PIONEER P45
I was talked into buying this old work horse from a retired logger in Idaho who told me this saw is a power house of a saw that was severely under rated and sadly under used. Coming from a life time logger, I was eager to see what the hype was. To say the least, he was DEAD ON!!!
They made a gang of these and still make a wide range of 70-75cc saws. This saw is the king of them! The only other factory stock saw I have run that is close to this power house is a Husqvarna 372 XPW. But will have to say the p45's (Poulan Pro 455's) have a distinct advantage on the lower end (torque). The down fall being it is a bit heavier, but this saw was also made almost a quarter century earlier than the equivalent Husqvarna 372's or Stihl 460's. Mechanically speaking this is a straight forward late 70's early 80's with a laid down cylinder style engineering. With only working on a handful it is pretty straight forward with no surprises. I have not had an issue with the Tillotson carbs on them after rebuilding them, but speaking with true 45-455 users, they seem not to prefer the Tillotson setup. My only undesirable aspect was the full jacket carb-filter boot that will get brittle with age. Running the saw is surprising pleasure with the quick throttle response and torque. The Anti-vibration system is a great early design and comparable to today's available saws. I highly recommend this saw if a little extra weight doesn't bother you as the torque alone would let this saw easily pull a 32" bar.
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