Redhead Performer SS restoration

So, I picked up a very fatigued, but salvageable (I think) Redhead Performer SS from the FB marketplace last year. It's been sitting in the shed, waiting for me to have the time to deal with it. I revisited it yesterday to assess the condition. There's the expected stuff, like two of the one-touch sweeper arms being missing and some dents and rust on the lid, but there's also quite a bit of rust and a lot of flex in the frame. I can't really see how the frame is held together, so I'm a bit hesitant to start taking it all apart. My plan was to wire brush the rust and peeling paint and have a buddy of mine weld the bits back together before priming and painting. However, I don't know what grade of steel Weber used and whether welding it is possible or advisable.

Has anyone ever rebuilt the frame/chassis on a Performer SS that could provide some recommendations?

I restored a Red SS Performer about 10 years ago. The frame has these little inserts inside the square tubes that the bolts screw into. These are a weak point on the frame and a lot of times the bolt gets rusted into the inserts and they either don't come out or break. Luckily mine did not have these issues but I had another SS performer that did have this problem and I sold it cheap instead of trying to fix it.

I still have this performer but don't use it anymore so I'm not sure what kind of shape the frame is these days since it's always under a cover. Good luck on the rehab.

No welding is needed. You can simply buy 1-inch square tubing, along with threaded inserts
and some new bolts.





You can pick up the threaded inserts on eBay or Amazon. BUY THOSE FIRST. Then take them
with you to where you buy your metal locally, to find the tubing with the precise fit. This can
save time and the hassle of rcvg the wrong size tubing. Cut your pieces to size using a grinder
and cut off wheel, assemble, repaint the whole frame, just like new.

Here's a link to the assembly instructions so you can get a sense of how the whole thing goes together/comes apart.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/614704/Weber-Performer-Touch-N-Go-Ignition.html

I remember a thread where someone replaced some frame members with aluminum and used threaded rod with cap nuts to hold it together.

Tim

DrewZ said:

Here's a link to the assembly instructions so you can get a sense of how the whole thing goes together/comes apart.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/614704/Weber-Performer-Touch-N-Go-Ignition.html

Click to expand...

I dug around for that, but apparently did not have the right search terms. Thanks much! Now I just need a couple nice weekend days to start pulling this thing apart.