Shaun R
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I was thinking it would be cool to have a place to show off originals, custom grills & smokers and tell about them in detail.
Here's my latest creation ~El Jefe~
Our fellow member AJ picked this up this old Copper Mist/Chocolate 26 3/4 inch Weber in Aptos California sight unseen. I expressed some interest and we met up and made a few trades including a decent red 22 for it. It was a real basket case after being exposed to salt water most of it's life. It had a missing front handle, very bent lid, rust, pock marks and chips in it. The previous owner also used it as a fire pit. Sorry no before pics.
I gave it a cleaning and some straightening and then began to decide what to do with it.
I realized that it wasn't really going to be a great "looker" and I wanted to use it so I put it together with that in mind. Since the legs were a bit mangled at the top I decided to give it a 2 1/2 drop and added my Regal Red painted original wheels from my secret stash with white caps for that ratty look.
I also riveted on a front handle from HD and painted that and the rusted bottom triangle with Cinnamon colored paint. Not a perfect match, but close. I also added new thumb screws to the legs. Since the top handle was also broken I added an old bottom piece to the original top and re-riveted it back on for that used look. I also have the original ash catcher, but it seems to be so big it hides all the extras I added so I put on a newer style one from a 22.5.
Under the hood I used the original rusted charcoal grate and re-covered it with expanded metal. Next I made a small charcoal basket. I really like the "Trap Door" main grate also given to me by AJ. With this I can light the charcoal and add smoke wood without removing the grate. (the Weber flip up grates never worked for me). A rear slide aside lid bale was a necessity for an older heavy 26er lid. The warming rack also fits really well on this old 26 inch model. The very last thing I did was to paint El Jefe (The Chief is the original name from the Weber Catalog) on the front of the hood to make it look a little more interesting.
And there ya have it! It's a lot of fun to cook on and makes a great conversation piece as well as a mean steak.
Thanks for looking and I hope to see and learn more about some of those other awesome cookers out there.
Here's my latest creation ~El Jefe~
Our fellow member AJ picked this up this old Copper Mist/Chocolate 26 3/4 inch Weber in Aptos California sight unseen. I expressed some interest and we met up and made a few trades including a decent red 22 for it. It was a real basket case after being exposed to salt water most of it's life. It had a missing front handle, very bent lid, rust, pock marks and chips in it. The previous owner also used it as a fire pit. Sorry no before pics.
I gave it a cleaning and some straightening and then began to decide what to do with it.
I realized that it wasn't really going to be a great "looker" and I wanted to use it so I put it together with that in mind. Since the legs were a bit mangled at the top I decided to give it a 2 1/2 drop and added my Regal Red painted original wheels from my secret stash with white caps for that ratty look.
I also riveted on a front handle from HD and painted that and the rusted bottom triangle with Cinnamon colored paint. Not a perfect match, but close. I also added new thumb screws to the legs. Since the top handle was also broken I added an old bottom piece to the original top and re-riveted it back on for that used look. I also have the original ash catcher, but it seems to be so big it hides all the extras I added so I put on a newer style one from a 22.5.
Under the hood I used the original rusted charcoal grate and re-covered it with expanded metal. Next I made a small charcoal basket. I really like the "Trap Door" main grate also given to me by AJ. With this I can light the charcoal and add smoke wood without removing the grate. (the Weber flip up grates never worked for me). A rear slide aside lid bale was a necessity for an older heavy 26er lid. The warming rack also fits really well on this old 26 inch model. The very last thing I did was to paint El Jefe (The Chief is the original name from the Weber Catalog) on the front of the hood to make it look a little more interesting.
And there ya have it! It's a lot of fun to cook on and makes a great conversation piece as well as a mean steak.
Thanks for looking and I hope to see and learn more about some of those other awesome cookers out there.
