My New Thumbscrew Avocado!!!
So here's the story. Last Sunday I was searching on craigslist and saw this ad posted
It was for a sort of vintage flea market that's held the last Sunday of each month. The ad says the doors open at 9:00 and we live about 30 minutes away. I'm super excited because, well, it's a thumbscrew avocado, and grills like this do not show up around me very often (or at all really). Anyway, I tell the wife we've got about 20 minutes before we need to leave, because, "We have to be the first ones there." In the car I explain our strategy: Find grill first, don't be distracted by other pretty things, and then we can shop to your heart's content.
Well we get there right at 9:00, and there's already a ton of people there. I guess they opened early. I literally run across the parking lot, because of course who wouldn't grab that baby up when they saw it, right!? I go around the entire area doing a quick scan, and my heart sinks...it's gone! Nowhere to be found.
About this time I hear my wife calling me. "It's not here," she says "but I just happen to ask one person and they pointed me in the direction of the seller who has it." What?! What are the chances, she does a quick scan, asks the first person she sees after she makes her rounds, and that person knew the seller!
We go to the sellers booth, and sure enough she still has it, she just didn't bring it with her that day. The photo in the ad was from the sale last month, and nobody bought it last month. What?! That just seems crazy, but great. We agree on a price, rather I just accept her first price right away ($45) and agree to work out a time during the week where I can go pick it up.
Turns out, the seller and her son run estate sales for people. The grill belonged to a gentleman who pasted at the age of 101 and his daughter just recently found the strength to start to letting go some of his stuff. As I was leaving with the grill I asked if they could make sure the daughter knew that her father's grill was going to someone who was going to love it and take good care of it.
The gentleman took excellent care of this grill. No major chips, a little bit of rim rash, very very little crazing, and it was pretty clean too. Still had charcoal inside banked to one side and snuffed out. The cooking grate has some rust and mold, no ash pan, and at some point he had replaced the wheels with some craftsman lawnmower wheels. So I cleaned it up, replaced the wheels, and threw on an old twist pan from one of my '80's for the pics.
This is by far the oldest and best condition grill in my collection. First three wheeler, first MBH, first avocado, first thumbscrew. This grill represents a lot of first for me and I couldn't be more excited! This might just turn into my daily cooker.
Now onto the cleaned up pictures!
Lid vent
Nice mist ring and I threw some dark stain on the handle. I think it looks so sharp like that!
Inside nice and clean
Under the skirt
Just like this shot
And the one little bit of over spray that makes it unique
Thanks for looking and reading, if you've made it this far.
And for all the guys out there that struggle to find sweet old vintage grills, that's me too! My first score was a pair of '80's era reds. Now about 2-2 1/2 years later I finally find something else worth getting. In about the 4-5 years I've been into this hobby, I find my third vintage. So keep looking, it'll happen.
Maiden cook will be tomorrow, burgers for the cook off. Can't wait!
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