Purchased a Genesis 1000 LX. Any Advice on Keeping it Pristine?

Decided to jump into the world of Weber and found a really awesome looking Genesis 1000 LX on Craigslist nearby.

For $200, I don't think I could've asked for a better situation. The owner had the grill since 1999. I was impressed with the condition. Grates were clean, no rust, flavorizers were in excellent shape (just starting to rust at the edges), burners were pristine, the box and lid had some soot that can be cleaned up. Igniter works, durawood is in fantastic shape. Sounds like the owner would take it out occasionally (a couple of times) each summer to grill, but wasn't that big on it. He kept it in a garage otherwise. Included in the purchase was a rotisserie kit, the original owners manual, several Weber Times mailers, recipe book, and the marketing brochure that he kept in the Weber branded three ring binder. All of it mint condition to my surprise. This felt like finding grandpa's forgotten '57 Chevy with only 10,000 miles pent up in an old barn out in rural Wisconsin.

In any case, I don't have to restore anything but I'd like to hear if anyone has advice on how to keep this thing looking as new as it is. I do plan to use the grill of course. I live in Minnesota, and will need to store the grill in the open on a deck outdoors. During the winter, I might be able to take it off the deck and put it underneath under a tarp but ... I do like to grill during the winter.

Thinking at the very least, I'll need a quality cover. 7106 is the current Weber model that would fit this grill. I've read some mixed reviews of the cover though, so I'm not certain if it's the best choice. Any thoughts? Any alternatives that'd be a good investment?

Is there anything I should do to clean up the grill, and try to rustproof it? Maybe season parts of it (not sure what instructions to follow for this)?

Any additional suggestions for me? Accessories that'd be worth trying to find?

The tank he gave me was a filled quick disconnect LP tank. Don't think I'll be able to find a place to refill this sucker. I'm planning on swapping out the hose on the grill with a standard fitting. Believe I already know how to do this. Shame, I hate to exchange the tank (after using it of course). Not a ding or scratch on it, and I like how easy it is to connect/disconnect it but all of my spare tanks are most definitely not QD.

Thanks for the help! Looking forward to taking good care of this 18 year old grill...while also using it to fire up delicious meats of course.

Just get a new regulator and hose assembly. When your current tank is empty take it to an exchange place and simply exchange it for the new style tank. Then install your new regulator and hose you're all set. Cleaning is the best thing to do. Especially the grease drawer this is where HUGE fires happen if you're not careful. If you want to rust proof the insides of the frame tubes order some rust encapsulator from the guys at Eastwood.com along with the hose (you'll figure it out when you look at the site). Than simply spray the internals with this stuff. Any rust that is there will be converted anything else will be prevented. Make sure you do it where you don't mind getting this stuff when it drips. It WILL NOT come off anything. Otherwise use it.

Congratulations on your purchase, I too have a 1999 1000 LX in green that I bought new, which now sits in a 3000 frame. Those 13FB grills are great cookers.
My advice is to clean it frequently so you don't get a lot of burnt on gunk that takes a jackhammer to remove. Take care of it and you will get many more years of service out of it.

Also what LMichaels said is good advice, especially where you live because of the high humidity.

As far as a cover goes you can do better than Weber's covers for a lot less money. Use the Amazon link at the top of the page on the forum and check out some of the other covers that will fit it. Using the link on here gets Chris a little kickback to help support the forum.
I just bought a very nice cover today for my 3000 genesis for $39.00 vs. $79.00 for the Weber one.

Most of all welcome to the forum lots of friendly folks on here.