BBQ - The Craigslist Special

Well, it's BBQ season and finally, I decided to pony up for a BBQ. After doing research online, I figured a $200-$300 dollar BBQ would be overly sufficient, considering every other BBQ I've ever owned has cost me nothing (they've always been hand-me-downs). Anyhow, after being disappointed at the store, I ended up picking up a 10-year old $50 dollar Weber gas grill on Craigslist - to which, my mom reminded me was the exact reason she left China - so we wouldn't have to do stuff like this. The idea was to clean up the BBQ and order a new grate - if so, I'd have the equivalent $400 dollar Weber grill for less than $150 and I'd have a cool, manly project. Nothing's more manly than staining wood and cutting metal all for the glory of the grill. Besides, I had a weekend and about a dozen Coors that I'd have to finish...anyhow, enough of the narrative - here's the pics:

This is how I got it (after one cleaning)


The dirty inside:


Affirmation of my scraping - they don't make 'em here like they used to:


10 years of carbon - aka. the yummie insides:








Repainting the firebox:


Parts on the garage floor - even cut and stained some wood for the shelf


Installing the new grate, burners, and flavorizer bars.








The final result - harder, better, stronger, faster:









In an era with these huge stainless steel grills, I'm glad I ended up with the "old-school" Weber. It's perfect, fits my needs, and can grill a damned good steak. The only problem is, now I'm out of a project and I still have more beer...