Greg Myers Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 There is an actual store in Chicago that is called Warswaskis ( spelling is wrong ) that stocks all that BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH and more. Or at least it did when I lived there years ago. J.C. Whitney is the catalog name for the same place if I remember right. Very old smelly building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I think the store is now called J.C. Whitney's now too. I actually caught a glimpse while pulling out of the driveway the other night of a previous generation Nissan Altima that kinda looked that way, then it had one of those "adjustable" elevated wings attached to the stock spoiler that rises a few inches off the decklid. I actually sat in the driveway wondering if I actually saw it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I've seen more than one built model that looked kinda like that first picture. Though not lately, Thank The Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) I've got to be honest, as a kid growing up in the 70's, in the middle of North Dakota, (meaning no big city nearby and no car culture), I would pour through every page of the JC Whitney catalog and dream about how I would "customize" my not-even-owned-yet car. Heck, I even ordered a thing or two. I laugh about it now but that JC Whitney catalog was as good as the Sears Wish Book at Christmas! Edited October 19, 2014 by Nacho Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Before I knew any better (1969) I built my first car using some parts from the J C Witless / Warshawsky catalog (catalog sales went by both names). Although you COULD buy quality parts from Witless if you knew your stuff, the "quick steering arm extension" I bought for my hot-rod VW slalom car was made of porous pot-metal, and split as I was pulling into the parking lot of the Burger King adjacent to the Electrical Engineering parking lot where Ga. Tech Sports Car Club was having a meet. The wheels splayed outwards, eliminating any possible control. This occurred moments after I had been running about 70mph down the interstate. Today, I'm sure a lawyer could get me a fat out-of-court settlement. Back then, I just chalked it up to experience. Edited October 20, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunkPile Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Someone seems to be keeping them in business...decade after decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ju Ju Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder ? This picture made me laugh out loud , I'm thinking that car might be magnetized and as he drives down the street all kinds of junk and debris flies thru the air and sticks to his ride . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 There is an actual store in Chicago that is called Warswaskis ( spelling is wrong ) that stocks all that BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH and more. Or at least it did when I lived there years ago. J.C. Whitney is the catalog name for the same place if I remember right. Very old smelly building. Very old smelly building , sounds like 90% of Chicago to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbert Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I've got to be honest, as a kid groing up in the 70's, in the middle of North Dakota, (meaning no big city nearby and no car culture), I would pour through every page of the JC Whitney catalog and dream about how I would "customize" my not-even-owned-yet car. Heck, I even ordered a thing or two. I laugh about it now but that JC Whitney catalog was as good as the Sears Wish Book at Christmas! I wore out my share of J.C. Whitneys too, and that was late 80's. First I'd wring my hands over which car to buy in the Deals on Wheels then find all the best goodies in the J.C. Whitney. I was 10 of course, but was concerned with such things. Never did buy anything from the Deals on Wheels but have on occasion found something in the J.C.W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I wore out my share of J.C. Whitneys too, and that was late 80's. First I'd wring my hands over which car to buy in the Deals on Wheels then find all the best goodies in the J.C. Whitney. I was 10 of course, but was concerned with such things. Never did buy anything from the Deals on Wheels but have on occasion found something in the J.C.W. Deals on Wheels!!!........Yes, how could I forget. Right before I left for the USAF, I put my car in Deals on Wheels. Ended up selling it locally but I still, to this day, have that copy of Deals on Wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Some of their offerings are really nice . I bought some relatively-generic weatherstripping for my then-daily driver Coronet ; the driver's door sealling had fossilised and was allowing all sorts of leak-through. Now , I can get 2 door hardtop (read : Charger / Satellite / Road Runner , et al.) weatherstripping all day long , but no one was making 'stripping for sedans and wagons . I bought enough+extra 'generic' weatherstripping , plus a tube of 3M adhesive , and went to town . I'm happy to report that 7 years later , the material is still as good as the day I installed it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) My experience with J.C.Whitney started out with my first car a 1931 Model A Ford, J.C.Whitney was pretty much the only source for old Ford parts except for a Company called Ford Parts Obsolete. At the time (early sixties) it was said you could pretty much build a complete Model A Ford from the parts available in the J.C.Whitney catalog. and by the way, I had the same experience with the "pot metal" parts, a wish bone connector cup that held the ball to the engine. Edited October 19, 2014 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I bought a GREAT item from JCW years ago. I had a 1970 Mustang sportsroof. A idler pulley on the A/C belt went bad. I had a old friction bearing that was sealed. JCW made a pulley assembly with a ball bearing with grease fitting. Made a big difference.......nice part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbert Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Deals on Wheels!!!........Yes, how could I forget. Right before I left for the USAF, I put my car in Deals on Wheels. Ended up selling it locally but I still, to this day, have that copy of Deals on Wheels. When was that and what were you selling? Maybe it was one of the cars I oggled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 When was that and what were you selling? Maybe it was one of the cars I oggled? Hahaha, I'll have to dig it out and scan it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 There is an actual store in Chicago that is called Warswaskis ( spelling is wrong ) that stocks all that crap and more. Or at least it did when I lived there years ago. J.C. Whitney is the catalog name for the same place if I remember right. Very old smelly building. Warshawski's on S. Archer Avenue is where it all started. Warshawski's started out as a junkyard/scrap metal yard on the soth side of Chicago, and they eventually morphed into an auto parts store and opened their block-long retail store on S. Archer. That store closed many years ago, and at some point (don't know exactly when or why) they changed the name of the company to JCWhitney. I think that for a while, "Warshawski's" and "JCWhitney" both published catalogs (of the same stuff!) and both were operating out of that Archer Avenue store... even though they were the same single company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I think that for a while, "Warshawski's" and "JCWhitney" both published catalogs (of the same stuff!) and both were operating out of that Archer Avenue store... even though they were the same single company. Yes. "Warshawsky & Co.". Same stuff, exactly. See post 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I think I ordered one cheap item--maybe it was two--from JC Whitney when I was 16. I continued to receive catalogs from them for years and years, I think four times a year, maybe six. Any profit they made from me, they spent in wasted postage on me five or six times over. I think I still have one or two old Whitney catalogs, kept around just for nostalgia. And then there was Auto World, the JC Whitney of the model car/slot car world. I still have a couple of their catalogs, too. The prices in them make me cry, to say nothing of the long-departed kits. If I could just go back to 1966 with, say $300 in my pocket.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Time for bed Harry, that didn't make any sense at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Time for bed Harry, that didn't make any sense at all. Made sense to me, but Dad has actually talked about going into the store when he and Mom lived here in the early 70's. The building was big enough to have two entrances and had the entrance on one street that had one name then the entrance on another street had the other name. No matter which entrance you walked in, you were in the same store! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 "plus a tube of 3M adhesive" Made my day Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 "plus a tube of 3M adhesive" Made my day Thank you! You're quite welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) When was that and what were you selling? Maybe it was one of the cars I oggled? Hahaha, I'll have to dig it out and scan it. O.K., here you go Kevin. This is from June 1983. I have better pictures of the car but thought I would post the Deals on Wheels ad. Edited October 20, 2014 by Nacho Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbert Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Wow that takes me back! 83 was a little early, I wouldn't have seen it, but if I had... Side pipes and a vinyl would have for sure got it circled! I was born about 10 years late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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