I have to say THANK YOU & give credit to fellow member, @einrej, for alerting me to two Craigslist finds. I was trying to go one weekend w/o buying a grill, so I was dismissing my alerts most of the day. Thankfully, he wasn't!!!
I had seen this one & dismissed it right away. Who the he!! is gonna pay $55 for a black OTS? The next day @einrej emails me the link w/ the subject line "Plum? Read the description". Asked if he got ahold of the seller & if he wanted me to grab it for him. "Nope, you can go for it". Got ahold of the seller & arranged a p/u time.
Porcelain was in grate condition. One wheel had broken insert. Sweep was seized. Grate was rusty & not original. Seller agreed to $45. Also bought a gas GA from seller for $15 (igniter shot, but donor wood handles in beautiful shape). Decided to steal the triangle & lid bale assembly from a chipped up Hunter Green I already had. Had new wheels, new sweep, & new handle thermo bracket in my parts bin. Ordered a cooking grate, thermo, & ash catch assembly from Weber. Cleaned, modded, & put together.
I've been trying to find one of these for over a year, but wasn't gonna pay the price for the beat up one on eBay. Got the phone call from @einrej right after this one posted. Texted the seller & agreed to a p/u time. Sweeeeeet!!!
Handle worn. Grates were bad. Legs had rust spots. Found a $20 NIB SJ to use as a parts donor.
Cleaned it up, swapped in the new parts, & was able to resto the handle. Luckily there was enough of an indentation to make out the lettering. Used an ultra fine Sharpie to outline the letters. Filled in with a regular Sharpie (wanted ink to soak in). Sanded the sh!t outta the handles. Stained & sealed w/ high temperature, outdoor Spar. Surprisingly, it turned out as I'd hoped it would.