I've always liked red heads...


 
On the lid endcap, back by the hinge, is another casting date. That will tell you if the lid matches the grill, but just by the emblem I can pretty much say that it does.

It's definitely a keeper.

End Cap Casting Date.png
 
It looks like a early 90 casting date. As the year goes by they would put a punch mark in the die at the foundry to indicate the month. The one I pictured is a mid-year 86, the endcap is a late-year 89 (from 2 different grills, BTW)

Wow! I would have thought it was earlier. As for the casting date on the lid, at least you know where it is so if you want to preserve it...
 
That endcap that I pictured, the hinge pin was so rusted in place...I heated, I beated, I cursed, I sweated...I finally took it apart and used my hydraulic press. Don't leave lubing the hinge pins out of your annual maintenance!
 
I'm one manifold bolt away from having it apart.

Between this one and the red head I could have a 13 bar cooking this weekend.

The outer burners on the red head are serviceable, and the blue one has a good center and crossover tube.
 
DanHoo said:
I'm one manifold bolt away from having it apart.

Between this one and the red head I could have a 13 bar cooking this weekend.

The outer burners on the red head are serviceable, and the blue one has a good center and crossover tube.
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That blue lid is a rarity. Take real good care of that one...it's a piece of history.
 
Ed Pinnell said:
It looks like a early 90 casting date. As the year goes by they would put a punch mark in the die at the foundry to indicate the month. The one I pictured is a mid-year 86, the endcap is a late-year 89 (from 2 different grills, BTW)

Wow! I would have thought it was earlier. As for the casting date on the lid, at least you know where it is so if you want to preserve it...
Click to expand...


edited:

The sticker lists ANSI "Z21.58a-1988" which was published April 12, 1988, so a 1990 date seems possible.

The Gent that gave this to me thought it was circa 1985, however I think that might not be correct.

The serial number is only five digits... "L7 68nnn" so Genesis 3 with an unknown date.

tvwbb.com

Deciphering Old Weber Gas Grill Serial Numbers

The following information pertains to grills made for the U.S. market. Some variations may exist for grills sold outside the U.S. and are noted below. 1985 to 1992 Weber did not code date information into the serial numbers of Genesis/Spirit grills made during these years. However, some owners...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
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The casting dates are the most reliable date indicators. You know for certain it was not assembled prior to the casting date, but no way to know how long after.
 
DanHoo said:
Ed,

You have quite an eye for detail noticing the TM vs the R

View attachment 38276

And my red one. View attachment 38277
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I have never notice that at all!

I have a bunch of old badges. I am going to have to find time to look at each one closely. I have a few really early grills and would want to use the pre "Registered" type on those.

It seems likely the blue grill is a 1990 model. We actually have the catalog/brochure for 1990 in our Old Weber Catalogs etc. section here on TVWBB. That one seems to look right for what they show for the Genesis 3. It is early, but not so early as to have the metal bracket and old fuel gauge decal that went on it nor the wide wood slats. It would be a great restore!
 
Don't know what to tell ya. At the time I needed new bars, the ones for the newer single row grills were WAY cheaper. So I immediately had the idea to retrofit the new bars to the old grill. God's honest truth they fell right through. Did not work. And again, it's why I then enlisted my dad's friend to make a set. Again, my Genesis (which I don't have anymore) was a very early one. But, those bars my dad's friend made work just fine in my newer Genesis 2000, and my dad's 2000 as well. So my guess is somewhere down the line weber changed something. But those bars literally fell right through and landed on the burners. I ended up returning them. Had they worked, no way I would have bugged my dad's friend to make them. Obviously I don't have that original grill or even the firebox from it. It was replaced MANY years ago
 
Ed Pinnell said:
Looking at which grills those fit, those are in the "transition years", with Weber going from 13-bar to 5-bar. It makes you wonder if some early grills had a wide 5-bar cookbox!
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I am pretty sure that is exactly what happened. I have a set of those taller flavorizer bars that fit in a conventional 13-bar box. It came with a grill I picked up, so I have no idea of the provenance of them. I think Weber first experimented with 5-bars on "regular" grills before deciding to go with it on the redesign to the Silver, etc. next generation grills. And, yes, using bars from those next gen grills will not work as Larry recalls from back in the day. But there are some out there that pre-date the Silver bars that are the same length as the long bars from a 13-bar set but which are taller since they now do all the work.
 
Jon Tofte said:
I am pretty sure that is exactly what happened. I have a set of those taller flavorizer bars that fit in a conventional 13-bar box. It came with a grill I picked up, so I have no idea of the provenance of them. I think Weber first experimented with 5-bars on "regular" grills before deciding to go with it on the redesign to the Silver, etc. next generation grills. And, yes, using bars from those next gen grills will not work as Larry recalls from back in the day. But there are some out there that pre-date the Silver bars that are the same length as the long bars from a 13-bar set but which are taller since they now do all the work.
Click to expand...
Jon, I think that sums up that situation pretty well, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who has come across these apparently unicorn flavorizer bars. The only point that I was trying to make originally is that I thought this 5 bar set works just as well as the 13 bar set. I also found that rcplanebuyer offers replacement sets of these so there must still be demand.
 
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