A Tale of Two Silver B's: Chapter Two - "The Block Party Grill"


 
Bruce said:
I wonder why that is. While it clearly helps to be in or near a larger metro area, it just seems like you have an over abundance of good used grills with lower prices as well.
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People in the Seattle area of Washington for the most part don't appreciate old things that were built right and built to last. You can't hardly give away a classic Weber here. People here will pay good money for a cheeply made grill that is shiny and new looking. People for the most part here are also not handy at all and won't get their hand dirty so if a grill isn't new or at least looks like new it's a pass and if the styling is old that's a pass also. Obviously not everyone is like this and especially the farther away from the big city. Works out good for me though. I wouldn't waste my time trying to sell a classic Weber here for profit though. Newer Webers I can flip easily here for good profit but I'm done flipping at least for now. I'm enjoying restoring my own personal grills. When I'm done with all of them I'll see what I want to do at that point.
 
Bruce said:
That is an interesting view point and it sure seems to explain the situation.
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Bruce the one thing I can't explain is why so many of them here are in such good condition. It is always wet here but maybe because of that people keep them undercover more. I have no idea. They aren't in as good condition as the ones I find in the desert of Arizona but still pretty darn good.
 
@Bruce So one of my neighbors asked me to look at his Weber Genesis 330 because he hasn't been able to use it in a couple years. It wouldn't start because it had a dead battery. Nobody told him there was a battery. He told me the tank fuel level indicator never worked I looked inside the cabinet and the propane bottle was not on the hanger. Nobody told him that you have to hang the bottle on the tank hanger for it to tell you how much fuel is in the tank. He figured that it would just know with the tank sitting in the cabinet next to the hanger. The grill was still in great condition. Probably barely used but needed a bit of cleaning and he was thinking that it's probably just time to get rid of it and get a new one.
 
Yah, these grills, especially the older ones are not that complicated. But people still can't figure them out. When I picked up a rehab Silver B early this spring, I pulled the greased tray out to transport the grill and the guy looked stunned and then said, "Oh, I didn't know that you could take that out". He did a reasonable job of cleaning the grill however, without ever taking the large grease pan out.
 
Bruce said:
They key to getting into welding is to find someone willing to mentor you a little bit at first. Getting started is the tough part. Once you can can get to a point of actually using a welder the right way, you are good. No, your welds won't look all that pretty at first, but they will do the job and as long as you own an angle grinder and grinding wheel, you are set. Then it is just practice.

Youtube has a ton of tutorial videos. Some better than others. And once you get the hang of it, you will find all kinds of other uses for the welder. Think of all the cobble jobs you have done over the past ten years by clamping stuff together or drilling bolt holes or attaching brackets to hold things together.
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Thanks for the good advice Bruce. I looked at some videos and I think I could learn if I just focused on it. I talked with a good friend whose son works on vintage cars who knows how to weld. The son lives in CO but would be happy to advise me on how to get started with equipment and practice. I've always been interested, maybe these frame repairs might be a good way to start.
 
Val Deale said:
Here is a photo of the wood handle before installation.
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I decided to paint the wheels on this one. I used a gloss spray that I had on hand.
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And here is the finished emblem.

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For the emblem I stopped at I think either 100 or 220 grit. I thought it added more shine then going to a finer sandpaper. The last one I went to 640 I think. But the Weber badge usually looks great no matter what techniques you throw at it.
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Starting to assemble.

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I decided for the Block Party Grill to use existing burners from the first Silver B. They seemed to be in OK shape so I clamped them into a "V" channel in a saw horse and hit them with a 6" wire brush on an angle grinder. I then flushed them with water and allowed them to dry overnight.

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Here's a burner test - all systems go for reassembling!
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However, I noticed a wheel had jammed and I really wanted not to buy new wheels but I wanted to make sure it could roll on the street for the block party. I decided to take a chance and drill a hole through the caster and inject WD-40 and then try and unsieze it. Fortunately it worked!
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Starting to come together.
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Wow! That’s looking incredible!!!
 
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