Hot Mess Find: Brinkmann Trailmaster Limited Edition

[olive drab]

I have a trash night find. My neighbor was throwing this guy out and its obvious why. He clearly neglected it and it has some bad rot, rust, and surface rust. There are a few spots that are concerning, like the leg post connection which is a structural issue but this may be salvageable with my meager welding skills. The main tube has some rot and bending 1/4 or 1/8 inch plate (havent measured yet) will be difficult to bend into place and may require a welding and hammering combo to force it. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to proceed are welcomed. My plan is to clean it and check for more super thin and other rotted areas to find more surprises, then disassemble the main body from the firebox and legs to start attacking the rot by cutting and patching. After those areas are patched, then wire brush, paint and reassemble. From there, i would look at doing some of the upgrades mentioned on the long thread dedicated to this model. Or, if its too far gone or beyond my ability goes to the curb. Ill take some more pics after I clean out the rusted metal chunks and leftover charcoal. One positive of this is that the cooking chamber door is in great shape :)

 

[olive drab]

I cleaned the intial rust sediment and old ash out and it looks way worse. The rails for the lower grates almost all disintegrated and the firebox pull out drawer is half rotted away/gone. I will disassemble tomorrow and reassess but the firebox can be welded shut where the pullout ash drawer is and be fine. Cleaning up and welding patches where the section firebox and cooking area meet can probably take care of that end of the grill. The metal around the rotted areas is really thin so a large hole may need to be cut and patched in. If I cant bend the steel I can probably make a franken patch to get the job done without the round ness.

 

[jeffo21]

a good welding shop can cut the rust out and weld in new metal and you will have a good smoker. Instead of trying to bend plate metal, try finding some 1 inch flat strap metal it can be placed in and worked up each side. much easier than bending that plate. the rest of it use some decent sheet metal cut to size and weld them in.

 

[olive drab]

I didnt even think of the 1" flat strap. which is a great idea! The steel place is 10 minutes away so Ill see what they have and maybe they even have some sheared off scraps they can sell to me. As far as the welding, luckily this is within my ability so Ill handle it myself. It may look ugly but it will be solid and the grinder can make it look nice. After cleaning the inside i found out that the food grates and the external shelf are in perfect condition so another positive for this guy!

 

[tag0401]

Hope the restoration goes well. Look forward to seeing what you do to it

 

[ChuxPick]

Wow, looks like a fun project. I'm keeping an eye on this one.

 

[Winterrider]

Looks to be beyond what I personally would try to refurbish. I wish you luck and can't wait to see finished product.

 

[olive drab]

It may be. When I disassemble the main body and test/check some of the metal around where the legs connect, and the connection to the firebox, that will give me a better idea of worth it or not. The firebox looks salvageable by eliminating the ash drawer, and patching the area near the connection to the main body.

Looks to be beyond what I personally would try to refurbish. I wish you luck and can't wait to see finished product.

 

[jeffo21]

so are you going to get to fix it or was it so bad you had to scrap it