I got those window weights from my church building windows.
When I was a boy in S. Dakota, a BBQ was anything that dad put on the charcoal grill. Now my favorite, and specialty, is TX brisket, 11+ hours at the low 200s temp. I cooked ribs since I couldn't find brisket, and they came out fine. The lid of the fire box gets so hot I could just put hamburgers on top and cook them.
I think the easiest, cheapest way to get the weights back is to buy a sheet of galvanized roofing and use that as a wall, and put the weights outside of it.