well, after three years of looking i finally found my wsm. not a deal and not a great unit. its got no guts and is dented and rusted. poor thing has gone through the wringer. but when i saw the pics i knew it belonged to me. we are both broken and need each other. i will fix it and we will q together happily till i pass away.

i hope it treats you as good as you'll treat it. and theres still a red performer out there with your name on it.

George - congratulations! I am glad you now have a WSM companion. Sounds like you two were meant for each other. Weber will help you put everything together in short order.

What year's model is she?

Pat

its an "L" model so that makes it a wood handled 1989 model. the lower part is rusted through at the bottom so i'll weld that up. bad shape but its round ! go figure. actually havn't looked at it real well but i love it already. kinda like a weber uds.

anyone go through a rebuild of a wsm ? anyone sraighten out a wavy edged door ? anyone got some spare inner parts ? all i have is the top grate. thanks,

George:

I have the lower charcoal bowl that has a very minimal out of round condition. Weber sent me a replacement after I cooked on the old one a couple times.

Still has all 3 vents attached, no legs of course.

If you want it, pay for packing/shipping and it's yours.

George - just an "inner parts" suggestion.

I picked up a Brinkmann charcoal pan at Academy last week for about $4. Our Home Depo here in town as 18" Weber cooking grates for about $12, and at least one of the HD's had some charcoal grates for 18" and 22" kettles. I think that the charcoal grate for the 22" kettle is the same size as the lower cooking grate for the WSM. The charcoal grate for the 18" kettle may be the same charcoal grate as for the WSM.

A tape measure and a trip to HD or Academy may pay you some dividends.

Pat

thanks mitch. i'm gonna wait for now. my intent is to keep it original as possible, warts and all. appreciate the offer and may take ya up on it down the road. i may cob up the insides rather than get original, just not sure. will see what the local metal shop has cheap.

George-

How are you and your WSM getting along?

Pat

well. i took it apart, got stainless hardware, loosened up some of the vents and straightened them up so they look decent now. and thats it as i got bogged down with other things. this last week i kept going by it and saying to myself i'll get to it the next day but so far no go. but hopefully in the next week or so i should have it going. maybe. thanks for asking !

well, today i started in. had to finish cleaning and rebuilding two 22.5 kettles and two sjs's. put some oven cleaner to the bottom unit. the rusted hole in the bottom will be made round for a metal plug to fit. now i'm starting to get excited.

quote:

I think that the charcoal grate for the 22" kettle is the same size as the lower cooking grate for the WSM.

I can confirm that this is true... I've had one in my WSM for 3-4 years now. Works just fine.

getting close to being finished. waiting for ordered parts. she's lookin good. just straightened out the door. was warped and bent but 10 minutes of work and the door fits tight. great tool to have,
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...taf?Itemnumber=93062

This message has been edited. Last edited by: george curtis,

George,
I was wondering if you have any pics of you progress. I see in another forum you were having issues with your door. Are you getting close to firing it up?

http://fresno.craigslist.org/for/1404906585.html

I know it says it's a Weber smoker, but you might be able to use it for parts anyway. Maybe he'll split them up, or if you need another gasser....

yea. i looked at that but don't really see it working for me. see my post on the door. bad design with poor material. i will be taking some pics and then i gotta get the system put in the computer if i can find the disc and cables !

door is fixed. got my stuff from weber so now on the last legs. just gotta clean up the grate brackets and make the charcoal ring and i'll be up and running ! getting excited !

Way to go George!
It will be even more special, since you are the one that brought it back to life!

Planned your first smoke on her yet?

Nice George, what's your first cook on her going to be?

i'll probably do a butt. something simple that will let me make mistakes. first i'm gonna do a "dry" run with some smoke to break her in. right now she looks sweet to me.