XL Automatic Gear Drive

[MI Old Saw]

I finally wrapped up my XL Auto GD! I am pretty happy with the result. I used the same acrylic enamel red, white and green as I used on my XL-500 from last spring. I can’t say I have seen another XLAO-GD, much less the trip of XL gear drives, so I am tickled to have them in my collection.

Every flake of original finish came off all parts of the saw. I did some body work, primarily to repair the gas line “fix” a previous owner used by drilling a hole through the top of the tank. The wick filter is in tact and works great, so I was at a loss for the crude filter job.

I also used the optional plug upgrade, the UTJ-11P, which is the ling life platinum version of the TJ-8J. There are a few other NOS parts, but for the most part I rehabbed all the original pieces I could. A few character marks were left, but overall it was a great transformation.

[undee70ss]

I seen the pictures on Facebook, beautiful restoration.

[onlyhomelites]

Absolutely stunning! I've never seen that model outside of literature until now!

[blythkd]

Hmmm, so do the rest of us get a link to it? I'm not a Facebooker!  Or pix on here would be even better.

[undee70ss]

Here you go

[blythkd]

Nice!

So now I have a question on the saw with the bow bar. I've never seen a red XL with the black and white diamond graphics on the side. I'm guessing that saw is still original??

[undee70ss]

Feb 20, 2023 6:57:14 GMT -5 blythkd said:

Nice!

So now I have a question on the saw with the bow bar. I've never seen a red XL with the black and white diamond graphics on the side. I'm guessing that saw is still original??

That saw is a XL 15, not really a red more of an orange color.
www.leonschainsawpartsandrepair.com/uploads/3/9/7/9/39792537/homelite_xl-15_gear_drive_chainsaw_product_specifcation_sheet.pdf

[blythkd]

I've seen the 15's in the IPL's over the years but don't know that I've ever had my hands on one. Always figured if I did it would be blue.

[ronaldt]

Feb 20, 2023 6:57:14 GMT -5 blythkd said:

Nice!

So now I have a question on the saw with the bow bar. I've never seen a red XL with the black and white diamond graphics on the side. I'm guessing that saw is still original??

Those gear drives colors were a bit confusing. The xl-15 was red and the super xl-15 was blue.

[MI Old Saw]

Sorry! Took me forever to figure out the trick to Flickr!

The XL-15 was a red model, but like the Christmas colored saws, that red fades badly. The color match I had made was from an unfaded NOS starter cover from an early Christmas saw.


The XL-15 and XL Auto GD were unique, as they didn’t share the same color scheme exactly the same as any other model. The 15 was obviously red where the XL-12 and others were blue, but the GD varied slightly from the other Christmas and gear drive saws. The top handle mount was red vs green, and the chain gaurd was red vs white.

[MI Old Saw]

Feb 20, 2023 6:57:14 GMT -5 blythkd said:

Nice!

So now I have a question on the saw with the bow bar. I've never seen a red XL with the black and white diamond graphics on the side. I'm guessing that saw is still original??

Yes the red XL-15 and the SXL-15 are still original. The Auto GD was a train wreck. (But it ran great!)