A Chicago Texan moves to Arizona! or What Sort of Mess Have I Gotten Myself Into This Time?

[jcnaz]

Recently it was brought to my attention that towards the end of this coming April I will be turning 50.
After the initial shock, denial, and checking of math I resigned to my fate. I decided that I shouldn't turn 50 alone; I should find an appropriate Weber Kettle of the same vintage as myself to grill a birthday dinner on! Unfortunately, 50 year old grills are quite rare in Arizona...
and then Agent "X" got involved!

The good agent had intercepted some intelligence concerning my situation and contacted @zavod44 (Brian) who happened to have THIS in his garage:
A (formerly)black 22.5" steel wheeled, thumbscrewed,BAR-B-Q Kettle! A few PMs back and forth and the deal was struck. Shortly afterwards, this arrived in MY garage:
Unfortunately I have not had enough time to do everything that I want to do for this grill as quickly as I would like. I also am not sure just how far to take some of the elements of the restoration. Obviously the lid and bowl have a terrific fade and a unique patina. The handle is worn but intact and original. I have cleaned up the porcelain with steel wool, removed the rust from the chips and will oil the bare metal. The vents cleaned up and straightened out nicely too.


The wheel before and after being treated with Evap o Rust:
The triangle doesn't have much chrome left:
The legs and ash pan are in good condition but are weathered. If I polish them, I am afraid they will look out of place with the faded and scarred kettle so they will probably just get a good cleaning. The same goes for the wheels, if I strip and repaint they will look out of place.
I have a big project at work that is killing my free time this month so it may have to sit for a few more weeks. I hope to be able to have an unveiling before Feb. 1 but we will see.
Again a big "THANKS" to Brian for helping me find this grill. I know that I am going to love it!

[Craig]

Congratulations on the Texan! Black MBH's are a classic to be had!

[zavod44]

Was happy to send it your way.....it's a real sold cooker.  Here's to another 50!

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

[fedex]

Great story John.  This morning I picked up a new project.  We may be cleaning and fixing the same stuff.  Don't worry about 50.  It's just a number.

[1911Ron]

Great pickup!  Ya 50 is just a number, passed it a few years ago myself.

[jcnaz]

I couldn't wait any longer to get this old thing together!
I think that I found a balance between clean and patina. Another one for my rat-rod side of the collection!

Fired it up to burn the veggie oil into the bare metal scars, and decided to get a cook going!

[MrHoss]

Looking pretty good there JC.

[1buckie]

Ribs.....ribs on that dawg I say !!!


It's a smoker !!!



Glad you found the right one & chicken 1/4's are a good pick too !!!!!

[jcnaz]

Ribs.....ribs on that dawg I say !!!


It's a smoker !!!



Glad you found the right one & chicken 1/4's are a good pick too !!!!!

It will be a smoker when I get some new "gunk" in it!
Besides, the ribs are sitting in my 26 on the other thread.

Almost done:

[1buckie]

Nice !!!

Yeah.....the ribs are going good....nice to have that extra room for those, eh?

[1911Ron]

Looks pretty good, nice balance of cleaning it.

[jcnaz]

Nice !!!

Yeah.....the ribs are going good....nice to have that extra room for those, eh?

Yeah, I like the ribs on the 26 better than the 18 WSM.

[Craig]

Nothing I love more than seeing a vintage kettle doing what it was meant to do.  Nice Texan and cookup!

[AZ_MIKEY]

Very nice. Rough around the edges but still produces fine quality  food as any 50 year old should!

[THUNDERDOME]

THat's cool. Happy Bday!