Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Well, other than finishing the restore of my 50 year old PK and messing around converting a regular crimson kettle into a Master Touch version by pirating parts, I have been pretty much just an observer on the sidelines for almost two years 
. My move from Florida to Indiana took all the wind out of my sails and many other complications have pretty much knocked me out of the hobby. I even started giving some consideration to just selling off all my parts and giving up
. Anyway, I have finally gotten going again - at least a LITTLE - piddling around on and off on this cute Silver A restore. It was made primarily from leftover parts that I had from taking the body of a late Silver A and early Silver Skyline hood to create my daily driver:
So, this project is a "Frankengrill" to be sure. It is for a friend, and I wanted it to be extra special and not just a plain Silver A. A few things helped with that:
1) I added side end caps to the small old style Silver A frame. These were dyed for me by Bruce at our summer TVWBB Upper Midwest Meet. Having the chance to do this will make it worth your while to come the V2.0 in 2022 - stay tuned! I also used black knobs that Bruce did for me there as well. This all helped the grill look a little bigger and, I feel, classier.
2) Added some touches like one of my replacement warning decals, a special Harley Davidson decal - since my friend loves Harleys, and, of course a RED kettle logo
3) After getting some input and being patient to let PB Blaster do its thing, I was able to disassemble the manifold (WITHOUT stripping the small screws) and clean up the valves using Larry's (LMichaels) tried and proven method that was turned into a very helpful video by our Moderator, Chris Allingham. I watch this video every time before I do this clean up. The valves were sticky, but now they turn properly. It is nice to hear that soft "click" as they pass the setting points.
4) I feel these little Silver As look kind of bland with durawood or worse yet a plastic side table. I was excited to find out that in my new Indiana locale, Menards - a new place to shop for me - carries mahogany wood slats. So, I thought this would be a fun grill on which to try that out. The bottom of this grill has the half-size metal wire basket on the bottom. To me this looks unfinished. So, in addition to the side table, I took a regular 6-hole Z-bar and cut it in half to make ones that could hold 3 long slats horizontally. I used a ton of spar urethane and have to say that my skills are really lacking
. I need to buy some new spar and learn more... At least this wood is well protected, and the mahogany definitely adds needed warmth:
4) My friend saw my GrillGrates and found their ability to flip and become almost a griddle very appealing. I actually thought about giving him my set, but one thing GrillGrates do not do is clean up nicely. This grill is intended to be very special. And, I knew that GrillGrates - whatever their faults - would help him cook like a champ with way fewer flare-ups. So, GrillGrates had a sale and...
So, here is my first real gas grill restore in a LONG time ready to be delivered:
. My move from Florida to Indiana took all the wind out of my sails and many other complications have pretty much knocked me out of the hobby. I even started giving some consideration to just selling off all my parts and giving up. Anyway, I have finally gotten going again - at least a LITTLE - piddling around on and off on this cute Silver A restore. It was made primarily from leftover parts that I had from taking the body of a late Silver A and early Silver Skyline hood to create my daily driver:So, this project is a "Frankengrill" to be sure. It is for a friend, and I wanted it to be extra special and not just a plain Silver A. A few things helped with that:
1) I added side end caps to the small old style Silver A frame. These were dyed for me by Bruce at our summer TVWBB Upper Midwest Meet. Having the chance to do this will make it worth your while to come the V2.0 in 2022 - stay tuned! I also used black knobs that Bruce did for me there as well. This all helped the grill look a little bigger and, I feel, classier.
2) Added some touches like one of my replacement warning decals, a special Harley Davidson decal - since my friend loves Harleys, and, of course a RED kettle logo
3) After getting some input and being patient to let PB Blaster do its thing, I was able to disassemble the manifold (WITHOUT stripping the small screws) and clean up the valves using Larry's (LMichaels) tried and proven method that was turned into a very helpful video by our Moderator, Chris Allingham. I watch this video every time before I do this clean up. The valves were sticky, but now they turn properly. It is nice to hear that soft "click" as they pass the setting points.
4) I feel these little Silver As look kind of bland with durawood or worse yet a plastic side table. I was excited to find out that in my new Indiana locale, Menards - a new place to shop for me - carries mahogany wood slats. So, I thought this would be a fun grill on which to try that out. The bottom of this grill has the half-size metal wire basket on the bottom. To me this looks unfinished. So, in addition to the side table, I took a regular 6-hole Z-bar and cut it in half to make ones that could hold 3 long slats horizontally. I used a ton of spar urethane and have to say that my skills are really lacking
. I need to buy some new spar and learn more... At least this wood is well protected, and the mahogany definitely adds needed warmth:4) My friend saw my GrillGrates and found their ability to flip and become almost a griddle very appealing. I actually thought about giving him my set, but one thing GrillGrates do not do is clean up nicely. This grill is intended to be very special. And, I knew that GrillGrates - whatever their faults - would help him cook like a champ with way fewer flare-ups. So, GrillGrates had a sale and...
So, here is my first real gas grill restore in a LONG time ready to be delivered:
(I wear my sunglasses at night).