of handheld products behind Homelite and McCullogh The Super 25 as a tophandle powerhouse put us to that point and the thing that really put Poulan as a company over the top was the Weedeater brand trimmers then blowers and hedgetrimmers etc.. Chainsaws have always been the cash cow of the company though. I started on the line bulding midsize saws (3400 - 4000 series) pro saws (above 4000) were being built by hand one at a time and production was around 50 per day on those. Super 25's and micro's were being built at that time as well on another line. In 1986 the lightweight saw or the P219 as we called it came along and it eventually became the PP 380. there were initially 3 sizes built on that frame a 2.8, 3.0 and a 3.3 cid engine. Most all of these saws went by the wayside because of emission standards and a reed valve engine is a very dirty engine. the pro saws were replaced initially because after Poulan/Weedeater was purchased by Electrolux they did not want competition on the pro market for Husqvarna. In the 90's along came the move away from a 2 peice mag c/case to a cylinder c/case cap attached to a plastic chassis and the move away from reeds. At first the Electrolux thing was pretty good but by the mid 90's beencounters from Frigidaire were in charge and that was the beginning of a fiasco. They couldn't even build a good fridge and they were there telling us to cost reduce everything. Y'all know how that goes. Currently production in Nashville is being moved to building the Husqvarna brand and Poulan, Poulan Pro, Weedeater are being moved to China.

A little more history Poulan moved to Nashville in 1976 because of labor unrest in Shreveport, UAW conviced the employees that they deserved just as much salary as the auto workers at GM made. They didn't have enough sense to realize that the profit margin between a saw and a car was slightly different. The rest is history. They moved production completely by 1979 and in 1998 they closed Shreveport down all the way. Currently they have just completed moving all of New Product Engineering to Charlotte, hence my status as a former employee, and to my knowledge the only new projects currently branded for Poulan are electric saws. Sounds grim I know but that is the way it is. This all I can type with my limited skills at this time so if I think of more or if there are any questions just let me know. See y'all.

Ronnie

 

[jerrycmorrow]

veeeery interesting. keep it up.

 

[stubnail67]

306 what ya all think?

Ok so i may be getting some 306 saws in the next month or 2 what do ya all think of them??? do you like the 245a saws more what are the pros and cons ? i tried the search but its really not working that well i also tried utube to check out some video etc!ugg what i mean is arent they almost the same saw? seems like ya all like the 245s more why?

 

[stubnail67]

the way it sounds

I have to say the video of that 245 the other day had me digging how they sound.... seemed like it cut a lil slow id like to see one with a sharp chain!

 

[tbone75]

Thanks for the welcome. When I started we were the #3 manufacturer of handheld products behind Homelite and McCullogh The Super 25 as a tophandle powerhouse put us to that point and the thing that really put Poulan as a company over the top was the Weedeater brand trimmers then blowers and hedgetrimmers etc.. Chainsaws have always been the cash cow of the company though. I started on the line bulding midsize saws (3400 - 4000 series) pro saws (above 4000) were being built by hand one at a time and production was around 50 per day on those. Super 25's and micro's were being built at that time as well on another line. In 1986 the lightweight saw or the P219 as we called it came along and it eventually became the PP 380. there were initially 3 sizes built on that frame a 2.8, 3.0 and a 3.3 cid engine. Most all of these saws went by the wayside because of emission standards and a reed valve engine is a very dirty engine. the pro saws were replaced initially because after Poulan/Weedeater was purchased by Electrolux they did not want competition on the pro market for Husqvarna. In the 90's along came the move away from a 2 peice mag c/case to a cylinder c/case cap attached to a plastic chassis and the move away from reeds. At first the Electrolux thing was pretty good but by the mid 90's beencounters from Frigidaire were in charge and that was the beginning of a fiasco. They couldn't even build a good fridge and they were there telling us to cost reduce everything. Y'all know how that goes. Currently production in Nashville is being moved to building the Husqvarna brand and Poulan, Poulan Pro, Weedeater are being moved to China.

A little more history Poulan moved to Nashville in 1976 because of labor unrest in Shreveport, UAW conviced the employees that they deserved just as much salary as the auto workers at GM made. They didn't have enough sense to realize that the profit margin between a saw and a car was slightly different. The rest is history. They moved production completely by 1979 and in 1998 they closed Shreveport down all the way. Currently they have just completed moving all of New Product Engineering to Charlotte, hence my status as a former employee, and to my knowledge the only new projects currently branded for Poulan are electric saws. Sounds grim I know but that is the way it is. This all I can type with my limited skills at this time so if I think of more or if there are any questions just let me know. See y'all.

Ronnie

Thanks for sharing.When they move to china I won't buy another!

 

[Modifiedmark]

Thanks for the welcome. When I started we were the #3 manufacturer of handheld products behind Homelite and McCullogh The Super 25 as a tophandle powerhouse put us to that point and the thing that really put Poulan as a company over the top was the Weedeater brand trimmers then blowers and hedgetrimmers etc.. Chainsaws have always been the cash cow of the company though. I started on the line bulding midsize saws (3400 - 4000 series) pro saws (above 4000) were being built by hand one at a time and production was around 50 per day on those. Super 25's and micro's were being built at that time as well on another line. In 1986 the lightweight saw or the P219 as we called it came along and it eventually became the PP 380. there were initially 3 sizes built on that frame a 2.8, 3.0 and a 3.3 cid engine. Most all of these saws went by the wayside because of emission standards and a reed valve engine is a very dirty engine. the pro saws were replaced initially because after Poulan/Weedeater was purchased by Electrolux they did not want competition on the pro market for Husqvarna. In the 90's along came the move away from a 2 peice mag c/case to a cylinder c/case cap attached to a plastic chassis and the move away from reeds. At first the Electrolux thing was pretty good but by the mid 90's beencounters from Frigidaire were in charge and that was the beginning of a fiasco. They couldn't even build a good fridge and they were there telling us to cost reduce everything. Y'all know how that goes. Currently production in Nashville is being moved to building the Husqvarna brand and Poulan, Poulan Pro, Weedeater are being moved to China.

A little more history Poulan moved to Nashville in 1976 because of labor unrest in Shreveport, UAW conviced the employees that they deserved just as much salary as the auto workers at GM made. They didn't have enough sense to realize that the profit margin between a saw and a car was slightly different. The rest is history. They moved production completely by 1979 and in 1998 they closed Shreveport down all the way. Currently they have just completed moving all of New Product Engineering to Charlotte, hence my status as a former employee, and to my knowledge the only new projects currently branded for Poulan are electric saws. Sounds grim I know but that is the way it is. This all I can type with my limited skills at this time so if I think of more or if there are any questions just let me know. See y'all.

Ronnie

No doubt about the S25 putting Poulan on the map, I would love to see the total production numbers on those. They have to be one of the most rebadege saws ever and might just be the most total ever produced if rebadged are included.

The 219 saws as you called them seemed to be a real good step for Poulan, they to me are better then the countervibe series they replaced. The 2.8 and 3.0 sizes were a welcome size that they had been missing in there lineup although they were a bit pudgy for the 2.8. The 3.3 and 3.6 sizes were very good and it looks like it would have been a good platform to upsize to 70-80cc.

When the emmisons standards started to get stiffer most of the reed saws were already gone or on the way out though were they not?

I had heard that story before about Elux wanting to have Husqvarna as there premire Pro saw and that maybe so but I have a hard time figuring why they kept a Pro series at all then with a mix of there own saws, (PP335) rebadged Partners (pp325), and Jonsereds (PP415-505). Even more confusing is the fact the PP335 and PP325 were sold at the same time as there so close in size etc. At that time (89?) every thing in the Poulan Pro lineup was on par or even better then what Husqvarna seemed to have, so not wanting compition don't make much sense to me.

I have also heard the story that the Poulan Pro line was introduced to appease there stocking servicing dealers.

I have heard about the labor troubles in Shreveport and thats not surprising as the south seemed to generally anti union states but then again, its lots of money to build new plants, move equipment etc. Who knows what all the truth is as most of us have no concept of the the kind of money that goes through these big corperations. Lower taxes, lower workmans comp payments etc could have all played into it.

One other question that comes to mind is the Pioneer based Poulan Pros. I at first thought that all the tooling etc from when Elux closed the Peterbrough plant went to Poulan but later found that the Pioneer/Partner saws and the Pioneer based Poluan Pros were produced in the Canadian EMAB plant. From what I have been told, the tooling did later on go to Poulan. Do you remember any Pioneer based Poulan Pros produced in the Poulan plant?

I sure could have gone all day without you telling me about moving any Poulan production to China. I guess it really don't surprise me though. I guess the clamshell Husky will be made in Arkansas now.

Thanks for what you can share Ron.

 

[Modifiedmark]

seems like ya all like the 245s more why?

Well the 306 is 60cc and the 245 is 74cc. Need I go further?

 

[stubnail67]

Well the 306 is 60cc and the 245 is 74cc. Need I go further?

LOL nope.... i still think i will try to get the 306 and all the parts i can.... the saw has sat for awhile but he said it ran real well prior to that. i got a great deal on about 5 s25da and craftsman saws from him so i cant wait to see the pics he has!!!!maybe he has some nice 245a model saws if im lucky also!

 

[Modifiedmark]

LOL nope.... i still think i will try to get the 306 and all the parts i can.... the saw has sat for awhile but he said it ran real well prior to that. i got a great deal on about 5 s25da and craftsman saws from him so i cant wait to see the pics he has!!!!maybe he has some nice 245a model saws if im lucky also!

Don't worry a 306A is still a very strong runner. They run a 20" very well and can run a 24 if they have to.

 

[zogger]

Hiya! I have a question.

Hi guys, my name is Ronnie and I am a former Poulan employee of nearly 30 years. I started in production in 1982 and and worked my way up to research and development. I was there for a lot of the history that was being discussed in previous posts on this thread so if y'all have any questions maybe I can answer them if not then I am not scared to say I Don't know. I recently finished refurbing a Super 33 and putting a dual exhaust system on a PP 380 (my personal favorite because of the power to weight ratio). I will post pictures when I figure out how.

ron

During your sojourn at Poulan, which model saw had the LEAST amount of warranty returns and repairs? In other words, the one saw where everything worked so well it would truly fit the term "built like a tank". If you like, the same question grouped by general size, small and top handle, mid size, and muscle saw size.

thanks in advance!

 

[zogger]

wings

And, I wouldn't have sold them, even if they DID need rings. I'd have cleaned them up, painted them and put them on the shelf, with my others, to look at. I like having things that the majority of the people don't like. "What the hell you want with a Poulan?" That's all they say, now. That was the way it was, back in the 70s, when no one was INTO MoPars. They all had their Camaros and Mustangs and I had my 70 and 71 Cudas, 68 Hemi GTX, 67 Coronet R/T hemi, and 69 Cuda. Then having a MoPar became COOL and it became impossible to fix them up, anymore, without taking out a second mortgage. Takes all the fun out of it.

I have an acquaintance, friend of my BIL, all this guy has done all his life since a teenager is mopar. buy sell swap custom build. He lived for many years in a little tiny apartment over his garage. So..he started socking away winged mopars and parts starting back when they were still in production. Flash forward to...hmm..seems early 90s, he meets Ms. Right and is gonna get hitched. He sells ONE car, a superbird, and pays cash for a new house....

 

[Duke Thieroff]

Don't worry a 306A is still a very strong runner. They run a 20" very well and can run a 24 if they have to.

I run an 18 on mine and it has no problems whatsoever, would like to throw a 20 on it though for fun. I love my 306, good saw.


Chris