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

Just like any of the other suppliers some work some don't. I purchased a roll of their heatshield insulation along with the joining tape for the 34 5/ W. Works just great & have plenty left for the next project. Really helped the old car in sound & cooling. NO PROBLEM here.

 

The Newark Auto seat covers they sell are awesome and very good quality. They're also inexpensive. The carpet kits are great, too. For about $500 you can take a very ratty interior to super clean with stuff from JC Whitney.

 

I purchased a set of tools from them, from which I still use the sockets and one of the rachets even today (44 years later). Dang! I'm getting old. The cost was around $45, which was a large sum for a 14 year old kid who earned 50 cents an hour helping carpenters/masons and doing gardening work. The wrenches and screwdrivers were junk, but the sockets and ratchets were fine. The 1/2 ratchet finally gave up the ghost about 10 years ago. Everything is "MADE IN USA". I've had to replace the 7/16", 1/2", & 9/16" sockets, also. I wonder if there are any other HAMB members that purchased any of those tools?

 

i'm beginning to wonder if the level of expectation for perfection today is just too darn high? it wasn't really all that long ago that even the Big Three auto makers only had warranties that covered three or four years.... and if you wanted a lifetime replacement warranty tool, you got it from Snap-On or Craftsman. new tires MIGHT have a six month blowout policy.... mileage? forget it. those rose-colored glasses everybody's wearing regarding the "old days" really polarize things. there is and was a damn good reason American things were built to be repaired and not thrown away... because we're cheapskate pennypinchers and damn proud of it. I am, anyway.

 

Like these?

 

Got some rear leaf springs for my 64 fairlane. Fit perfect and the car sat like it should.

 

I bought some rocker panels for a 1951 Plymouth and they fit amazing! Only place I found that offered them.

 

Not in the last 40 yrs....

 

Yep, those are the ones.

 

Back in 1972 they had replacement rocker panels for my 53 Pontiac............
Last item I bought from them was gas shocks.
They worked fine.

 

I got a set of Gabriel Hi jackers for a 68 mustang and they were good but got lots of junk to.

 

back in the late 70s, i bought a 16 inch wheel for a harley, a springer frontend and a fiberglass tilt frontend for my 55 chevy, all fit and looked good. the frontend cost me 500. man cant find them like that no more.but id be afraid to buy these same items today.seems back then they had alot more things for custom bikes and hotrods.

 

What's the problem? If you don't like their stuff, shop somewhere else and quit your bitchin'. I've used them for years and have been totally satisfied. Like was said If the item is cheaply priced, it probably is'nt worth it. I try to stick with brand names. They do carry some stuff you can't find anywhere else. Also usually I can modify the part to work for you.

 

i bought a aluminum repo windshield frame for a 1946 chevy P/U that was good
i wish they still have them

 

Carpet!

 

Their top of the line seat covers are good. It is a bitch to figure out which ones to get but they are good seat covers.

I have door seals for my stude that fit perfect and are as good a quality as the really expensive ones from the Stude restorers catalog.

I have a beam torque wrench that I bought from them when I was 16 for 17.00. I remember thinking that was a lot of money. I checked it in the '90s and it was 3 pound feet off @ 65 pound feet. I quit useing it but I still have it.

I needed a fuel tank switching valve in the '80s for a dual tank setup in my pickup truck. It worked just fine for two trucks.

That said I have bought stuff from them that was pure crap and I never even tried to use it. With Whittney it is just a crap shoot.

Disclaimer: The beam became a backup wrench when I got older and could afford a good (name brand) wrench. It did get used a lot but it wasn't my precision wrench once I had a better one.

 

I bought some patch panels and some other Jeep dress up parts from them years ago when I was going thru My Jeep phase . Had good luck with those parts

 

I mean... Gee Whiz!! I was about 26 (68 now) and myself and brother Dave ordered a Chrome Plating kit (I think maybe $12bucks) and a 110V Stick Welder kit (maybe $9.95) from them.
Now this Chrome kit came with some kind of chemicals and a little bitty transformer with a Pos & Neg Alligator clamp on one end to attach to your battery. This was supposed to be a real Electro-Plating kit where you could chrome the bumpers right on your car!!!!!????? Need I say more?
Then the little 110 welder, well all it did was Arc - Spark - Stick, Arc - Spark - Stick, over and over again. But it sure had a nice display box. Later on we spent about $100 bucks and bought a real Stick Welder at a farm supply store that worked! Ha! Butch
P.S. I always wanted one of those chrome hood ornaments that had the guy thumbing his nose at ya, but never did!

 

I have a JC Whitney cruise control unit that works fine.

 

I've bought stuff from them goin' back 40+ years, the last thing was a 4500 rpm tach, no problem. CHEAP STUFF is usually CHEAP STUFF.

 

my last project i built was a 68 vw baja bug, bought my header ( was not chrome, since chrome on a baja bug dose not hold up unless ceramic then im not sure.. ) from them. have had zero problem with it and as the car has passed from owner to owner same header is being used.. maybe there vw parts are the only thing decent they sell? shrugs.

 

Anybody have any pics of the carpet and seat covers everyone keeps mentioning? I'm in need of both and would like to see what I can expect if I order from them!

 

They carry many name brand parts and have plenty of other parts that are private label from some very BIG name companies, like the VW header mentioned above - most likely Thunderbird. They also carry off shore stuff. You have to know what you are buying, Order cheap junk you get cheap junk.

 

When I was just a lad I used to go thru that catalog from front to back and write down lists of stuff that I wanted to buy.......that was my toy wish book!

In the early 70's I bought a muffler for my old Citroen DS - fit perfectly, worked like a muffler is supposed to, and it was cheep, cheap, chepe, even then! It would not have fit any other car in the world, so I thought it was strange that they even had it in stock, but.......

Haven't done biz with them since tho.....

 

Bought a car vac from them once, damn thing didn't suck at all.

 

don't have pix but i bet i have ordered at least 10-12 carpets from them and have never been disappointed. Last one was for my 50 shoebox and it was perfect!

 

One of my friends did all right with them when we were teenagers in the mid '70s. He ordered about $10.00 worth of junk from them and, after waiting about a month to get it, received a dual quad crossram intake for a sbc instead. They never did catch on to their mistake.

 

He probably didn't tell them either,did he?

I used to buy stuff from them in the 70's. I'm still using some tools I bought back then.Their new stuff looks pretty chessy,and they don't have as much stuff either.
Like they said, cheap parts are cheap parts.

 

When my 550 Honda was pretty new the four mufflers would get rusty and were ugly to begin with. JC had a slip on two into one kit that I bought and I still love it to this day. Saw off the ugly mufflers keep the OEM head pipes. Slide the Y pipe and muffler on. Bolt to stock tab. Ride. Even good chrome. Unreal.

 

Cheap cheap cheap i will not purchase from them