Pittsburgh Performer


 
J

Jim McKay

New member
Hi. I joined with hopes of learning enough to successfully rebuild my beloved 1999 SS Performer. It has been a faithful friend.
Lots of new parts are on their way and am starting to disassemble cart to sand, paint and rebuild. At this point it looks straight forward except I can’t figure out how to remove hinge rod holding the stainless Lid table to the frame top. I think I need to remove the lid to properly address rust there.
My original assembly instructions appear to show the lid and hinge were installed at the factory. Looking for advice or reassurance.
Thank you
 
Follow this thread. Tim is doing an outstanding job on his and can probably answer any questions you have.
tvwbb.com

Adventures in Restoring a 2004 Stainless Steel Performer . . .

I posted another thread about disassembling a Performer for transport. This is a thread about that grill. Thanks to help from DrewZ I felt confident I could invest a few hours driving to get the grill and not show up unprepared. (Thanks again DrewZ). That's a 2017 MINI Cooper Hardtop (2...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Joe Anshien said:
Follow this thread. Tim is doing an outstanding job on his and can probably answer any questions you have.
tvwbb.com

Adventures in Restoring a 2004 Stainless Steel Performer . . .

I posted another thread about disassembling a Performer for transport. This is a thread about that grill. Thanks to help from DrewZ I felt confident I could invest a few hours driving to get the grill and not show up unprepared. (Thanks again DrewZ). That's a 2017 MINI Cooper Hardtop (2...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
Hi Jim, the hinge rod on the lid just pulls out. It's kind of a "bend it in, bend it out" procedure. I grabbed it in the middle, slid it as far as it would go to one side, and carefully flexed it until it came out.
 
Jim from Pa guy to another, Welcome! I graduated from Pint Park University and lived up on Mt. Washington until we had kids and moved to center Pa, yenz have a good night!
Michael
 
Tim Snyder said:
Hi Jim, the hinge rod on the lid just pulls out. It's kind of a "bend it in, bend it out" procedure. I grabbed it in the middle, slid it as far as it would go to one side, and carefully flexed it until it came out.
Click to expand...
Great. Thanks
Tim Snyder said:
Hi Jim, the hinge rod on the lid just pulls out. It's kind of a "bend it in, bend it out" procedure. I grabbed it in the middle, slid it as far as it would go to one side, and carefully flexed it until it came out.
Click to expand...
Michael Richards said:
Jim from Pa guy to another, Welcome! I graduated from Pint Park University and lived up on Mt. Washington until we had kids and moved to center Pa, yenz have a good night!
Michael
Click to expand...
Thanks Michael I am a retired Pittsburgh newspaper reporter living in Forest Hills. Kids are grown with one still in the house. Looking forward to getting performer in shape
 
Tim Snyder said:
Hi Jim, the hinge rod on the lid just pulls out. It's kind of a "bend it in, bend it out" procedure. I grabbed it in the middle, slid it as far as it would go to one side, and carefully flexed it until it came out.
Click to expand...
Tim. A little tussle and the rod came out as you said it would. I can’t thank you enough for your help.
Another question: One of the rod bushings - little inserts where the rod ends go into the tubing - disintegrated as I pulled the rod out.
Did you encounter this? I don’t even see them on the parts list. Thanks again
Jim
 
Jim McKay said:
Tim. A little tussle and the rod came out as you said it would. I can’t thank you enough for your help.
Another question: One of the rod bushings - little inserts where the rod ends go into the tubing - disintegrated as I pulled the rod out.
Did you encounter this? I don’t even see them on the parts list. Thanks again
Jim
Click to expand...
Luckily all my grommet/inserts were okay, but I wondered if I needed some where they could be found. They are also used under the kettle mounts. I think they are actually called "snap bushings" and if you measure yours they can probably be sourced. They may even be metric, the aluminum washers used inside the kettle are metric, believe it or not.

Update. You peaked my curiosity so I removed one of mine. Luckily, it's marked Heyco SB-375-3, looks like there are multiple sources on line.
 
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Tim Snyder said:
Luckily all my grommet/inserts were okay, but I wondered if I needed some where they could be found. They are also used under the kettle mounts. I think they are actually called "snap bushings" and if you measure yours they can probably be sourced. They may even be metric, the aluminum washers used inside the kettle are metric, believe it or not.

Update. You peaked my curiosity so I removed one of mine. Luckily, it's marked Heyco SB-375-3, looks like there are multiple sources on line.
Click to expand...
You’re the best. Thanks
 
Tim
Thanks. Found them on line using the earlier information. they were pennies each but the shipping, I'm embarrassed to say, was $9. I should have a few extra if anyone else needs because it seemed silly to just buy two at 6 cents each.
Weber CS agent said they were not available.
The bushings under the bowl were in fine shape. Bowl was in surprising good condition, just grungy. It's green like yours, I think. I was rained out for much of the day. Lots of work to do still but I feeling good about it with your help.

Jim McKay
 
Jim McKay said:
Tim
Thanks. Found them on line using the earlier information. they were pennies each but the shipping, I'm embarrassed to say, was $9. I should have a few extra if anyone else needs because it seemed silly to just buy two at 6 cents each.
Weber CS agent said they were not available.
The bushings under the bowl were in fine shape. Bowl was in surprising good condition, just grungy. It's green like yours, I think. I was rained out for much of the day. Lots of work to do still but I feeling good about it with your help.

Jim McKay
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was afraid of the shipping charges might distort the bushing price out of line. I ended up buying more small parts than I needed just because of the shipping charges (I have extra Weber-style stainless/aluminum hardware for the locknuts, washers, and truss head screws for inside the bowl, for the burner and the bail wire, if you want to trade ;) ). The worst part of my job was removing that hardware. Although cleaning inside the kettle was brutal too.

It's been an enjoyable project so far for me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.
 
Tim Snyder said:
Further update on the lid bushings. The Weber part number is "4986987, Bushing Door Hinge".
Click to expand...
Tim
Hi. I’m wondering how you dealt with rust inside the frame tubes?
The most visible rust was on the top frame but when I took the legs apart rust gushed out of the tubes. I can’t tell how far into the tubes the rust goes. The star fasteners rusted away
I was thinking of putting a small foam roller onto a rod or stick and painting the inside of the tubes with heavy rust primer.
I read somewhere that rust incapsulator products should only be applied on rust so that makes me hesitate on using it inside the tubes where I don’t know how far the rust runs.
Thanks for your help
Jim McKay
 
I use round brush fastened to a long rod if it's rusty inside. Then Fluid Film. Fluid film is non toxic and never really "dries" like paint dries. It remains a solid gel and continues to creep. It's also self-healing. So if a fragment of rust pops loose, the fluid film will creep into the damage, unlike paint.

frame touch up.JPG
 
Tim
Whew I’ve been focused mainly on restoring the Performer frame since it was way rustier behind the scenes than I had imagined before I tore it apart. But I’m making progress thanks to your help and can see light at the end of the tunnel.
The grinder has become a best friend as far as rust removing and thanks for the tip on Fluid Film. I think it’s a life saver here
Today I was working on the front panel with the Weber logo and the logo fasteners gave way when I hit them with a wire brush. Are they replaceable or do I need to buy a new logo with fasteners?
This has been an enjoyable but frustrating project so far. I’m in too deep now to give up so I keep my eye on the finish line Weber customer service has been great with certain parts.
thanks for the inspiration. If I keep plodding away I should finish someday soon. Thanks. Jim McKay
 
Glad the project is progressing. I know sometimes it can get bogged down.

Fluid film is a great product with many uses.

I'm sure you could find the logo fastener at a local hardware store, I don't think that logo is available from Weber anymore. Some folks here just use silicone adhesive, I'm sure that would work fine too.

Just take it one part at a time and eventually it will be finished. The project is definitely worth the effort. Post some photos when you get a chance, I always find sharing the project to be rewarding.
 
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