1986 Weber Gen 3-BLACK *RESTORED*


 
Jon Tofte said:
If you look closely at the one Rich picked up, it has a control panel that appears to be maybe even OLDER than the "very early" ones we have seen - for example like on the one MarkSiebel has posted here. Rich's is especially plain and doesn't have the little connecting stripe between the igniter switch and the front burner. (Looks like the original Weber ad above has one like this too.) I am guessing his was part of the very earliest production batch. Two very cool grills in, of course, RUST FREE Arizona:cool:!
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I agree. That must be a first year control panel. Great find!
 
G Schafer said:
That end bracket s the same as mine, and correct for those old ones as far as I can determine. I was wondering about the hardware that holds the strut rod to the flip up table. The early ones like ours were attached to only one of the slats on the table. It was a poor design. There is a good pic of it in the thread I started (the one where I had welded stainless frames made). I would provide the link, but I'm on my phone right now, and it's not easy for me to do right now
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interesting! send me that link so i can see that..never seen that before!! I just swapped a few brackets from another side table for use on this one. Those also, obsolete, so I've fabricated them as well for a few other projects...pain in the butt!!
 
G Schafer said:
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?76238-Restoration-Projects-1992-Genesis-1-and-Late-80-s-Genesis-2
It's a long thread, lots of pics, but there is a good comparison pic of the older vs newer swing up tables.
Gerry
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>> Wow!! again..i've never seen that old swing up table design? can you or anyone on this site confirm that it is original or Frankenstein? if original, yes, i agree, minimal support. I know guys on this site hate when I say this..but...I only use/recommend swing tables for show and not real strength. That single support rod just can't support a ton of weight...a beer maybe? what is the date stamps on the hood and cook box of your early Gen. 2? did you say 86 or earlier?
 
I believe it to be original. The Frankengrill had it as well as the old one I bought a couple of months ago. Both are stamped 86. No 85s My Dad's may have been a later build, ,maybe 87, but his flip up table was 19" long also. His hinge bracket had just a hole and the rod had a plastic cap as shown in that thread. The swing up table can hold a fairly heavy plate of food, but I am also leery of overloading it. I used the slider that was used on later grills instead of the rod that goes into the frame's legs.
It's easier to operate with one hand.

Actually, Dad's grill was in great shape. The bolt that usually rusts on the left side of the cook box is in perfect shape!

So now I have all the spare parts in the attic in case I need another grill.

Probably will never be seen again...
Gerry
 
Dad's grill has serial L3-0407xx
The one I bought: L3-0171xx
Yours appears to be older. I bet early '86.
I would bet Weber didn't sell a whole lot of them the first year or two until word got out how good they were. They were very expensive to buy back then.
Gerry
 
MarkSiebel said:
>> here is pic. of serial # and end table metal support bracket..is this the hardware you're referring to? this is actually a original bracket...rare, no longer made....pic. also attached. and, I know this grill is a 86. pic. posted in 1st post and 86' stamp on hood and grill box. I'm no expert at knowing via serial # what # in production I have? let me know if you can tell? re: swing table length? hummm...I've never seen a side table slat over 15.25"...even though all my early Gen.s have had NO swing table slats when i got them..so I can not confirm or deny? maybe>> Jon Tofte << has some early pics to validate? if they are 19"L, it would have them parallel to the bottom frame post support fyi......

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Mark,

So how does the rod stay in with that original bracket. I see how it drops in that slot, but what keeps the rod from pulling out of the frame toward the left. On the newer plastic holder it obviously can't since it is an end piece. But that just has a hole so it seems like the rod could easily work itself out of the frame.

On the swing table length, I wish I could say more. I believe I have seen the one Gerry posted. (SHARP!) Don't know if he based his dimensions on an original or if it is even possible to say that any wood piece that old is an "original." Looking at the Weber advertisement, it does seem like the swing table is a "normal" length, but that picture's perspective makes that hard to say for sure.

Anyone else have any ideas?
 
Jon Tofte said:
Mark,

So how does the rod stay in with that original bracket. I see how it drops in that slot, but what keeps the rod from pulling out of the frame toward the left. On the newer plastic holder it obviously can't since it is an end piece. But that just has a hole so it seems like the rod could easily work itself out of the frame.
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The hinge rod has a tab welded on that the wood slats are screwed to. Any movement to the left will stop when the wood slat contacts the end bracket.

Gerry
 
G Schafer said:
http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/image/fgZ

Does this help?
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Yes! I forgot about that other early advertisement. It clearly shows, as does your earlier thread (thanks for linking!), that the original wide slats were 19” long. That puts the end parallel with the bottom frame cross piece as Mark says and as the ad shows. That is pretty long, especially with that rickety design you showed that they used. I wonder how long it was before they abandoned that and went to the universal slat length of 15.25”?
 
Jon Tofte said:
Yes! I forgot about that other early advertisement. It clearly shows, as does your earlier thread (thanks for linking!), that the original wide slats were 19” long. That puts the end parallel with the bottom frame cross piece as Mark says and as the ad shows. That is pretty long, especially with that rickety design you showed that they used. I wonder how long it was before they abandoned that and went to the universal slat length of 15.25”?
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Well, it's only 4" longer, and you wouldn't put anything heavy right at the end anyway. I bet they went to the shorter length when they transitioned to the narrow slats. That way they only needed to stock one length for all the wood on these grills.
Gerry
 
G Schafer said:
Well, it's only 4" longer, and you wouldn't put anything heavy right at the end anyway. I bet they went to the shorter length when they transitioned to the narrow slats. That way they only needed to stock one length for all the wood on these grills.
Gerry
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Yeah, that makes sense. Streamlining production is all about efficiency. A shorter table and better bracket at least made the swing up more usable. As far as sturdiness goes, the real improvement - even though not elegant like wood - was when they went to the Thermoset tables. The swing-up on those locks pretty solid and with a one-piece table gives a lot more confidence that it can hold your steaks:cool:!
 
Rich Dahl said:
Robg restored a gen 2 so I emailed him and asked him to measure the flip up and he said it was 18"
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Who knows...they may have made them different lengths early in the production cycle. Seeing the changes in these very early ones - especially the wood tables - it is easy to imagine that they were trying to work out a final design and experimented a little. Or, Robg might have replacement wood. With no one around that REALLY KNOWS some of this is left for guess work on our part. I think the main thing is to try and save some of these "historic" first Weber Genesis grills and to do so in a way that preserves their overall character. Some of the fine details may not be perfect in every case, but at least they have been saved :oinstead of winding up in the landfill:(.
 
Jon, I agree there is very little history on the Gen 123 grills not like the 1000-5000 gen grills which there is a lot of information available.
Well mine has flip up I haven't messed with it yet but will be doing so shortly, so I will be learning as I go.
But to your point I want to keep it as close to original as I can. Having the original grates and flavorizer bars and the chocolate lid makes it a well preserved time capsule.
 
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