More on J C Whitney

[Mikeinnj]

These are from a 1960's J.C. Whitney catalog. Click on pages to enlarge....

How about a reground crankshaft ( no core required ) for $19.00 ?

Or a rebuilt short block for $329.95

[1931 flamingo]

Ah, the good old days. I was working for $1 hr back then. Left that job for $1.10 hr. WOW ! A 10% increase.
Paul in CT

[Purdy Swoft]

In 1960 I had a part time job at a grocery store after school and on saturday . I toted out groceries and cattle feed plus stocked the shelves for about 35 cents per hour . I got my strip down september 29 in the spring of 1960 for eight dollars. The first parts that I got from J.C. Whitney was a distributor cap top cover for 30 cents and a rotor button, points and condenser . I got a used water pump and four blade fan from an older guy that had model a parts for a dollar and fifty cents. The rest of the needed parts to get it running were scrounged from a junked 49 De Soto that aunt Grace gave me

[Purdy Swoft]

Originally Posted by Mikeinnj

These are from a 1960's J.C. Whitney catalog.

How about a reground crankshaft ( no core required ) for $19.00 ?

Or a rebuilt short block for $329.95

Thanks mike for the pictures !!! Looking at those pages bring back memories . It would be nice to have another J.C. Whitney catalog like that just to look at and remember days gone by.

[Curt Campbell]

I was at JC Whitney (warshawskys...other name...same owner in the 60's in Chicago. My friends cousin worked there. It was located in lousy part of Chicago south under the "L" (elevated train). Very cheap looking place...was not impressed. I bought a set of Hooker headers for my cherry 65 GTO. However upon closer inspection at home and having a hell of a time installing them discovered they were not Hookers but a cheap ass imitation marked and boxed as Hooker headers. Had to park across from the store almost under the train track..shady place. Upon returning to the car and being happy it still had all its wheels on it big ol Cadillacs pulled into lot and opened their trunksc...full of all kinds of "hot" stolen the night before merchandise. Wanting to sell at rock bottom prices. I remember one of these thieves warning me not to buy at whitneys...bad stuff and would get cheated...imagine!

I think it was on state or Cicero street...can't remember back 50 years. Also, my dad was in the auto salvage business in Burl in g ton and had friends with salvage yards near whitneys. They told me they sol d tons of used engines etc to them of which they cleaned up and sold as new.

They were something else. Interesting eye opening experience for two rather naive Iowa boys. But have heard others they did ok by them...so who knows.

[1932BB]

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I bought a Model A in 1964 and Whitney/Warshawski was my go-to for parts. I remembered that a Model A exhaust system was seven dollars and some change. I have questioned that memory lately but, there it is, top middle page! I also bought a rust free 4 door body from a junkyard north of Watervliet, MI. for ten bucks. At that time I was located about 90 miles from Chicago. I suppose the shipping was cheap too!

[David BB 33]

1959, 14 years old, and really excited at having been given my grandfather's '29 Tudor to work on. Somehow my dad came up with a J.C. Whitney catalog, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was my first car, and my first frame-off 'renovation'. I don't think I knew enough at 14 and 15 to recognize real quality parts, but it sure was fun looking through the pages and dreaming of all the things I'd like to buy. Thanks to denis4X4 and Mikeinnj for triggering all those memories. It was a simpler time then in some ways, wasn't it?

[mshmodela]

My first job was catching hay bales for lunch and 75 cents/hour in 1978... At 14 and where I lived it was the only job I could get.

[Skeezixx]

I remember buying a Model A wiring harness and a radiator from J.C. Whitney back in the mid 60s. The radiator fit was pretty good and I think it cost me about $60.00.
Back in those days it was much harder to find A parts. You had 4 pages in J.C.Whitney, Hemmings, and depleted junkyards to choose from.

BTW, I just unearthed an old Hemmings from 1969 when it looked like a paperback book missing the cover. Cars and parts were listed in two sections; Ford Cars and Non Ford Cars.

Very few pictures. Anybody remember the term "Send SASE?"

[JEC]

I got out of the Navy in 1960.
I was an E5 making $180 a month with flight pay and had trouble spending it all.

[mot]

and i wonder how many of those parts are found on todays model A
and the owner claiming that they are original

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by mot

and i wonder how many of those parts are found on todays model A
and the owner claiming that they are original

Most

[Purdy Swoft]

I didn't have any real problems with the parts that I got from J.C. I'm still running a pair of the front friction shocks on one of my cars plus a pair of their brake floaters. I had no problem with their woven brake lining and it was the exact same product that vendors sell today. I've got one of their ahooga horns on the coupe and it is one of the best motor driven horns that I've ever had . I got good service from their seven dollar tapered mufflers. I've still got two Tillotson model X. carburetors that I used for many years. Ive still got at least a couple of sets of their stainless steel hubcaps for 19 inch wheels one set is still in use on one of my cars. I still use a set of their brake rods and never had a problem with them . I've got one of their 30-31 upper water outlets on one of my cars . Ibought two pairs of their seat covers. one set is still in use on our coupe and still looks good to me . I bought a set of 19 inch Garfield tires in 75 and the tread still looks pretty good. This is just a few parts that comes to mind. I don't need to claim that any of the parts are original Ford parts. Some , I don't think that anyone would know the difference. I'm pretty sure that when they got out of the model A parts business that their stock of parts were sold off to other vendors. I would bet heavy that some of those parts are still in the system and being sold by some of the known model A vendors today. The worse thing about Whitney was slow shipping and a few cheesey parts like their chrome parts and some electrical parts and door handles. Most of the vendors today still sell foreign parts such as the Vintique stuff. A lot of people that never did business with J.C. have heard others bad mouth them and continue to claim that their parts were all bad. Its just not so ! as far as that goes, most vendors still sell some parts that are not the best but in some cases are the only such parts that are available . Just my thoughts and experience with Whitney and Warshawsky parts .

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Curt, did you have a "I love my hooker headers" decal?

[Curt Campbell]

Chuck....I remember seeing the stickers....not sure if I had one. Can't recall. In fact...I remember seeing one last summer on a street stocker at our local drag strip!!

[Terry, NJ]

I can't recall the number (1100?) Archer Ave. Don't ask me how I recall that. I have never lived anywhere near Chicago!
Terry

Originally Posted by Curt Campbell

I was at JC Whitney (warshawskys...other name...same owner in the 60's in Chicago. My friends cousin worked there. It was located in lousy part of Chicago south under the "L" (elevated train). Very cheap looking place...was not impressed. I bought a set of Hooker headers for my cherry 65 GTO. However upon closer inspection at home and having a hell of a time installing them discovered they were not Hookers but a cheap ass imitation marked and boxed as Hooker headers. Had to park across from the store almost under the train track..shady place. Upon returning to the car and being happy it still had all its wheels on it big ol Cadillacs pulled into lot and opened their trunksc...full of all kinds of "hot" stolen the night before merchandise. Wanting to sell at rock bottom prices. I remember one of these thieves warning me not to buy at whitneys...bad stuff and would get cheated...imagine!

I think it was on state or Cicero street...can't remember back 50 years. Also, my dad was in the auto salvage business in Burl in g ton and had friends with salvage yards near whitneys. They told me they sol d tons of used engines etc to them of which they cleaned up and sold as new.

They were something else. Interesting eye opening experience for two rather naive Iowa boys. But have heard others they did ok by them...so who knows.

[mshmodela]

LOL if you go to JC's web site and do a search for Ford Model A part ... Funny...

[Rocketsled]

I always got good service and value for J.C.W. My first A was nearly a '29 coupe that belonged to my old neighbor. It was alway garaged and we kids used to play in it, but I missed it by one day. They sold it for $25 and said they would have given it to me if they had known I was interested! So, the first parts I bought from J.C.W. were not for an A, but an MGA. One time they sent me an entire engine overhaul set that someone else had ordered, in addition to my order. I called J.C.W. and offered to forward the
extra parts, or to pay for them, and the woman I spoke to said forget it, as long I got what I ordered they were satisfied. All the parts were O.E.M. in their original boxes.

[Purdy Swoft]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

I can't recall the number (1100?) Archer Ave. Don't ask me how I recall that. I have never lived anywhere near Chicago!
Terry

The best that I remember, it was 1917 Archer avenue on one side . I can't remember the avenue and number on the other side.

[Fordors]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

I can't recall the number (1100?) Archer Ave. Don't ask me how I recall that. I have never lived anywhere near Chicago!
Terry

They were located in the 1900 block of State St. and that area was filled with automotive suppliers and services likely from the 1920's into the '70's. There were wrecking yards near by, tire stores, machine shops, starter, generator and magneto rebuilders, chrome shops, etc. Just about anything you could think of.
Was the neighborhood a bit unsavory? Not that I recall; it was just a typical semi-industrial, commercial district, but being a Chicagoan I knew what to expect. As far as quality goes as others have mentioned the rebuild kits were often times OEM or at least good quality. Early Ford stuff that I bought was (as I recall) from Argentina and in particular I bought '32-'34 spring perches there. Forged, dipped in black paint and then not very well machined. The forging looked a little thin around the holes for the shackle so I never did use them. Not my thing but they did always offer an extensive selection of "doll-up" equipment and I'm sure made a bundle from the casual automotive enthusiast. Also if you knew what you were looking for they always had quality, name brand speed equipment, but the selection was limited. JCW is gone as we knew it, but you have to admit it served a purpose. They were a pioneer in auto parts mass merchandising and helped many home mechanics as well as fulfilling the dreams of budding customizers.