Old kettle restoration

[zavod44]

Okay so I know everyone poo poo's the black kettles around here, but I have this old thumbscrew black kettle that has to be from the mid sixties.  It is in really great shape, and this is really the kettle that got me started on all this nonsense.  Someone dropped this off at my house and I hated it because it was a little different from my other Webers, and I honestly thought it was a generic Weber knockoff.  So I took it to a cookout for work with the intention to just leave it at the forest perserve, or if it fell out of my truck then who cared anyway.  While I was at the cookout one of the guys said "these old Weber's are awesome".  I said "this old turd it's a piece of crap".  He responded "did you look at this you moron?  look at the vent wheel"  I looked and it said BAR-B-OUE KETTLE, Arlington Heights ILL.  So I took my old grill home and logged on to see what I had.  I figured it might be older than the norm.  Well the rest is history.  So I have a soft spot for this grill.  This grill is all the original parts.  I did have to put some small screws on the leg sockets, they were loose and I didn't want them to fall off.  So without further ado I give you........The Texan



By zavod44 at 2012-09-16



By zavod44 at 2012-09-16



By zavod44 at 2012-09-16



By zavod44 at 2012-09-16



By zavod44 at 2012-07-28



By zavod44 at 2012-09-16


Couple of old pictures of how it looked before


By zavod44 at 2011-11-14



By zavod44 at 2011-11-14



By zavod44 at 2011-11-14


This grill is prob my third oldest grill.  I think my Chestnut Copperton and Grandpa are older but this one is right up there and now it's restored to it's original mid sixties glory.  A true piece of Americana!

Brian

[MartyG]

Great story Brian. Like many of us, I hope to score a grill older than I am someday, but it would have to be a '56 or earlier. A guy can dream...

[zavod44]

Wow, A 56' would be an awesome score.  I have faith that you'll find it if you set your mind to it...

Brian

[G]

Impressive work...looks new.

[Heyjude]

Thise wheels look real sharp. Luv the metal caps, that sets it off..

[zavod44]

So on my two oldest grills they both had those old rusty hub caps.  I was trying to figure out how to replace them.  No joke, I walk into home depot and they have them in the drawer with the other end caps.  They are the identical part.  Of course they could have been replaced but that older Chestnut Copperton I have is all original.  I think the caps on its wheels are original.  They are identical to the ones at home depot.  So I used then on this one to try to restore it to it's original look.  Does anyone else have these old metal caps?  Grandpa had one of these caps, the other was missing.

Brian

[Troy]

nice!

my baby blue, and red 26 both have metal caps. I can't remember if limey does or not.

[Duke]

I used to use the metal caps, but found there are near impossible to remove without dmamging them. Now I use a different type. That's a nice kettle, but what I find interesting is that the tabs inside the bowl are the same as the ones today. I thought the ones with the old thumbscrews were turned where one tab is in the back and one in front where the handles are and the other two on the sides.

[zavod44]

Interesting observation on the tabs inside the bowl.  I'll check my others....As far as the metal caps, if they get wrecked I'll get more at Home Depot.  I totally repainted those wheels, I'm happy I did, I think they came out good.   Maybe I should redo the wheels on my chestnut?  It needs an overhaul....

Brian

[Craig]

Brian, WOW!! That's a badass looking 'Texan! I actually have no problem with the black kettles, especially if there from the older metal/wood handle years! They have an almost satin-like sheen to them compared to the new ones and I prefer it! Since I finally got my Copper Mist 22, along with my Red's, I'm gonna have to add old school 'Jet Black' to the kettle bucket list along with Avocado! Now I know where to get new hubcaps for my thumbscrew red 18.5"er and cleanup and paint it's wheels! Super inspiring! 

Craig

[zavod44]

See that's why we are here.....

Brian

[zavod44]

I was gonna ask everyone, should I replace the handle?  The handles is in pretty good shape, I'll prob just leave it for now...makes it original.

Brian

[zavod44]

Hey Troy did you see my music set up in picture #6?  My Droid Razr and my dock attached to the little speakers.  Prob blaring Ozzy!  It's sitting near the back of Mesa Azul

Brian

[Troy]

i didn't. i notice it now though.

you don't have sonos?

[zavod44]

No, that thing I have is actually a product that I built a model of when I worked at another shop but we did models for Motorola.  I was excited to get the real one....

Brian