Recent Cheif Score, Needs Some Help (Pic Heavy)

[WNC]

I was lucky enough to score this sweet 26er the other day. Not the best picture to tell, but it's got some nice spun lines!



Not a lot of back story, the guy only told me it was his uncle's and he brought it up from Florida when they cleared out his estate. It was funny though, he called me the day after I picked it up and asked, "Is there something special about that grill I sold you? Because some guy called from Atlanta as was willing to drive all the way up here for it."

I told him about this place, and said given it's age and size, it was only special to a small handful of people. I could only image that the guy who called him was part of the club, ATL where you at?

Anyway, it's in kind of rough shape. On to pictures...

Lid vent


Grate is super rusty, but I'm gonna try and save it. I also noticed a ridge in the bowl about inch below the top. It's not like what you see in the economy kettles (I don't think?) Any ideas?


Charcoal grate is rusty too, I never knew about the support bridge


This is one of the worst spots. Small rust hole at one of the grate straps, and some significant crazing all around


Handles are rough too, and loose. Any advice one making sure they stay on?


Missing a vent, and the other ones are really dirty. It also has that flattened bottom with the little point like @GregS red 26er


Triangle is rough, and kind of looks like it had been painted before


And at some point someone installed screws to hold the legs in. And the socket is cracked...This kettle post dates thumbscrews, but I think I'm gonna go ahead and put some on to cover the holes.


Wheels seem like they'll clean up well


So here are my questions, and where I need help.

What's up with the ridge line near the top of the bowl?
What's the best fix, if any for that small hole? (It's not so big, like if you put a sharpened pencil point in there it would go to about where the lead met the wood)
What's the fix for the handles? They're not off, but you can move them if you put some weight on them.
The bottom vents also don't sit flush, just bang them back flush after I clean out the dirt?  Also, does anyone have a extra small tab daisy wheel lying around. (I'll post in the trade sections too)

And one of the bigger issues...The lid doesn't always sit right. I haven't had the chance to check round yet, but I think it's worse than that. The triangle won't stay in place (it keeps popping out of the front leg). When you put the kettle in the up-right position the back legs roll out under the weight of the kettle and I think it flexes the bowl. I hoping to bend the hook on the front of the triangle to a steeper angle, and hopefully that will grab the front leg better and hold everything in place.

Thanks for looking (if you made it this far), and any advice would be greatly appreciated!   

A sunset shot, however the sun has not yet set on this Cheif!

[1911Ron]

Nice! Can't help you sorry.

[SixZeroFour]

That my friend is no Warrior (22) - that's a Chief!

Really sweet find WNC!!!

[Santo]

Very nice rescue, congrats!
For the bowl daisy wheels, try just pushing with your hand all around the edges after you clean them.  Given its condition, being gentle is probably a better choice at first.
It sounds like the welds on the leg sockets and handles are loose?  If your brave and skilled enough, they COULD be removed and welded back on.  Whether it should be done is entirely up to you.
Good luck!

[Mozfan00]

Sweet ass sweet!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[JayCee]

Great Chief find. This is almost exactly the condition of mine when I first got it.

Firstly, the lid not sitting right, for mine I actually noticed it was the bowl which was out of shape. To fix this I removed the triangle and legs then put it sideways on my lawn and gently pushed on the rim where it was out of shape then checked it with my lid. I kept making subtle changes until it was a good fit. Mine was missing a bottom vent also, so I contacted Weber down here in OZ and they sent me 3 new daisy wheels. These were the same type as my Chief in an A code, the ones they sent were EI code but I used all 3 as they were new. You can also get a replacement triangle from Weber for a small fee. There were some in stock so I bought one then sprayed it with Lanox to keep away the rust. Mine was missing a handle sadly but it was at least at the back. The front handle was rock solid thankfully. As for the rust hole I've seen a thread or 2 where people have welded up holes with great success. If memory serves there was a ranger resto recently where they fixed some and it turned out awesome. You can polish the lid vent and the legs to get them shiny which will match your triangle should you replace it, there's plenty of threads on how to get them looking good. Then all you need as a nice Zavod handle and you'll have a nice resto. I was initially a bit disappointed when I first got mine and now it's the pride of my fleet.

Hope that helps.

JC

[Cochise]

That old kettle has a lot of character....good luck and enjoy!

[WNC]

That my friend is no Warrior (22) - that's a Chief!

Really sweet find WNC!!!

Damn, I knew that too, can't believe F up like that in front of all you guys. So embarrassing
Please don't revoke my WKC card...

[WNC]

That my friend is no Warrior (22) - that's a Chief!

Really sweet find WNC!!!

Damn, I knew that too, can't believe F up like that in front of all you guys. So embarrassing
Please don't revoke my WKC card...

I had to go back and fix it...

Thanks for all the advice so far, please keep it coming! After breakfast I'm gonna go start the break down.

[WNC]

I was initially a bit disappointed when I first got mine and now it's the pride of my fleet.

JC

Thanks for all the advice JC!

I have a feeling your sentiment will be exactly mine too!

This is the biggest restore I've had to do, most of my others just needed a good cleaning, so I think that's gonna make this one all the more special!

[MrHoss]

Atlanta??? Nah. The seller got it wrong I'm in Canada.

Beauty Kettle there WNC.

[weldboy]

Sweet find! Enjoy it

[Idahawk]

Congrats that's a great grill , well worth fixing up and the size is ideal for cooking on . Enjoy


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[crowderjd]

Congratulations!  I love those old 26ers!  Can't wait to see the restore!