In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

It arrived..... McCulloch 125C with 101B racing kart engine!!

Discussion in 'Chainsaws and Power Equipment' started by thistle, May 3, 2018.

  1. thistle

    thistle

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    Seen it on Ebay last Thursday night,barely 30 minutes after listing.Very rare find,first one I seen in 8 months,and the cheapest one I've seen for sale in 10+ years that's also a very strong runner & cosmetically very good.Most need the usual carb/ignition work,some even need a complete rebuild with replacement piston/cylinder,bearings & seals. Saw came with a very good Oregon 27" .404 pitch sprocket nose bar & 2 very good skip chains.I have several bars/chains up to 42" that fit this beast already....

    Back in mid-late 70's timber cutters on West Coast wanted the most powerful saw they could get for cutting the massive old growth Douglas Fir,Coast Redwood & a few other species. You could go into a McCulloch dealer,purchase the stock Super Pro 125C & 101B racing kart engine separately,have one of the technicians install it with a few modifications to the 125 frame & you'd have an unbeatable powerhouse.Reports stated that when tuned correctly this engine while the same size as the stock 125 - 7.5 cube/123cc - the kart engine had more HP & RPMs. You could safely run it up to 12,000RPM wide open & it developed 15HP!!!

    These aren't easy to find now,after so many cutters retired,changed jobs and/or timber harvests were curtailed in the mid 1980's & 90's so many of these kart engines were snapped up by those wanting them for their original purpose - building & restoring vintage go karts for competition & just plain fun..... DSC01088.JPG


    I'm stoked to say the least.....:ups::dex::cool::saw: DSC01090.JPG DSC01087.JPG
     
  2. Chaz

    Chaz

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    Glad to see you found such a nice prize.

    I just started reading the "chainsaw pics" thread, it'll be a lengthy read to be sure.

    I've seen a lot of your posts, impressive collection you have.:yes:
     
  3. thistle

    thistle

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    I swapped out the blank 125C air filter cover for one with reproduction sticker that originally was on my stock 125C.Already had that dark blue kart recoil starter,so I swapped the original black one also.Have a decent used chrome 101B starter housing,once I take a quick trip to neighborhood hardware store in a few days I'll get 3 needed slightly larger diameter bolts to attach the blue starter to the chrome housing.Finally have a reproduction 101B chrome,blue & red vinyl sticker for the rear cowling that should arrive tomorrow.

    Then its complete.
     
  4. thistle

    thistle

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  5. NH_Wood

    NH_Wood

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    Great find! Congrats!! Cheers!
     
  6. Chaz

    Chaz

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    Cool vids, but now I have 2 questions.

    1.. in the first 2 vids he pulled on the starter handle before shutting them off, why?

    2.. on the cutting vids he was checking temps I presume. Once again, why?

    o_O
     
  7. Armbru84

    Armbru84

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    That’s awesome!!!
     
  8. thistle

    thistle

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    1.On lots of saws with high compression (whether vintage or ''modern'') the rubber or plastic grip handle can literally fly off the rope when the recoil retracts ever so slightly backwards when the switch is turned off. No matter how good your knots are tied.I've seen it happen,not often though.Pull that rope out a little when hitting the kill switch,takes the shock out & also results in longer life to starter components,not to mention kinder on your wrists & hands.

    2. Depending what instrument he's using that could be either checking temps or using a digital tachometer to check optimum RPM's for the engine when at full throttle or just idling.
     
  9. Chaz

    Chaz

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    I had no clue on that, but then again, my experience is very limited. Thanks for that educational information.:yes:

    I was wondering about that, he checked on both sides, so I thought he might be checking the exhaust/muffler for temps.
    He did rev it up when checking, so I guess it could be digital tach, I have never used one on a chainsaw, once again, limited experience.
    What would he be checking for RPM's on the left hand side?
    I can see if the drive sprocket on the right is open to be checked, but not sure what he'd be checking on the left side.

    Thanks for the info.:thumbs:
     
  10. Shawn Curry

    Shawn Curry

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    With the wireless tachs they only need to be a certain distance from the ignition wire to detect the spark.
     
  11. Chaz

    Chaz

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  12. tamarack

    tamarack

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    I just love the sound of a vintage big cube mac!!! My uncle donny ran these when i was a kid, and when the trees got smaller he got into the 2100 huskys. At the end of his timber career in the mid nineties he had a 288 and an 066.
     
    Screwloose, clemsonfor, Chaz and 4 others like this.
  13. JC@ATL

    JC@ATL

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    Hey...cool find...I just picked up a 7-10 Automatic and posted some questions. Looking for somewhere to get reliable parts...any help? Thanks.
     
  14. amateur cutter

    amateur cutter

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    thistle man what a great find!!!! That's a beauty. Congrats.:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
     
  15. tamarack

    tamarack

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    Did mcculloch make go carts to go with the cart engine? Or did a person buy the cart engine and adapt their own throttle cables and clutches- sprockets to the cart of their choice? A person could buy some cool stuff back then.
     
  16. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

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    That is a very cool saw Thistle and a great part of history. Nice.
     
  17. thistle

    thistle

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    They only produced & sold complete finished carts from 1960-61.Smaller 80cc engines than the later 101 series from 1970-77.

    Not done much research but I've heard of over a dozen different kart engines produced from 1959 to 1977 or so.80 to 123cc.Even back in late 50's enterprising timber cutters were adapting them to their saw,to boost production & cutting speed.The factory listened & started making them available as an optional high performance package. I cant see Husqvarna,Stihl,Dolmar or Echo even trying something like that today,what with all the EPA & other governmental regulatory BS out there.Just my opinion anyway.

    McCulloch's Entry into Kart Racing
     
  18. tamarack

    tamarack

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    Interesting article, a mac 125 powered racing cart would be a holy grail barn find.
     
  19. thistle

    thistle

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    Reproduction 101B sticker arrived in today's mail.....Now I haven't decided whether to leave that yellow starter housing on there instead of swapping it for the chrome one...Over the years I've seen them both ways,if memory serves me correctly (ha!) most were chrome.Just depended on whether original owner wanted
    to spend the extra cash or not....I like the contrast,for now anyway.:cool:
    . DSC01128.JPG
     
  20. thistle

    thistle

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    DSC00744.JPG Installed that chrome starter housing Wednesday after work,changed my mind it really looks better than the yellow one.Its complete now. DSC01160.JPG DSC01161.JPG