My cousin just gave me his late 90's vintage Stihl 029. It is in good physical shape but is filthy as hell. The chain is shot and the bar is rusty. Its been sitting for 10 years and the carb is gunked so I'm going to run through it and "restore" it. I am either going to keep it for myself or sell it towards a new saw.
Here is what I plan on doing. First I will be checking the piston for scoring and doing a pressure/vac test. Assuming thats okay.....
- New Stihl 18" bar and Stihl 3/8 RMC chain.
- New 7 tooth sprocket
- New sprocket bearing
- New OEM air filter + Spark plug
- New fuel line and fuel filter
- New oil/fuel filler caps
- Rebuild carb
- Muffler mod and carb tune
- I am also going to strip the muck off of the plastics and re-paint them. I will also replace all the stickers/decals on the machine. For all intents and purposes it will look and perform like new. Overall it will cost me $150. Sure, I could just put a new chain on it, clean the carb and go, but I enjoy this stuff. Its going to be my winter project.
If I keep it this will be a big upgrade from my modded Ryobi 10532 (RedMax GZ400 clone). It will be a hell of a saw for $150 in new parts and will last many more years and look good doing it.
If I sell it...what do you think it is worth on craigslist? I see used/abused 029's on ebay for 175-200ish plus shipping and ones that have been gone through for over $300.
What is your opinion? Keep it or upgrade? For what its worth I process about 5-7 cords a year for firewood. All hardwoods.
Here is what I plan on doing. First I will be checking the piston for scoring and doing a pressure/vac test. Assuming thats okay.....
- New Stihl 18" bar and Stihl 3/8 RMC chain.
- New 7 tooth sprocket
- New sprocket bearing
- New OEM air filter + Spark plug
- New fuel line and fuel filter
- New oil/fuel filler caps
- Rebuild carb
- Muffler mod and carb tune
- I am also going to strip the muck off of the plastics and re-paint them. I will also replace all the stickers/decals on the machine. For all intents and purposes it will look and perform like new. Overall it will cost me $150. Sure, I could just put a new chain on it, clean the carb and go, but I enjoy this stuff. Its going to be my winter project.
If I keep it this will be a big upgrade from my modded Ryobi 10532 (RedMax GZ400 clone). It will be a hell of a saw for $150 in new parts and will last many more years and look good doing it.
If I sell it...what do you think it is worth on craigslist? I see used/abused 029's on ebay for 175-200ish plus shipping and ones that have been gone through for over $300.
What is your opinion? Keep it or upgrade? For what its worth I process about 5-7 cords a year for firewood. All hardwoods.