Anybody remember J.C. Whitney?

[jiminbartow]

When I first bought my 1926 Model T coupe in 1970, I had no idea where to buy parts. I do remember the J.C. Whitney catalog was the first Model T parts source I bought from. It had a page or two dedicated to Model T’s and Model A’s. I then found other suppliers thanks to the big red Model T Restoration Handbook, one of my first book purchases that had lists of suppliers on the last several pages. Mark Auto, Gaslight, Bob’s. I think one of the very first things I bought from J. C. Whitney was Scandinavian Bands and Champion X spark plugs. What else did J.C. Whitney sell? I’ll bet someone has an old catalog from that time. I’d be interested in seeing the Model T page. I know that as the years went by, the Model T parts in their catalog got fewer and fewer. Jim Patrick

[BLB27]

In the mid-1950s, there were T parts in the back of Sears Roebuck catalog.

[Norman Kling]

I had 13 Model A's during the 1950's until 1974. I used to use J.C.Whitney.
Norm

[DanTreace]

Me too! Ordered T parts since 1964 and Model A parts in 1969. Tires, brakes, engine parts like rebabbitted rods, gasket sets, all sorts of stuff.

For the 31 A ordered a rebuilt speedometer, round not the early oval one, but received a 490 Model T NOS! Of course I didn’t send it back.

And got to visit there in 1968 as dad took us to Chicago one time. Talked my older brother to get a taxi and we went to the huge building labeled Warcharski or something the parent company. The showroom was loaded with T and A parts, even complete T transmissions with flywheel and magnets setting on wood shipping pallets going to customers! What a treat, but couldn’t buy any parts as we flew up there!

[Steve Jelf]

Sears owned WLS, one of the earliest radio stations in Chicago (most of the early stations had only three letters). Some of them had slogans to match their letters. The motto of KHJ in Los Angeles was" Kindness, Happiness, Joy". Atlanta's WSB issued a friendly "Welcome South,Brother". In Chicago WLS stood for "World's Largest Store".

Other big retailers were in on it too. In addition to Sears and J.C. Whitney, Western Auto, Pep Boys, and Montgomery Ward sold Model T and A parts and accessories, as well as regional outfits like Otasco (Oklahoma Tire & Supply Co).

[ModelT46]

Yes, lsold them radiator dog one caps. I will have to look, I have an old catalog.

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

This was posted years back in a pic of vintage catalogues

3C9A7CA3-004A-4BCB-A863-1CBB80B58BC1.jpeg (112.55 KiB) Viewed 5579 times

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1511748734

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1480122954

[Erik Johnson]

When I was growing up, my father regularly received the JC Whitney catalog even though he never purchased anything from them. They probably bought a mailing list from Hemmings Motor News to which my father was a subscriber.

JC Whitney is still in business.

They have a website and also a store on eBay.

A few years ago, I needed a new turn signal switch assembly for my 2003 Grand Prix and wanted to get a genuine Delco OEM switch instead of an Chinese aftermarket one but the OEM one is pricey.

JC-Whitney had OEM switches listed at a ridiculously low "special sale" price on both their website and on eBay. So, I went ahead and bought one from their website.

However, a few days later, they cancelled the transaction. So, I made an inquiry and they responded saying it was out of stock. Well, it had been advertised as being in stock on the website and eBay actually listed the number available for sale and, when I went back to look on both websites, it was still available but no longer advertised at the crazy low price but at the regular and ridiculously high retail price that other vendors list it. I think someone entered the wrong price into their computer system and telling me they were out of stock was their convenient method of squelching on the transaction.

[TXGOAT2]

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[jiminbartow]

Wisniewski is a name on my mind. Weren’t they the same as J.C. Whitney with almost the same catalog? Jim Patrick

[ModelTWoods]

This was posted years back in a pic of vintage catalogues

3C9A7CA3-004A-4BCB-A863-1CBB80B58BC1.jpeg


http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1511748734

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1480122954

Thanks for posting, Ed. The one supplier in Chicago besides J.C. Whitney, that I bought from was WARSHARSKY. I never went to their store, personally, but they had so much T stuff and most of it was used. I can only imagine what their store looked like, inside. I can imagine a 1920's, 30's, 40. wrecking yard, but with all vehicles dismantled and parts on shelves.My Dad and I started restoring his father's 27 coupe in the summer of 1965. Granddad was an owner who was poor and drove the crap out of his T. There were so many original parts missing from the car when we started. I sent Warsharsky a 'want list' of items, and they had almost all of them are affordable prices, even for those days; an absolute steal at today's prices. Between Warsharsky, J.C. Whitney, Sear's, and Bob's in Rockford, IL., we were able to get most of what we needed.

[ModelTWoods]

This was posted years back in a pic of vintage catalogues

3C9A7CA3-004A-4BCB-A863-1CBB80B58BC1.jpeg


http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1511748734

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1480122954

Thanks for posting, Ed. The one supplier in Chicago besides J.C. Whitney, that I bought from was WARSHAWSKY. I never went to their store, personally, but they had so much T stuff and most of it was used. I can only imagine what their store looked like, inside. I can imagine a 1920's, 30's, 40. wrecking yard, but with all vehicles dismantled and parts on shelves. My Dad and I started restoring his father's 27 coupe in the summer of 1965. Granddad was an owner who was poor and drove the crap out of his T. There were so many original parts missing from the car when we started. I sent Warshawsky a 'want list' of items, and they had almost all of them at affordable prices, even for those days; an absolute steal at today's prices. Between Warshawsky, J.C. Whitney, Sear's, and Bob's in Rockford, IL., we were able to get most of what we needed.

[TRDxB2]

History
JC Whitney began in 1915 as The Warshawsky Company, a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago. The company's founder was Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky. Throughout World War I, Warshawsky bought failed auto manufacturers and added new parts to his inventory. The Warshawky Company continued to grow, even during the Great Depression. The company closed its Chicago location and opened a new location in LaSalle, Illinois, in 1997.
In 1934, Israel's son Roy joined his father at the company after graduating from the University of Chicago. Roy proposed expanding from the Chicago area with a nationwide catalog and placed an ad in Popular Mechanics for sixty dollars. The ad offered readers a "giant auto parts catalog" for 25¢. Response to the ad was huge.
Roy took charge after his father's death in 1943. He continued to grow the business through World War II, always developing new strategies in response to changing customer needs. Roy retired in 1991.
On June 26, 2002, The Riverside Company acquired JC Whitney.[2] In 2007, The Riverside Company created Whitney Automotive Group, which owned other companies such as CarParts.com, StylinTrucks.com, and AllBikeSupershop.com. On August 17, 2010, JCWhitney (along with the rest of Whitney Automotive Group) was acquired by U.S. Auto Parts for $27.5 million.[3]
In July 2020, JC Whitney was merged into CarParts.com. JC Whitney will also launch a new line of accessories for Jeep and truck owners on its new website.[1]
JC Whitney website is CarParts.com does not carry parts for any vehicle before 1951 . I'm only 80minutes from it. You can see it from I-80

[Loftfield]

Yup, I remember J. C. Whitney, and Western Auto, and Monkey Ward, and a few other "suppliers" of parts when specialised Model T houses were just getting started. Surely a sign that I have accumulated an excess of years.

[Charlie B in N.J.]

Whitney has an extensive catalog on Beetle parts. As to Western Auto: although the store was closed the Western Auto sign was only removed a few years ago just off Route 9 in Lakewood.

[jab35]

Anyone remember 'Hank's Vintage Ford Parts'? I used to write letters asking about model T parts in their catalog and seeking repair suggestions. They always answered and were very helpful. JC Whitney provided good service too. jb

[John Codman]

I hate that company! I purchased a pair of running boards for a 30 something Chevy and they didn't even come close to fitting. J. C. Whitney refused to take them back. They cost a lot of money for a teenager working for about $1 per hour. I told the Whitney guy on the phone that I would never - ever, buy anything from them again. And I haven't.

[TXGOAT2]

You should have called Johnny Cash!

[Rich Eagle]

It's the stuff dreams were make of. I had a J. C. Whitney catalog before I got my Model A in 1962. Drooling over the illustrations was part of my daily routine. What a step up from building the plastic models. I would go back if I could. The T parts appeared gradually.

[TXGOAT2]

I used to drool over those same pages... and I remember huge listings of "good used complete engines, guaranteed no cracks or welds" for all makes of 1930s-40s-50s cars, including Packards, Hudsons, etc in the JCW catalogue in the early 1960s. I suppose that cars often rusted beyond use in the that region before the engines wore out, due to the road salt demons. JCW also had a huge variety of engine to transmission adapters to put various V8 engines into all sorts of old cars.

[TXGOAT2]

Ah... those amber turn signal bulbs... dress up your car to look like the '63s! Genuine amber signal light conversions add that late model sparkle to any car for just pennies! Add a dual chrome trunk radio aerial kit and dual chrome exhaust extensions for a custom flair that can't be beat! (Y-type dual exhaust kit for all cars sold separately, see page 346)

[TXGOAT2]

Gotta get me a rear deck speaker and custom reverb kit!

[TXGOAT2]

OK: 'Fess up: Did you, or did you not drill holes in your Moon wheel covers and attach 1950s style chrome plated kitchen cabinet drawer pull handles to them?

[TRDxB2]

eBay has many different years for sale of these catalogs - USPS mailing should be cheap since its media - if not question them
JC Whitney https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... _sacat=280
Warshawsky https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... osacat=280

[Rich Eagle]

I had several stacks a foot or so high of them. They came every month or two from Whitney, Warshawsky and Tyler. I couldn't' bear to throw them away. I may still have some.
I couldn't imagine they would be worth anything. We throw things away at the wrong time.
Rich

[TRDxB2]

I had several stacks a foot or so high of them. They came every month or two from Whitney, Warshawsky and Tyler. I couldn't' bear to throw them away. I may still have some.
I couldn't imagine they would be worth anything. We throw things away at the wrong time.
Rich

Sell them on eBay 2 for $20 with $5.20 1st Class Mail , Media is $3.20 but you need to supply the shipping box (2 pieces of cardboard) You should be able to net (20/2) x $18 0ver $180

[david_dewey]

I remember leafing through the "modern cars" section of the catalog once and notice on one page they had a "hidden" cell phone antenna that mounted under the car, and the next page they had "Get the cell phone look with our fake cell phone antenna, fits any car!" Hmmm. . . .

[TXGOAT2]

Dummy cell antenna works well with dummy teardrop spotlights, and for that extra touch, add a police type 12 foot aerial with coil spring bumper mount and drip rail clip, revolving rooftop red flashing light, and a pair of very dark glasses with heavy frames. (check local laws before ordering)

[John kuehn]

JC Whitney also offered reconditioned T transmissions occasionally also. Seems I remember they were around $50-75.00. I thought that was a little high at the time and they had a limited amount.

[TXGOAT2]

The donkey hood ornament with eyes that light up is a must-have, and to complete the tranformation, be sure to order the rear view mirror dice and the stuffed rear deck teddybear with eyes that flash left or right turn signals!

[Oldav8tor]

When I bought my Model T Touring in 2018 there was a unopened box from JC Whitney with a 1989 postmark under the rear seat. When I opened it I found a complete vinyl top kit for my car. Being boxed up for almost 30 years I figured the top was probably junk but I laid it out in the sun and the creases disappeared. Installed in 2020, the top looks brand new! I don't know who made it for J C Whitney but they did a good job.

[Tom D]

There was only one page devoted to Model T in this 1969 catalog. (There were 11 for Model A.)