70cc Saws That Rocked the World!!!!!

Imagine you were looking for a new chainsaw in 1987. There was no ebay, no Bunnings and no cheap imported saws. You had the choice of some of the best professional grade 70cc saws ever made however. You would not have realised it at the time but you were looking at some of the last great models from traditional manufacturers who while still making excellent saws, were not going to be able to compete when it came to both manufacturing costs or marketing.

From a marketing point of view Stihl already had the show by the balls, their aggressive approach to competition and solid professional grade products constantly leveraged for even greater market share wherever there was an opportunity. Your Stihl dealer would have offered you a 038 magnum, the development of the heavy but durable 038. At 72cc the Mag had plenty of shove but was by this stage an older design that was resting on longevity and build quality in the face of ferocious opposition. Being the development of a 60cc class saw, many people would not have picked up on the relatively short stroke design of the 038mag, running just 34mm for its biggest capacity in its class – in practice this did not matter as it was more of a lugger than a rever in any case. Stihl had a couple of years to wait before the mighty 044 would arrive, and so the old 038 battler was the bread and butter saw from the big German.

Across the road at your Husky dealer you were going to be plonking for a new 268xp. Lighter and more nimble than the Stihl, this baby was a development of the 266se/xp that had seen Husky really move into the modern era, the 266 itself an extension of the 61 white top introduced in 1978. The 268 replaced the 266’s 2 part ignition with a single unit and gave a better air filter system. A classic firewood saw that could cut big wood but was light enough for the smaller stuff as well. Quite literally the do it all saw. Bored out to 72cc when the 044 came along to compete with it, the 268xp is the classic Husky of this era and still a great saw today, though not as well made as the Germans of this era and can seem a little rattly. You could also plump for its Jonsereds cousin the 670 champ if you liked red better than orange and wanted to tell the world you were a little bit different (but not that different).

Your local town may have had a Mcculloch dealer from the time when every farmer in Australia had a Mac 250 for cutting fence posts. You would have been looking at a ProMac700, an incarnation of the famous and before its time 10-10. Old fashioned looking and with a unique layout by this time, the Mac would have surprised you with its balls and sounded better than most of the modern saws, but it was a 20 year old design at this point and while a good saw you were likely give this one a miss. Min you if you had of got it would have been pretty happy with it and you would have been able to watch Buckin Billy Ray Smith youtube videos with a smug sense of pride….

You still had plenty of other dealers to visit. No wait a minute you didn’t because the other dealers either didn’t exist or they were selling about 6 brands of saws and these ones did not make them much money so they would steer you away from them.

The two I am talking about are the Solo 670 and the Partner 7000plus. Both looked a bit weird and few people in Australia really understood what they were both remain excellent saws from very underrated manufacturers. The Partner more innovative and the Solo as solid as a saw could be – heavy, but super tough. The Solo also benefited from the longest stroke in its class making it one hell of a torque monster in Aussie hardwood. But to buy one you had to be incredibly dedicated and keeping one running was also a sphincter tightening experience when a small part could potentially stop you for weeks at a time. So neither sold many. For the collector or saw enthusiast now however these babies make a lot of sense and are still fun saws to have a crack with.

Last saw to consider was the Dolmar 120si. In many ways it brought the best qualities of all the saws above together in a package that just made sense. It had as much power as any of the saws in its class but a slightly longer stroke gave it real grunt when required. It was as well made as the Stihl and had the solid unbreakable feel of the Solo. It was heavier than the Husky but with a 20 inch bar had a wonderful balance that seemed to absorb most of the weight. Injection carb also made for super easy starting. Unlike Stihl and Husky Dolmar never went in for fancy tweaks they just kept producing the same basic saw for 10 years with the only change being when they went to the 6800i name, torx head screws and modernised chainbrake design (most will prefer the old style) in the early 90’s. At 68cc the Dolmar showed the Husky a clean pair of heals and would not blink at taking on the 272 when it arrived and while slightly bested by the 044 when it arrived, the Dolly was never disgraced and soldiered on pretty much up to the introduction of the 6400/7900. Much loved by anyone who has used them.

So no surprise Pepe would have brought the 120si. As for rankings? If it was just on the quality of the saw out of the box and spare parts, dealer support and resale were not a factor. My ranking is:

1. Dolmar 120si 2. Husky 268xp 3. Solo 670 4. Stihl 038 5. Partner 7000 plus 6. McCulloch PM700

But to be honest you were not going to go far wrong with any of these saws. What an era!!!!