Nice pickup! That particular kettle is the BAR-B-KETTLE model. By 1993, the kettles that had the three daisy vents at the bottom (as opposed to the One Touch Sweeper) were now considered the "basic" kettle model. These only had one bowl handle (at the front) a single brace triangle, black wall...
Both nice looking redheads! Robert yours looks like a 1977 model with that vent style. Jim's looks like a 1969-70 PAT PENDING. The old reds are the best reds.
I don't own a Performer model yet, but have the gourmet grate system and haven't had issues with the center grate falling in. Is there any misshaping or out-of-round issues on your grate?
I finally got to see both models in person over the weekend at my local Ace. They are both pretty sweet looking, though I think I would prefer the table model (not that I would turn down the tripod version). As for the sockets on the bowl, Weber has a long history of using pre-existing parts for...