Might as well, they hate me already...

[1buckie]

" Does anybody know if the absence of "pat pending" stamp on the vents was a "hard ending" for 1968? "

Blank would mean it's at least earlier '68 or before........plastic caps seems like it would be later more than earlier in the 60's.......or older replacements?

"Transitional?  Hmmmm.... "

[crumbsnatcher]

SaxArt...that Summit is hands down the score of the year in my books. $2300+ grill for $45 is just insane.  I don't care if it's a gasser, you will find a way incorporate it into your cooking rotation and it looks like you already have. Anything under $500 for that Sunmit is a steal. As for the 26"...that's nice too. Get her cleaned up and back into shape. Would love to see some pictures after the cleanup/restore.


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[Craig]

Nice pickup and I agree on the kettle karma! As for age, this lid looks flat like my PAT PENDING 26. Not sure if the hubcap is original. This could be a "tail end" thumbscrew era kettle- 1968. The sockets have the shorter "feet" on them which is indicative of the old pre PAT style. Nice find all around!

[saxart]

Thanks for all of the thoughts guys.   I'll certainly post some "done" pictures once I get her cleaned up hopefully in the next few weeks before the cold weather sets in.

If anybody here has a 1969 Weber catalog, I'd appreciate it if you could see if they went to plastic hubcaps on the 26'ers.
('68 and '72 are online, but I can't find anything in between.)

[GC8]

It's all cattywampus!!!!

Local MN/WI WKC hater checking in! 

[saxart]

Mark-
Calm down.  It's currently in the Weber-Intensive-Care-Unit being repaired by a team of highly skilled technicians using countless boxes of NOS and NIB parts.   It will soon be good as new.     

[saxart]

Finally, an update to this kettle.   First it got cleaned up.  The wheels got Greg's patented "Evaporust" treatment, the legs and triangle were cleaned up, and legit thumb screws were purchased to replace the makeshift dry-wall screws that were holding the legs on when we first got the kettle.   

As you may have noticed in the original pictures posted, it needed some work.   First off, it was missing a couple of the dampers on the bowl.  Forum member Stu was nice enough to hook me up with a set of three period-correct round-tab dampers.  They were perfect for this kettle, because....they weren't perfect, so they matched the grill exactly!



They were attached with SS allen button headed screws.   It's not the same as a rivet, but it looks closer than a standard bolt-head.



Next was the charcoal grate.    This one was badly "melted" from previous hot-cooks and was quite thin and rusty.    We have a very-good one, but wanted to see if this one could be used to cook on, keeping the other as a "spare".   First I used my feet to flatten it on the concrete floor of the garage, then welded in a couple of chunks of 3/8" rebar.  The welds are crappy, but the grate is rock-solid now.





It was a BEAUTIFUL day here in Western Wisconsin, so we decided to make some pepper-stout beef.   I'll let the remaining pictures speak for themselves...

[mike.stavlund]

Great work, Art!

[dengland]

Beautiful Fall colors everywhere! From the trees to the food. Looks great saxart!

[Jeff]

Spectacular work Art.  Nice find and cleanup.

[glrasmussen]

Looks great Art! It just keeps on cooking.

[jcnaz]

Nice pics and a great story. Thanks!