The Holy Grail - Solo Twin

[blsnelling]

For me, there is not another saw that comes close to the Solo Twin as far as desirability. It is my Holy Grail. I finally acquired one about 2 1/2 years ago. I proceeded to tear it down, clean it up, and had all everything powder coated. THEN IT SAT....and sat...and sat!!! That was until this week. While laying in bed last week, recovering from surgery, I committed to digging out the parts and getting this thing together while I'm off. I intended to take several days and just do a little each day. But, in typical Brad fashion, I couldn't quit. Twelve hours later, at nearly 7:00 AM, it was done. The way this thing is put together is unlike any other saw I've seen. It wasn't just a matter of putting it together...I had to figure out how it went together. Fortunately, my great friend Rob Yeager was stopping by later that day to check up on me, since I couldn't start it. He was on his way home for viewing the eclipse in TN, headed back to PA. Below, you'll see a video of it running. I've not yet had it in wood, although it's ready.

Here it is when I first received it.

 

[blsnelling]

Tear down begins.

Uh oh. What's going on here?

It turns out that the pistons where put in with the left and right pistons swapped the last time it was apart. Check out how the intake skirt doesn't even cover the port. No wonder it was running "rich"!

The exhaust ports are to the outside corners, not the inside corners as the arrows are pointing.

Here's how they should be, which also put the scoring at the exhaust ports, where it would have been.

Fortunately, the pistons cleaned up and are totally useable. All highs are gone and the rings were good. I wonder if they were replaced when it originally scored. Not pretty, but 100% functional in a case were new pistons are not readily available.

The cylinder look pretty good. I have a hunch that some of these defects were from new. Either way, they're definitely serviceable.

They made great compression even before disassembly.

 

[blsnelling]

Recoil assembly removed. It lives behind the clutch.

It looks like a little Banshee engine.

The PTO side crank seal is up in that sleeve that rides on the roller bearing.

The flywheel side seal is more typical, just pressed into the case.

 

[blsnelling]

Here are all the parts to be powder coated. Time to begin repairs/refinishing.

A lot of metal was missing from the clutch cover. srcarr52 built that all back up with weld and reshaped it. It turned out great!!!

Then Glock37 got his hands on it and did a fabulous job powder coating it.

 

[blsnelling]

And that's how it sat for 2 years. The powder coated parts were put in dresser drawers in our guest bedroom to keep them safe. This next pic is from Monday of this week as I started going through parts to figure out where I was. Please excuse the messy work bench!

That's all the pics I took during assembly.

Here I'm painting the background around the letters black, and polishing the letters.

 

[blsnelling]

Now for the final glamour shots.

 

[blsnelling]

Here's the video of Rob firing it up for me.

 

[blsnelling]

Now get this! Not long after purchasing this Solo Twin, I acquired another one. Much to my surprise, this one has the very rare 110cc topend, vs the typical 100cc topend. All along, I planned to put the 110cc topend on this restored saw. Much to my dismay, the crankcase is opened up to allow for the 2mm larger pistons to drop into the crankcase about 1/2" at BDC. So, guess what I have to do? I have to do another complete restoration! I really don't want to at this point. I was going to re-assemble this second saw and sell it as a complete, unrestored runner. However, I can't let this 110cc topend Solo Twin slip through my fingers. So, I'm in the process of looking for a few parts, getting required repairs made, and having Mike powder coat another saw for me. I really want to get this one done ASAP while the assemble is still fresh in my mind.

This saw was assembled and nearly complete when I got it. Much of it has been disassembled while working on the first one. BTW, the 110cc topend is literally like new!

 

[blsnelling]

That's it for now.

 

[Definitive Dave]

beautiful work Brad and I am sure the 110 will be awesome as well
any chance you could snap pics of the top of the two cylinders?
I am wondering if the markings will help me figure out which model I have
thanks
Dave

 

[backhoelover]

 

[Skinnyminnie]

I love it! What a fantastic job on the restoration, looks superb. Thanks for all the great details and pics too, really appreciate all the time you put into it. [emoji2][emoji1360]

 

[XP_Slinger]

Looks great! That crank case looks identical to a 40hp outboard I just overhauled. Right down to the roller bearing sleeve with the seal in it.

 

[dustinwilt68]

Gorgeous work by all involved!@Scarr52, @Glock37and @blsnelling.

 

[ajschainsaws]

Great stuff Brad superb job looks fantastic you had a few twin parts from me several moons ago

 

[blsnelling]

Great stuff Brad superb job looks fantastic you had a few twin parts from me several moons ago

So that was you! I need more!

1. Handle mount. The top left corner is missing. The one I needs is with the single bolt hole through the handle.

2. The sheet metal part of the hood latch. I have the wire.

3. A coil. The wire is broken off flush on this one.

4. Lower handle support.

5. Fuel tank.

6. Impulse fitting the threads into the crankcase.

 

[Mastermind]

Wonderful job on that jewel !!!!!

 

[TreeLife]

So what you are saying...is that you are back in the game Brad? Lol a man can hope!!

 

[BuckthornBonnie]

Nice job on an awesome saw!

 

[ajschainsaws]

Number three sorted
this one has been in one of the offices cupboards for years