# Refurbing the smoker: Day 1



## low&slow (Apr 7, 2008)

Im on vacation this week so I started the refurb on the beast. I work harder on vacation than I do at work. I'm going to document the entire refurb day by day.

Heres what she looks like now.


Heres the inside of it.


Heres the bottom of the tank, theres another hole just out of view of the camera.


Heres those rods. I think Capt Dan was right about using them for hanging sausage.


Here I am cutting the grate in half so I could get to the bottom of the tank.


Heres another view, dont look at my butt. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			







Here I am again, just a little dirtier.



This thing is gonna be a chore. I have been scraping and grinding all day long. I have the holes grinded down to bare metal now. I will start welding plates on it tomorrow. A lot more pictures to come. Time to go take a shower!!


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## fireguy (Apr 7, 2008)

Cant wait to see your progress.. good luck.


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## walking dude (Apr 7, 2008)

looking good low.......that maverick looks in good shape also..........


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## brianj517 (Apr 7, 2008)

Exciting project...Can't wait to check in on the day to day progress...Good luck!


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## capt dan (Apr 7, 2008)

Gotta give ya credit, your  gettin it done, down and dirty for sure. Lookin forward to your vacation pics!


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## geob (Apr 7, 2008)

Looks Great. Won't be long before you will get it fired up.  
Sometime I get busy grinding and don't realize I'm to close to the truck or garage door and later the sparks become rust marks. 

geob.


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## master_dman (Apr 7, 2008)

I was gonna say something about the Maverick as well.. but walking dude beat me to it.!

Have a great vacation.


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## low&slow (Apr 7, 2008)

The Maverick looks good on that side, but you havent seen the other side of it. A little sad, but kinda funny story behind that maverick. It belonged to my wifes grandmother who is 97 years old. She bought it new in 1973. Its been garage kept its whole life. She drove it to church and to the store only. It has 60,000 original miles on it.
Well, one day there was a house on fire on her street. The fire dept went out there and put the fire out. Before the fire dept left, granny rammed smack into the back of the fire truck. Then she proceeded to back up and ran smack into the fire hydrant. Tore the heck out of the front quarter panel, and the rear end is ripped to shreds from the hydrant. Granny cant see too well these days and the city made her turn over her drivers license.
My wife has always loved that car and granny promised her she would have it one day. Well, we have it now but its a little tore up.
It still runs like a top, the engine still looks like new, just the body looks like hell.
Thats my next project.


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## morkdach (Apr 7, 2008)

seen better looken butts betten yor left handed cant wait to see more pics smoken better for the thing your worken on than you experiance talken


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## teeotee (Apr 7, 2008)

Hell of a project you have there. Good luck with it. 

Ain't it the truth about working vacations


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## smok'n steve (Apr 7, 2008)

Looks like a fun project---Your gonna have a real nice smoker when you're done:-)


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## kookie (Apr 8, 2008)

Looks like one heck of a project you have there..................Will be great once you get it smoking..............


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## cman95 (Apr 8, 2008)

Does this smoker make my butt look big?
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Be sure and post pictures of your progress. Good luck.


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## pigcicles (Apr 8, 2008)

You gotta love it when a fella looks that bad and still seems to be having fun. Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing it finished.


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## domn8_ion (Apr 8, 2008)

If you have the Beast tore apart, won't you get hungry? We don't want you to starve from lack of smoke.


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## low&slow (May 3, 2008)

I finished the smoker today. It was more of a chore than I first anticipated. But I finally got 'er dun. Let me know whatcha think.

Heres the holes in the bottom before any work was done.



Heres the hole on the bottom of the smoke box.


Heres the same hole patched up. Im not very good at welding but I got it patched pretty good I think.


Heres a view from inside the firebox looking at the same hole. I patched the bottom hole from inside the firebox and reinforced the sides too.


Heres the final product. I think she looks pretty good. I made the handles out of some oak firewood. Turned them on my lathe, then stained them.










Now I just have to wipe it down inside the smoke box with some vegetable oil. Then I'll get a roaring fire going to season it up. Then I think I'll finally be able to use it.

Heres the break down of the total cost.
Smoker - $500.00
7 wire wheels @ $4.00ea - $28.00
1 gallon of high temp paint (will withstand temps of 1000 degrees) - $52.00
All the metal I used was from what the guy gave me and from what I found just laying around the house.
TOTAL - $580.00, but I still have to buy some trailer lights.


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## fireguy (May 3, 2008)

Looks awsome!!! Man you came along way with it....


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## walking dude (May 3, 2008)

great job l&s, GREAT job.........points for you


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## smok'n steve (May 3, 2008)

Nice job!  Looks brand new.  What brand of paint did you use?  looks like a better sheen than the typical flat black most big box stores sell.  Did you spray it in a spray booth or roll it on?

Again, looks great, can't wait till you fire her up:-)

Steve


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## chargrilled (May 3, 2008)

what a friggin bargin!!  Thats a 1200+$ pit!!!!!!   Lookin for some qview from that dog soon!!!!!!!!!


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## smokin out the neighbors (May 3, 2008)

That turned out great. Good work.


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## low&slow (May 4, 2008)

I used Rust-oleum Specialty High Heat paint, color Bar-B-Q Black. Got it from Sherwin Williams. I rolled it on where I could and used a brush to get in the tight spots. I sure coulda used a paint booth...woulda been a lot easier.
After I wire wheeled all the rust off I cleaned it up with some stuff called The Must for Rust, made by Krud Kutter. That stuff works pretty good but it will burn your nose hairs off.
Thanks everybody for the compliments, and thank you dude for the points.
Now who wants to buy 3/4 of a can of high temp paint for half price?


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## smok'n steve (May 4, 2008)

Sure looks like it was done in a spray booth, you must of used dense foam rollers.  Real nice, Points for ya buddy!!  

I will give a call to Arron at my local Sherwin Williams(do a lot house stuff with them) since your leftover paint might cost a bit to ship from Texas!!!

Steve


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## low&slow (May 4, 2008)

Yep I used a foam roller. I was a little surprised at how good it looked. I think you're right, shipping paint to Maine would cost an arm & a leg, plus I think there might be laws against that. Cause if the lid popped off there would be a hell of a mess. LOL... talk about going postal. Thank you for the points. I just now figured out how to give points.


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## kookie (May 4, 2008)

Great looking rig............Nice job................


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## richtee (May 4, 2008)

My Gawd! Is that a Maverick in the photo?!?


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## smokewatcher (May 4, 2008)

Smoker looks fantastic! I'd say keep the extra paint around for touch-ups and such, don't get rid of it.


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## ddave (May 5, 2008)

Wow, talk about your before and after pics.  The finished product looks awesome!!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









Dave


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## low&slow (May 5, 2008)

Thank you Kookie.
Yes sir, that is a 1973 Maverick.....still runs like a bat out of hell too.
Thanks SmokeWatcher. Good idea....I was gonna keep it anyhow. I was just being funny cause the paint was so darn expensive at $52+tax for 1 gal. Heck I painted my entire house for $100.
Thanks DD!! I sure am proud of it. I just hope the rain holds out so I can use it soon.


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## seboke (May 5, 2008)

Great lookin project results, wish I had the tools/skills!  I tried to give you a sprinklin' of points, but seems that I have given out too many in the last 24 hours.


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## low&slow (May 5, 2008)

Thank you Seboke...its the thought that counts anyways.


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## navionjim (May 5, 2008)

Nice job, point for you too, nice effort!
Jimbo


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## jbg4208 (May 5, 2008)

Yes - Pooooints for you. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 I just hope mine turns out this good after the rebuild. Wow.


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## capt dan (May 5, 2008)

Very nice job. Yes, keep the paint around. The firebox gets up way over 1000 degrees and the stuff will flake off after a few smokes, especially the front of it near the smoke chamber and the top of it.

Got yourself a nice  rig now. Welcome to the world of cutting wood in your spare time! Take your time learnin the smoker, and what it wants. You will be  rewarded nicely.

I had a  73 maverick growing up. it was my second  car, inline 6, what a wonderful inexpensive way to get around. Drove it to the junkyard stuck in first gear, and drove it into the pile of cars( I was young then) It had  297.000 miles on it, same engine, just had to replace the cam at 145K.


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## low&slow (May 5, 2008)

Thank you Jimbo!
Thank you too jbg. Your smoker definitely has potential. I know it will turn out nice.
297,000 miles? WOW....they sure knew how to build them back then. This one has an inline 6 too with only 60,000 miles on it. You should see under the hood...it still looks new. I just have to get the body work done cause my wife really wants to drive it.
I hear ya on chopping wood...Ive been doing that already in my spare time. Its a pain in the butt. Im trying to get enough chopped now so I wont have to chop for awhile.


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