Anybody get anything from JC Whitney that DOESN'T suck?

Bought a gas tank for my old '79 Bronco from them. It was good quality and worked fine.

 

I bought peep mirrors that were fine. Matter of fact they lasted longer than the ones a friend bought around the same time I bought mine. And he bought his from a speed shop.

I bought some pinch weld molding, chrome fan shroud (same one the speed shop had hanging, but at 1/2 the price), Door weatherstripping, window felt that I couldn't find anywhere else, a fender that was the same name brand as the dealership was going to get me (and again I paid 1/2 the price that the dealership was going to charge me).

I agree with everybody else. It depends on what you buy from them. mechanical and electrical stuff is a gamble.

 

I've bought headlights, wiring components, full carpet kits for several cars, one headliner kit, several door panels, some sheet metal repop rust repair peices, a stereo once, some exhaust stuff, some trunk rubber, a couple various minor tools, and even some dummy spots.

all of it turned out all right, with no complaints on my part.

what can I say, I'm a cheap ass bastard...

 

Weatherstrip and baby moons, cheap as heck and "as advertised."

 

I have an '86 Chevy pickup project, and spend a lot of time on a board related to 73-87 pickups. I have not yet seen a report of a good aftermarket dash pad or door panel regardless of manufacturer.

Last I heard, the dealers still stocked the dash pad. It costs about twice as much as the aftermarket ones, and does not offer a choice of colors (you'll have to dye it), but it actually fits right rather than "close."

I haven't ordered from JCW in about the last 20 years, but my dad was a big fan of them. About half the the things he installed on (now) my coupe came from there. Quality always seemed to be hit and miss.

The speedo in the car was ordered from them. It did not list a brand in the catalog, but the item he received was made by autometer.

Slonaker

 

I put a soft top on an older Jeep a few years ago and it was really nice, it was a name brand and wasn't cheap. I have gotten some pretty fair "cover up" seat covers in the past, but l don't know what they have now. Some of their stuff is junk thats for sure. I got a set of electric wiper kits for the same Jeep and they broke looking at them hard.

 

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JC_Whitney

JC Whitney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J.C. Whitney is the largest direct marketer of auto parts and accessories. The company began life in 1915 as The Warshawsky Company, a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago. The company's founder was a Lithuanian immigrant named Israel Warshawsky. Throughout World War I, Israel bought failed auto manufacturers and added new parts to his inventory. The Warshawky Company continued to grow, even during the Great Depression.

In 1934, Israel's son Roy joined his father at the company after graduating from the University of Chicago. Roy proposed expanding out 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" if they sent in twenty-five cents and 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.

In 2002, The Riverside Company acquired JC Whitney.

Trivia:

This was one of the few, if any, companies that sold the "Dixie" horn made famous by The Dukes of Hazzard. They had been selling the horn for years before the show aired, and the popularity of the horn during and after the show's run helped increase its sales.

 

So there you have it - buy a "Dixie" horn - that way you'll get something that blows, instead.

 

I bought a water pump back in 77 from them........car ran hotter than hell after that..............took the back plate off the pump and found they forgot to put an impeller in it !!

 

I pln on buying my carpet, seat covers, and headliner from them. I figure it will be OK for a few years before I can afford to have a custom interior done. A friend of minegot his carpet and headliner 20 years ago for his 68 Cutlass and they're still holding up good today. Better than his body fill prep work (haha).

 

I remember ordering parts for everything from BMX bikes and mini-bikes to parts for my '40 Chebbie P/U as a teenager from mail order catalogs. I also remember looking at women in their underware in the J.C. Penny catalogs but that's a whole 'nother story.

For those of you punk kids that have always had the internet at your fingertips let me explain how it all worked back then. You'd ride your bicycle to the grocery store or gas station, then you'd see an advertisement in the magazine with all kinds of stuff you wanted. Then from the advertisement you'd call them up on your parents rotary phone after you'd asked for permission to call long distance or you'd send them a letter in the mail and request a paper catalog that the mailman would bring you about 3-5 weeks later. You'd pour through the catalog a thousand times and dog-ear pages, circle part numbers and even make up lists and prices. Eventually when you'd mowed enough lawns you'd order the part or maybe even a few with a check your dad wrote along with the order form after you gave him all your cash. Another 3-5 weeks would pass and your parts would arrive... quite often with the next quarters catalog in the box... and the process would repeat itself again. And by the way... gas was 39 cents a gallon, the school bus drove uphill both ways and there was always a J.C. Whitney Catalog somewhere within reach from the toilet.

I've been involved in automotive parts and service for most of my life in one way or another... sometimes I'd like the old days to come back. We used to place orders once a week... now we place orders every six minutes... the world has definately changed.

 

Yeah, I got the same german-made heater box for a VW bug at 1/2 the price it cost me at a VW specific parts dealer.

There Willy's Jeep parts were decent back in the '80's too.

Weren't they selling Melling oil pumps as well?

 

Yup, been there too...

 

Oh shit, I thought i was the only one who did that! That was "Vitural Reality" back then.

 

I bought muffler clamps & hangers, exhaust pipe, heat wrap & ss clamps from them. I received it quickly & paid a good price; so far so good.

 

coil spring insulators for a '66 chevy 2. nobody else had the damn things and i ran on 'em for 10 years before i sold it. also found a set of lower quarter skins for an old dart and they weren't perfect, but they massaged out pretty good. just think of whitney as kmart for car guys... a last resort.

 

I bought a chrome skull shift knob (with jewel red eyes) for my '65 Panhead.

Freakin' thing weighs at least a pound. High quality white-trash bling.

 

I started buying from them in 1959. Never bought anything that was not what was expected. I have gotten Cloyes timing chains, Grant rings, Felpro gaskets, Cleveite bearings, and Wiseco pistons from them. I bought an air ride kit, brand that I got was Airlift. Carpet kits have been ACC. Springs were Triangle Spring, which is an OE supplier.

Of course when I bought cheap tools from them I got cheap tools.

 

I have bought seat covers from them for a couple of different cars. Very nice and thick material. 59 caddy taillights, and chrome headlights for past A projects were decent too

 

I wonder if they'd be interested in being an Alliance Vendor?

It's not a half-bad idea, really. They could do the same for the Jockey Journal/Garage Journal, etc too!

~Jason

 

The three "mandatory" catalogs and/or magazines of the 60's were, JC Whitney, Sears, and Hot Rod mag. If you had these you could build just about everything and have the necessary parts delivered to your front doorstep. I can't tell you how many hours I spent planning hot rod builds (fiction and non-fiction) as a young man using these three reference sources.

I think JCW went bankrupt about three times and still managed to "keep on trucking" through all these years. Kinda reminds me of those "X-ray" glasses that sold in comic books and such from the days of ole. What would ya do without a pair of those?

 

I bought a set of chrome tight tuck hedders for a big block Chev a few years ago. 149.99 and they came straight from Ernie Immerso enterprises. very nice and they are still waiting to be installed.

I've heard that you want to stay away from anything that is "rebuilt" for the past 45 years though.

 

Bought a headliner for my 39 chevy sedan a couple of years ago,already sewn for the bows and everything.Fit great and looks good.

 

Well hell, maybe they DON'T suck after all...

~Jason

 

When I was kid I used to get their catalog and if you roll it real tight and secure it with Saftey wire it will burn forever and the color pages make the flames that real purdy blue/green color.

Hell, I would have just like to have gotten what I ordered instead of the crap they sent me anyway. Wrong size, wrong year, and wrong make.

 

I bought a set of headers for my flathead for $8.95. That was 1967 and they're still on there.

 

I'm totally shocked at the percentage of folks that have had good experiences with JC Whitney (I know how y'all like to bitch, but the folks that are are way fewer in number so far than those that aren't). You guys have really changed my mindset!

~Jason

 

i bought a set of straight drag bars for my triumph from jc whitney about 10 years ago. they're really nice, and the chrome has held up great so far.
bought a set of 80" lake pipes from them for my 55 about 8 years ago. the chrome still looks like new.

i have not bought anything from them recently, all i know about is some of the older stuff.

 

This thread is 100% pure comedy gold.

 

I bought a set of running boards for my 39 chev coupe in 1970,they were steel and coated in rubber(all over,not mats) the rubber peeled off after a couple of years,and I threw them in the trash.I am still using a wiring harness in my 39 that came from J.C. back in 70 also.It came from argentina.I havent had an electrical fire in 38 years.