Duane PA 026

[drf256]

This will be a real time build thread, so bear with me fellas. I’ll post as I go, and the saw may not be finished for another month.

Duane already has one of my MS260’s, and now he has an excellently built hot lil’ 026 done by CJ Saws. We spoke and he wants something on the wilder side.

The basis of this build will be an older 44mm 026 with a Husky 246 piston, finger ports and an 044 HD carb with a Velocity Stack.

Here it comes.

@Duane(Pa)

 

[drf256]

Had a lot of help from the friends I’ve made here.

@awol let me know about the 246 slug as a flat top alternative to the 026 piston.

@Canadian farm boy made the necessary elbow for the Velocity Stack install.

@David Young supplied the 044 carb studs that need to be pressed into the tank.

Last, but not least, @Definitive Dave supplied the majority of parts.

BTW, I ordered a GOLF piston for the build when I couldn’t find a meteor easily. What a POS. Even with the plan to use a caber and OEM circlips, I couldn’t bring myself to use it.

 

[drf256]

Golf vs Meteor



The meteor has wider skirts and is a much cleaner casting. In addition, the ring pin is supposed to be centered over the intake port. In the case of the GOLF, it’s about 3mm offset to the flywheel. They just cannot get it right.

 

[BuckthornBonnie]

It really is amazing to see how much better Meteor pistons are vs. any other AM brand. To think they’re still under $40ish for most models is crazy...must still be enough profit margin for a machined piece of aluminum.

 

[drf256]

Here’s some more slug pics. The double ringed piston is my meteor “TEST” piston. I’ve been known to build a 26 here and there, so I have a dedicated test piston for my builder case. It helps with my OCD, as the final piston won’t have any assembly marks/scratches on it. I cut .045 off a stock 026 dome flat on my meteors. OEM slugs actually only need .043 off flat for the same height. The meteor piston 44mm slugs are .002 taller than OEM.

The meteor 246 piston has had .050 machined off of the skirt at the same angle the factory uses. It will bottom out on the crankshaft if it’s not relieved. The pin bosses need to be widened to fit over the 026 rod small end as well.

The golf hasn’t been machined or opened yet. I plan on using it as a builder piston in the future, once I figure out the compression height diffeence between the meteor.

The golf also has a larger pin which won’t allow a caber to be installed without some grinding.

 

[drf256]

Notice the height difference of pin to crown. The 246 slug has approx .045 lower compression height than my machined 026 slugs.

The 246 slug is lighter than an oem 026 piston and the oem is 3-4 grams lighter than the same 026 meteor.

This is an oem 026 vs the machined 246. I’ll probably knock another gram off when I’m done cleaning it up

 

[drf256]

 

[dustinwilt68]

This should be a fun build!

 

[RI Chevy]

What is the end result that Duane is aiming for? Cant racer? Worker saw?

 

[drf256]

The comp height difference will make the jug base pretty thin. For some reason, the later 026 44mm jugs have thicker bases than the red lever jugs. Around .050 thicker on average.

Here’s a late 44mm 026 jug that was machined for my normal builds. It’s had .050 taken off base and .055 cut outa band flat with a squish of .012. It needs another .040 off of the base for this build. It will leave me with a .200 thick base flange which hasn’t failed me yet.

 

[XP_Slinger]

Great thread Doc, thanks for taking the time. Can’t wait to see and hear it rip.

 

[drf256]

What is the end result that Duane is aiming for? Cant racer? Worker saw?

Both, mostly work.

I don’t know how to build race saws.

 

[AlfA01]

Is it just me, or is that piston skirt doin the 'stanky leg'?

 

[Sty57]

What boot are you going to run with the bigger carb?

 

[drf256]

What boot are you going to run with the bigger carb?

044

 

[drf256]

Im ready to start porting. Got my gear on

 

[RI Chevy]

Nice! But I think that shirt is only "occassionally helpful." [emoji16]

 

[RI Chevy]

Gotta be good for 300 to 500 rpms.

 

[sawmikaze]

Sounds saucey.

 

[ABarrick]

Good stuff here. I've had a 246 piston laying around for this for about 2-3 years. This might prompt me to actually get it moving.