Almost done with the build. Didn't try to make it factory new, only get it to sort of proper working order.
I disassembled everything I could, and wound up having to cut out the old ash sweepers. The bracket that holds up the ash pan ring was bent, so I went to work with a hammer getting that back into shape. It was fairly rusty but it was still thick enough to be solid.
Once I got everything apart, I took an angle grinder to the three bolts in the bowl and ground the heads off as they were rusted in place. One complete, I pressure washed and scrubbed with some purple degreaser I got at Costco.
IMAG0677 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
While I disassembled the grill, Weber delivered a nice box of goodies I needed to order in order for repair. Two casters, a lid bale, ash sweeper, thermometer, and a handful of the charcoal baskets.
IMAG0656 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
After removing the bolts, I was able to take the burner tube and hose it out with water. The spark ignitor works fine, and if not held to metal, delivers a nice little shock. I painted the bracket really quick with some high heat rust oleum black, then gave it a quick shot of some blue I had laying around, so it would look better. I then reassembled it and bolted it in using some stainless hardware I picked up at Lowes.
IMAG0679 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
The original lid bale was missing, so I installed a new one, again using stainless hardware to secure the middle bracket to the kettle. I also dropped the new ash sweeper in place. It isn't super tight to the bowl in all places, but it is pretty good and I'm sure will seal just fine once some ash and dirt is built up.
IMAG0682 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
After installing the burner tube, I took the can of high heat and put a couple shots of paint on to the areas that were rusting. (the can says it has rust inhibitor) I also painted the ash sweeper bracket, and gave the ring a quick scrub with some scotchbrite. If I had access to a wire wheel, this would have been the time. I also installed the sweeper assembly and found that when using the original ring bracket, that you cannot use the metal "washer" supplied with the new sweeper assembly. After reading through the instructions again, I may have installed the sweeper backwards, where the sweeper may be open while the handle is to the left, instead of closed. Regardless, it is easy to disassemble, and works fine the way it is.
IMAG0681 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
Once the bottom was put together, I attached the bottom bowl to the cart, again using stainless hardware. I then put the new thermometer in place. -the metal where the thermometer goes was pretty sad looking so I polished it on my buffer. It is now a mirror finish and looks amazing I then rigged up the ignitor button and dropped the charcoal bin back in place. While I was cleaning out the charcoal bin I managed to find the little hook that Weber supplied to move the charcoal baskets around. I has also installed the casters I got, but didn't think to take a photo of that process.
IMAG0684 by
mikeinctown, on Flickr
The ash catcher isn't in place because I need to pound a few dents out and clean up the handle as well as the pan. I may paint this with the high temp black, as I think it would look pretty cool. Even the blue would look cool as well. I did get a grill cover with it, but it has a 6" tear in it that I will need to fix before I can use it.
When I got the grill, it was missing the tank and regulator assembly. PBI gummy was kind enough to send me out an original regulator that I will be installing. If I can figure out an adapter for it, I'll most likely buy an 11lb tank as he had done and then rig up a bracket to hang it. Overall I spent $110 on the grill, including all the new parts I bought from Weber. ($10 of that was stainless that I really didn't need, just wanted)
Wish I has more pics of the process but pulling a phone out of your pocket and trying to use it with dirty hands isn't a chore I care to do a lot of.
<edit> the stainless looks like hell in that last photo, but it is very clean. It looks that way because of all the rags I had sitting on it while working, then wiping off the dirt and other stuff that would fall onto the table. I'll probably wind up hitting it with 220 sandpaper to get a totally clean scratch free look. However, it is plenty clean for use right now.
Topic: Cheap find, but need help with parts (Read 14691 times)