Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Beauty in Simplicity: The Genesis XX (Jr.)
We have had some interesting posts about Genesis Jr. grills. A while back I posted this discussion about the earliest versions of the Jr. They had the odd names "XX" and "XXI" in 1988 before the name was changed to Jr. in 1989 with only model offered:
tvwbb.com
The Genesis XX was the plain Jane version, stripped down to just one top wood tray with a frame that had only a central horizontal support, whereas all later Jr. grills (and the nicer XXI model) had front and back supports. The XX even removed the thermometer as another cost savings measure.
About 3 1/2 years ago, @Bruce landed a huge haul of old Weber grills from an guy who had let his Weberitis get the better of him. One item was an accumulation of early Jr. parts. Bruce didn't want to mess with them and kindly gave them to me:
Notice those LAWN MOWER wheels!
I totally disassembled and kicked these parts (literally) around my shop all this time since then, but FINALLY picked up from a couple false starts and got busy!
These parts are not all from one grill. The frame definitely dates to 1988 or maybe 1987, having the single support bar. The firebox is a 1991 casting. When we at the TVWBB got the 1988 catalog generously shared by our friends at the Weber Kettel Grill Giants, I became intrigued with the XX model and decided that would be my target:
I have not been able to do hardly any restores since I moved to Indiana, and this was my first one with wood slats in a couple of years. I watched Bruce's video about painting the frame and got that rust treated inside and painted. I replaced the hardware with stainless, but in most cases painted that black to look like teh original.
Those lawnmower wheels had to go! Luckily, I have accumulated a good stash of the first version of the Weber 8" plastic wheels. Of course, virtually all have white walls with missing letters. Fortunately, there is a great 3D printer on Etsy who makes those. I used one of his inserts on the front wheel and saved the better one and reused for the back after sanding and repainting white. I also painted the faded wheels satin black. I thought it was worth it to have an original, and who looks much at the back anyway!
I had the firebox and end caps sandblasted ages ago, so finally I could install the firebox:
TO BE CONTINUED
We have had some interesting posts about Genesis Jr. grills. A while back I posted this discussion about the earliest versions of the Jr. They had the odd names "XX" and "XXI" in 1988 before the name was changed to Jr. in 1989 with only model offered:
Genesis XX, XXI and Jr.
I am fortunate to have a beautiful old Genesis "Jr." that I got with the kind help of @Bruce and his sister in Minneapolis. This was a one-owner, lightly used (for 35 years old!) grill that even had the original owner's guide. The guide had "Gensis XX Genesis XXI" on the cover. I couldn't...
tvwbb.com
The Genesis XX was the plain Jane version, stripped down to just one top wood tray with a frame that had only a central horizontal support, whereas all later Jr. grills (and the nicer XXI model) had front and back supports. The XX even removed the thermometer as another cost savings measure.
About 3 1/2 years ago, @Bruce landed a huge haul of old Weber grills from an guy who had let his Weberitis get the better of him. One item was an accumulation of early Jr. parts. Bruce didn't want to mess with them and kindly gave them to me:
Notice those LAWN MOWER wheels!
I totally disassembled and kicked these parts (literally) around my shop all this time since then, but FINALLY picked up from a couple false starts and got busy!
These parts are not all from one grill. The frame definitely dates to 1988 or maybe 1987, having the single support bar. The firebox is a 1991 casting. When we at the TVWBB got the 1988 catalog generously shared by our friends at the Weber Kettel Grill Giants, I became intrigued with the XX model and decided that would be my target:
I have not been able to do hardly any restores since I moved to Indiana, and this was my first one with wood slats in a couple of years. I watched Bruce's video about painting the frame and got that rust treated inside and painted. I replaced the hardware with stainless, but in most cases painted that black to look like teh original.
Those lawnmower wheels had to go! Luckily, I have accumulated a good stash of the first version of the Weber 8" plastic wheels. Of course, virtually all have white walls with missing letters. Fortunately, there is a great 3D printer on Etsy who makes those. I used one of his inserts on the front wheel and saved the better one and reused for the back after sanding and repainting white. I also painted the faded wheels satin black. I thought it was worth it to have an original, and who looks much at the back anyway!
I had the firebox and end caps sandblasted ages ago, so finally I could install the firebox:
TO BE CONTINUED
...