Tag Archives: 50’s grill

1950’s Big Boy Barbecue Restoration

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Hepcats Haven

Mel and I picked up this Big Boy BBQ back in March of 2014. I knew it was time to drag it out of mothballs and get it ready for the grilling season.

I wanted a smaller BBQ than our GE Partio Cart for when I feel like just grilling something quickly.

The first step was to disassemble the BBQ.

This BBQ appeared to have been painted with a paint brush. Unfortunately, who ever painted did not do a very good job.

As you can see this grill had lots of surface rust and peeling paint.

No time like the moment! I jumped right in and started sanding. I noticed a lot of surface rust under the old paint.

On areas where the paint was difficult to get to I used a scraper.

After hours and hours of sanding and scraping it was ready to be painted.

I am proud to present our newly restored 1950’s Big Boy Barbeque!

I tried to add accents of red to offset all the silver paint.

The rims were originally silver but I think the red makes them pop!

This is where the coals go. This tray was incredibly rusted but after lots of sanding it looks like new.

To adjust the heat of this grill you raise and lower the coals by moving this red handle up the graduated adjuster.

With the help of my step-father Dave, we were able to cut out new side tables and apply new Formica to them so they are like new.

I had to order a new rotisserie motor for the grill. The one that came with it is toast. I was fortunate that I found an original NOS Big Boy BBQ rotisserie motor on eBay!

Now that it is all done, I can rest my arthritic hands. I can see the benefits of a sand blaster!

I am very pleased with it’s restoration.

Now I have a reason to break out all of our vintage BBQ utensils!

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Posted in Restorations and tagged 1950's BBQ, 1950's grill, 50's BBQ, 50's grill, antique bbq, antique grill, atomic bbq, atomic grill, mid century bbq, mid century cookware, mid century grill, mid century kitchen, midcentury BBQ, midcentury grill, retro Bar-B-Q, retro bbq, retro cookware, retro grill, retro kitchen, Vintage Bar-B-Q, vintage bbq, vintage cookware, vintage grill, vintage kitchen. Bookmark the permalink.

Another 1950’s BBQ (Big Boy BBQ)

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Hepcats Haven

Mel and I were cruising Craigslist when I decided to search for vintage BBQ’s and SHAZAM! We came across a 1950’s Big Boy BBQ. This one is similar to the 1963 Royal Chef I recently restored.

The above picture is from the catalog and shows the particulars including the original price of $79.95.

I emailed the owner and had the pleasure to meet a gentleman by the name of Shaun. He has a passion for things from this era just like Mel and I.

As you can see above, the compartment above the grill opens up and can be used as a warming tray.

That red knob in the picture above is to adjust the level of the briquettes which in return adjusts the heat.

This is the rotisserie and appears to be in good shape. I’ll clean it up, oil it and with some luck it will run like new.

This grill had many of the original accessories including these way out tongs.

This BBQ also came with a lot of other accessories that are listed in the Big Boy BBQ book. Here is what else came with this awesome grill:

Here are the two books that came with this grill:

I plan to keep the grill original and paint it silver with red accents. This should be a fairly easy resto and I hope to start on it soon.

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Posted in Restorations and tagged 50's BBQ, 50's cooking, 50's grill, 60's cooking, 60's grill, fifties bbq, fifties cooking, fifties grill, mid century bar-b-q, mid century bbq, mid century grill, midcentury BBQ, midcentury cooking, midcentury grill, retro Bar-B-Q, retro bbq, retro cooking, retro grill, sixties bbq, sixties cooking, Vintage Bar-B-Q, vintage bbq, vintage cooking, vintage grill. Bookmark the permalink.

Mid Century BBQ/Grill: Huntington Model 7

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Hepcats Haven

Great picture of the grill courtesy of our friend Ed who is a fellow vintage BBQ enthusiast.

The great thing about what we do is that we get the chance to meet a lot of great people. Mel and I met a really nice couple named Steve (decorated Vietnam Navy veteran) and Sharon (fellow antique dealer) when we recently purchased some antique rifles. While we were there, Steve showed me around his property and we came upon this barn find.

Mel loves that this grill has hairpin legs. It is such a cool little unit!

I am going to have to disassemble the whole unit, strip, and paint all the surfaces. I haven’t decided what color to paint it yet. Per my post about the Royal Chef grill that I restored, there aren’t may color choices for high temperature paint.

I assume this is a storage area.

This area of the BBQ is meant to house grill utensils such as the tongs, spatula, fork etc.. It also has a tray for matches and other items.

I need to find a lid for the grill portion on the right. The two holes in the middle are meant to hold bowls for sauces. I am planning on crafting a removable semi-circle cutting board on the left side.