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History Things that J.C. Whitney use to offer

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Sep 6, 2019.

  1. mgtstumpy
    Joined: Jul 20, 2006
    Posts: 9,214

    mgtstumpy
    Member

  2. WB69
    Joined: Dec 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,958

    WB69
    Member
    from Kansas

    Used them a lot growing up. Seemed to have everything that you needed and usually the cheapest prices.
     
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  3. Pistnbroke
    Joined: Jan 30, 2008
    Posts: 524

    Pistnbroke
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago since 1959 I remember my father driving in to get parts to rebuild engines, seem like the place to get anything. I remember the 1/4 scale seat displays with all of the seat covers on them in the window along with the chrome wheels and side pipes. I took my 62 impala in there when I was 16 and got a 3speed floor shift convertion so my car was cool and not longer an old mans 3 on the tree. Cutting that hole in the floor was the hardest thing to do I remember drilling a hole and using a hack saw blade with no handle took all afternoon to do.
     
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  4. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,217

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    Just thinking about shipping ,we were 85 miles from Chicago and could drive up there and pick up our parts for about the same money as having them shipped and shipping would take a couple weeks at least , my how times have changed !!
     
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  5. 56sedandelivery
    Joined: Nov 21, 2006
    Posts: 6,695

    56sedandelivery
    Member Emeritus

    I was"t that lucky! I ordered a wiring harness for a 56 Chevrolet; when it arrived, every single wire was RED, had a wiring schematic almost the size of the kitchen table, and was made in BRAZIL. I actually kept it, and eventually, it went with the car I bought it for when I sold it; "yeah, it's got a new-in-the box-wiring-harness", (have fun with that!).
    I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
     
  6. AVater
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,148

    AVater
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. Connecticut HAMB'ers

    Just ordered one
     
  7. Stu D Baker
    Joined: Mar 4, 2005
    Posts: 2,755

    Stu D Baker
    Member
    from Illinois

    [​IMG]

    I think this car has every item from the first 20 pages of the catalog, "New & Hot Items, too new to list in index".
     
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  8. I really miss ordering from the Warshawski catalog.
    J.C.Whitney was the Americanized version for those who wanted an American name.
    My old expression "he has the whole J.C.Whitney trim kit" was used to describe those cars that might today fit in the category "Art Car".
    Headlight eyebrows, dice valve stem caps, trim rings, stick-on whitewalls, dummy spotlights, windshield sun visor, red streamers for fake flames blowing behind the exhaust pipes, curb feelers, extra dummy antennas, moon caps, steering wheel spinners, odd shifter knobs, variety of custom hood ornaments including novelty ones, custom hubcap assortments, even special dash accesorries.
    and the most unusual thing of all..... they even had novelty labels for dash switches.
    I remember one set of dash labels for vw beetles --- Drizzleflippen for the wiper switch, GlimmerBlinken for the light switch, I forget the other hilarious labels they sold for other dashes. But they had loads of odd and strange things.
    One issue had a misprint of the reground crankshaft kits they sold for Studebakers - they had 232, 259, and 289 reground cranks, but one issue accidently printed the 289 as 389. For over a decade after that (70s?) I kept hearing from all sorts of people everywhere that Studebaker used Pontiac 389 engines (same as GTO) for their fastest Studes.
    Stupid, but very widespread for quite a few years.
    I wish I could still order the $18 Studebaker bearing sets and $28 gasket kits.
    or Henry J parts...


    WHY BE ORDINARY ?
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2019
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  9. Yeah, funny 56 Chevy story for me too.
    I remember a buddy in the early 70s bought a wiring harness for his 56 Chevy from them and paid me, a kid, 50$ to put it in for him.
    I did everything from front lights, to dash, to instruments, to back tail, then discovered that the turn signal switch USED ALL DIFFERENT WIRE COLORS for different functions that didn't match the car colors.
    As the owner was about to freak that the signals didn't work right, and it was all confused, AND NO COLORS MATCHED, I unwrapped the old harness and painstakingly "translated" which color actually went to each bulb filament, then wrote a conversion chart " blue with green stripe actually means green with white stripe" on and on....
    Finally everything worked after unscrambling, but I can imagine what a mess the average mechanic would have with that if they didn't have the translating patience I had.
    It all worked out, but took twice as long as expected with a very worried customer/friend biting his nails and wondering if I ruined his car.
    :)

    WHY BE ORDINARY ?
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2019
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  10. That '56 is totally f@#*$ed. I mean, why would anybody in their right mind put that Chevy V emblem on a Ford.
     
  11. Really? Out of all that shit, the V is what offends you?
     
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  12. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,144

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    All I can say is while that geek was f#@king up that Ford he was leaving some Chevy alone.
     
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  13. deathrowdave
    Joined: May 27, 2014
    Posts: 3,519

    deathrowdave
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from NKy

    Ha ha I love it!
     
  14. gatz
    Joined: Jun 2, 2011
    Posts: 1,817

    gatz
    Member

    Back fender/tail-light looks like an Imperial
     
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  15. Elcohaulic
    Joined: Dec 27, 2017
    Posts: 2,212

    Elcohaulic

    Ill be installing this timing cable. It fits onto the vacuum advance linkage.. It has these little number next to the thumbwheel. The action is so precise and smooth. Very heavy and well made...

    Timing cable 2.JPG Timing cable 3.JPG
     
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  16. Elcohaulic
    Joined: Dec 27, 2017
    Posts: 2,212

    Elcohaulic

    I see they had silicone wax back then too..

    jc witney.jpg
     
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  17. gatz
    Joined: Jun 2, 2011
    Posts: 1,817

    gatz
    Member

    [​IMG]


    Wow, that sure brings back memories. I installed one of those on my 1957 Dodge back in '65
    Yes, it was well-made....and the chrome even stayed on !
    Could make it run really smooth at 80. Or I could turn it back and make it sound mean at lower speeds.
    We had a timing light and could have set it to a specific number, but I went by "ear".
     
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  18. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,144

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Where's Waldo?
     
  19. lucas doolin
    Joined: Feb 7, 2013
    Posts: 541

    lucas doolin
    Member

    Very true! In 1972 I bought a 1955 Cadillac "combo" (hearse/ambulance) that badly needed a passenger side exhaust header pipe. I wore out the local auto parts stores who dutifully contacted their suppliers. No luck - anywhere - and we tried virtually every exhaust component manufacturer. On a whim,, I checked out my JC Whitney catalog and - lo and behold - there was my part, described as fitting the "commercial" chassis. Ordered and about a week later, arrived the correct part which fit like a glove. Inexpensive, well made and the right part. Unbelievable but true.
     
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  20. Mr T body
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 2,228

    Mr T body
    Alliance Vendor
    from BHC AZ

    My dad used to buy universal weatherstrip and runchannel for all kinds of oddball vehicles he had. I didn't buy anything, but remember reading that catalog cover to cover and being amazed by all the hood ornaments (of all things). Remember one in particular.... a devil you bolt to the hood that's eyes glowed red when you hooked it up to the headlights. Friggin' JCW.....
     
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  21. Does anyone remember "rebuild in a can"? Supposedly you dumped this in the crankcase and it reconditioned bad bearings, leaky valves etc... Even as a kid, I wasn't dumb enough to think that it worked!
     
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  22. 59Tele
    Joined: Feb 5, 2016
    Posts: 129

    59Tele

    I recall there was a miracle gas-saving device that had a brief list of installation instructions.
    Step One: Open the hood.
    Step Two: Remove Carburetor. And so on.
    Even as a kid I thought that if someone needed Step One, he'd already be in over his head.
     
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  23. Fordors
    Joined: Sep 22, 2016
    Posts: 5,373

    Fordors
    Member

    I don’t remember that in the Warshawsky/Whitney catalogs but I have no doubt they had it. Newhouse Automotive marketed something equally as goofy and Barney Navarro took a poke at them in one of his ads when he listed Moly Caps Engine Vitamins in response to what he felt was Newhouse’s snake oil. Pretty soon Barney was getting inquiries and when he packaged three capsules filled with molybdenum sulfide powder and made them available they became a nice supplement to his income.
    “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
     
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  24. 37slantback
    Joined: May 31, 2010
    Posts: 480

    37slantback
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    If I remember correctly in 1975 I was rockin' a belt from Whitney that was made from a chromed timing chain.
     
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  25. In the early 80’s, I bought my first set of chrome valve covers from JC Whitney for my 65 Barracuda. They were of decent quality. In fact, they are still on the car today. They have held up great! Much better cheap stuff then than now I think.
     
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  26. He's behind a tree tossing his cookies.
     
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  27. The "cheap stuff" didn't come from China in the 60's.
     
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  28. doug3968
    Joined: Sep 13, 2014
    Posts: 65

    doug3968
    Member

    Does anyone remember a JCWhitney item called a "Dazzler" ? Attached to the rear view mirror and, I guess, reflected back headlights of a car in behind? Probly not legal today but comes to mind when HID trucks are following/tailgating.
     
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  29. mike in tucson
    Joined: Aug 11, 2005
    Posts: 520

    mike in tucson
    Member
    from Tucson

    In those "olden" days, I remember that Whitney catalogs came frequently. IF you bought something
    from them, more catalogs came. When I found something I wanted to order, I filled out the order blank
    embedded in the catalog, wrote a check (or drove to the drugstore for a money order), found a stamp and
    mailed my order. Had zero idea of if/when the order was received, had zero idea of when my stuff would arrive,
    had zero idea of how it shipped. Then (surprise), one day my order arrived on the doorstep or I got a notice
    from the post office to come and get the stuff. Inside every order was......ANOTHER CATALOG!
    When I lived in Colorado, we had a guy who heated his cabin with junk mail from the PO trash can. I
    didn't tell him that all he had to do was order one item from Whitney
     
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  30. Graystoke
    Joined: Mar 23, 2010
    Posts: 437

    Graystoke
    Member

    Modern junk email is much less useful.
     
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