(first posted 4/24/2017) While researching my JC Whitney article, I found literally hundreds of great items from their catalogs over the years: Far to many for me to feature in my post.
We’re going to try something a little different today, and have an internet scavenger hunt. Go out, and find pictures of the best JC Whitney products, then come back here an share them.
I’ll even give you the link to get you started, although you may want to try different keywords (and search engines) to get the best results.
https://www.google.com/search?q=jcwhitney+ad&tbm=isch
As always, the best find as judged by the distinguished commentariat gets bragging rights and wins the internet for the day.
I’ll certainly add to this thread with items when I get home from work, but I’d bet the barefoot pedal was in their catalog, unchanged but for price, for over 45 years.
My ’71 VW van had one when I bought it (well used, full of roaches and other ‘paraphanalia’ when I cleaned it out).
I can’t imagine anyone buying an old Type 2 VW van and not finding roaches in it.
Just to be clear, these were the kind of roaches you smoke… It was originally a Campmobile (non-pop-top), and I gutted it to use as a cheap pickup. It had very much a hippie vibe when I towed it home after purchasing for $100!
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/my-ex-curbside-classic-1971-vw-bus-the-mayfield-belle/
I am literally dying right now because this thread not only became unintentonally extremely funny, but looking back on my debauchery days, who in their right mind just discarded roaches? Did these people not use splifs (think equivalent to a cigarette filter) or not own a pipe (if the timeframe predates crack that ends up being more understandable)? So many questions because we never threw away roaches..
Just to be clear, smart money would suggest BOTH.
@ Rudiger:
Maybe that’s my Midwestern vernacular showing? Not positive but I would not be surprised. The old equivalent of LOL, if you will.
I guess I found it so hilarious because you will either get what roach means in this context, or flat out won’t. Clarifying that this particular species is smoked really doesn’t inform the unaware in the slightest.
Yes I’m a grown child.
Well, I’ve never smoked (roaches or otherwise), and what I found in the crevices of the van were what I would refer to as “butts.” (c: Hope that further clarifies.
These always fascinated me, and not in the way that would convince me to buy them. Who, I wondered, would ever put these in a car? Maybe baroque-era Bach organ music sounds better through them?
No way these can sound great…
That is HILARIOUS!!!
Lot’s of lowriders in the ’70’s had these organ pipes. And the most common model was the ’64 Impala. At least this is how they were equipped in SoCal in the early to mid 70’s, along with tiny Cragar reverse wheels/tires, fuzzy dash and parking lot hopping hydraulics.
OK, in that context they kind of make sense now.
Yeah, my Brother had a set in his ’64 Impala.They sounded pretty good with the 8 track tape player.
I think I saw some of these in real life way back. They reminded me, in a cheap, cheesy way, of the fake pipe speakers available for Conn electronic organs, which themselves didn’t sound like the real thing.
I can’t imagine what those speakers sounded like.
Oh, how I pined for one of these when I was in high school (at the height of the show’s popularity).
Growing up in the South, I didn’t even know this was a thing.
I grew up in the north and I didn’t know it was a thing either.
If you ever read about locomotives and their traction issues, this would be familiar. Every locomotive has this feature, I believe.
Something like this (VERY VAGUELY like this) was an option on 1st generation Camaros for a year or two. IIRC a nozzle shot a chemical de-icer (probably produced by GM’s one time “partner”, Du pont) at the rear tires. It had a very low “take” rate, and I can’t say if it was offered on the Firebirds at the same time.
It was called “liquid tire chain”. 1969 Chevrolet RPO V75; available on all models that year except wagons. Supposedly discontinued at the beginning of 1970 because the take rate was non-existant. Believe it or not, the chemical was manufactured by the AC spark plug corporation. You mounted the canisters into the rear wheel well holders. The nozzles aimed at the very top of the wheel, not the ground. The system was activated by a dash mounted vacuum switch.
This has got to be the stupidest thing every invented.
i actually have this set up , i took it out of a 52 ford in a junk yard 30 years ago , it was to cool to leave in a junk car ,lol
Nothing shouted “class” more than a clamp-on barefoot accelerator pedal.
This Jester Hood ornament is supposedly from a 1960’s J C Whitney catalog although I can’t find a picture of an ad for it.
Anyhow I want one. The only question is what’s the proper vehicle to put under it?
Those were in the catalogs up til at least the 80s, when buying a car was still a few years off for me but for some dumb reason my 13 year old self thought it would have been rad to mount one on whatever I got. Glad that idea faded LONG before I did buy my first wheels…
I can’t find the Jester, but here are some others (1975 catalog):
Imagine if you will a 1972 Mercury Marquis coupe/w skirts. White with a white vinyl top, Burgundy interior with 50/50 high back seats. Burgundy pin stripes with 77 T-Bird poly cast rims painted white with Burgundy pin stripes and wide white wall tires. To complete the look a JC Whitney angel hood ornament illuminated RED of course cruising the very hard streets of Detroit in the late 70s. Not my car but my best buds although I’m guilty of the pins stripes and sound system.
And a few more (also 1975):
You couldn’t get your pimp union card without a light-up hood ornament.
Since it’s sort of a bus day at CC, here’s my entry.
I know, I know, but since the same building had two fronts, I hope Warshawsky qualifies.
I’ll give up my bus seat if someone can find the ’60s ad that for chump change used to offer hot engines such as Ford 2×4 427s, etc.
Seems safe enough…
I have that coffee maker! I found it at a yard sale, and had to have it. And, no, it doesn’t work, but looks cool anyway.
Winky the white cat, of course.
I always had a soft spot for Winky, though I never bought one. A few years ago Mythbusters did a show about the supposed deadliness of various items hurled off the rear window shelf in an accident (tissue box, bowling ball, axe); I wonder what damage a Winky to the back of the head would do.
Also, this cover brought a smile to my face- my dad sold Gabriel shocks for many years.
I always remembered JC Whitney for their VW parts, including a kit that included a Roll-Royce grille for the front, and a Continental kit for the rear (talk about your mixed metaphors!).
I’m almost certain that the catalog would have also included a pot metal knockoff hood ornament, featuring a woman who looked almost like “The Spirit of Ecstasy” on a genuine Rolls.
Here’s the photo I forgot to attach…
Okay, one more try…
Ah the Willie Mays Hayes car. Wesley Snipes drove it in Major League
Road & Track ran a good one-panel cartoon depicting a Rolls-Royce with a Bug front
I had one of their catalogs back in 1969. When it came to cars there was either your local auto parts dealer and JC Whitney. Just like for home items there was the Sears & Roebuck catalog. No internet, no Rock Auto, no Summit, no Jegs and no Amazon. There is both plus and minus in that.
Our town had lots of conventional auto parts stores, though usually strictly separated between generic/domestic only and “foreign” parts stores. But I preferred self-service and shopped at Grand Auto, which must have been a West Coast branch of Pep Boys, as their sign featured Manny, Moe, and Jack. In addition to real parts they carried a lot of JC Whitney-style chrome and schlock … as well as recycled motor oil. I think the Yosemite Sam mud flaps were the biggest sellers.
When I was growing up, my small town had 4 or 5 auto parts stores, but I rarely considered them as a source for parts. Usually, I got parts from Ambrosious (sp?), they had every used part I needed, including tires. I did pick up a JC Whitney catalog every now and then, and was even on their mailing list for a while. But just like now, I hated the idea of buying anything from a company that didn’t have a “brick and mortar” location within an hour or hour and a half drive. I wanted to be able to actually see what I was about to buy….I’m still that way.
MagnumSRT8 Brian’s Party Wagon had the barefoot accelerator pedal.
Not “funny ha-ha”, just “funny odd”, were the catalogs of Shelby parts. I certainly don’t remember those but found them on the Internet just now. Didn’t really seem like JC Whitney material. But this item I found takes the cake. Something else to with your left foot when you weren’t using your die-cast barefoot dimmer. “Hands-Free” before Bluetooth voice activation.
Foot operated tuners were actually factory options on high end cars for many years.
That barefoot gas pedal is the PERFECT poster child for this thread. What a useless dumb piece of crap…and yet Ive always wanted to mount one in a car. Like a can of Spam, or that song ‘Informer’ from Snow…Its a guilty pleasure. I just need to find an old cheap car that’s good for laughs in order to put it to proper good use.
I had the gas pedal and dimmer set, which I got from Canadian Tire when I was 16. The gas pedal was rather a nuisance and even I couldn’t take myself seriously with it, so that went away but I kept the dimmer footy for years. The dimmer switch would stick down occasionally and you could pull it back by hooking your toe under the foot. It was actually useful!
I was waiting for Crappy Tire to be mentioned!
Is it true or urban legend about people taking their cars to Canadian Tire to have new tires put on and then have one blow right off the rim when they’re driving?
Also worked with a guy who was an Ass’t Manager at a Wal-Mart and they called him to the Auto Shop and he saw a car dangling off of the raised lift.
Canadian Tire…there is a CC story waiting to be told! Couldn’t make that family story up.
The dimmer switch in my 1971 Plymouth was a sort of button. I suspect putting a pedal on top of it would have led to a number of issues.
How about this one?
You beat me to it. Can’t get more late-80s than that.
I work for AutoZone, and we have the 21st Century version of the fake cell antenna…the fake satellite “shark fin” antenna. And we actually sell one now and then!
Oh they had something even better than that (and what I’d be posting if i could find my old JC Whitney catalogs) – a fake 1987-style cellular phone handset you could hold up to your ears whilst driving so other motorists would get all envious and all because YOU could afford a mobile phone….
Boy have times changed. Now that would just get you pulled over (if seen by a cop) or have “hang up and drive!” yelled at you (if seen by anyone else).
Didn’t someone sell a fake TV car antenna in the 70s? The kind that mounted on top of a side window and bent over the roof.
One of the few JC Whitney-class of accessories that still seem to be in vogue after all these years are stick-on, fake fender vents and hood scoops.
I wonder if it’s due to the fact that some vehicles (Fords and Buicks) still come from the factory with these things. So, they get much more attention and some people thinking it’d be great to have them on ‘their’ vehicle, no matter how tasteless, out-of-place, or bad they might otherwise look.
In Chicago, the catalogs were called “Warshawsky’s [sp?] Everything Automotive”. I got them free when I got first Motor Trend subscription in 72.
My uncle, then 17, had the ‘barefoot’ dimmer switch in his ’69 Camaro.
I couldn’t find the JC Whitney page but we bought one of these and put it on my pos 59 Ford. It was good for a laugh.
Tom, I have a better challenge: How about an article where you post an ad of something you actually bought from JCW!!
Here’s one of mine. It actually worked well with my Sapphire IX AM radio. I dedicated one of my buttons to the FM frequency. I didn’t even have to cut any wires, I connected the power wire to a cigarette lighter adapter and screwed the brace to the ashtray.
I’m pretty sure the headers on my old ’71 Vega engine came from JCW.
My parents bought an FM converter for mom’s 75 Skyhawk, and friend installed it. Worked for all the time we had it! [7 yrs]
Those FM converters are really a blast from the past. Speaking of which, I wonder which vehicle was the last one to come standard with an AM radio. My guess would be something from GM, specifically, I think those mid-eighties NUMMI Novas came with AM-only, but maybe pickup trucks were the last.
My ’84 Suzuki Swift GA (base model) came with an AM-only radio. Tiny little thing just over an inch deep when I removed it from the dash.
People would order the AM radio just so it would have the antenna, harness, and fusebox connection. The first thing they’d do when they got their car was replace te head unit and add better speakers.
Especially necessary in 1970-80 GM cars. They were so chintzy that if you got a radio delete, they would also leave out the windshield antenna.
This left you with the choice of a mast-type one or getting new glass to go with your aftermarket radio.
Some makes actually offered a ‘radio prep package’ which supplied all the installed parts for a radio, minus the head unit. Don’t recall which but I’m thinking it was mostly some of the smaller, foreign companies.
Parents had an 1986 Plymouth Voyager with an AM only radio. Except it was AM Stereo and actually didn’t sound so bad on the one or two stations that were in AM Stereo.
My 1987 Dodge Lancer had AM Stereo/FM Stereo radio, too. It was a trend that Chrysler bet on in the mid-80’s that never really took off.
I only ever heard one or two stations in AM Stereo. One of these was a classical music radio station in Atlanta. All the radio stations in that city and only one was AM Stereo.
I worked for a company that bought a 1990 Chevy Kodiak new, factory equipped with an AM radio! Even back then that was totally lame.
My ’87 Caprice has an analog tuned, AM radio. I cannot find any mention of it in the sales literature, owner’s manual, or GM service manuals that I have for the car, the standard equipment is an AM radio, electronically tuned with clock. I bought the car off the original elderly owner and have found nothing in the paperwork indicating it was ever changed.
It might have been ordered with a radio delete and then dealer installed. They might have had a radio or two still in the Delco box in the parts department. .
Hadn’t thought of that due to the antenna. I’ll have to look at the bill of sale. Considering it is missing other “standard equipment” as well it wouldn’t surprise me.
I guess I am the only one here who actually has a converter in my car. I had one in my ’67 Mustang years ago. I found one at a swap meet a few years ago and now have it in my ’66 Mustang. It works fairly well, but the AM radio isn’t all that good to start with. I have the converter hidden under the dash above the hang on factory air unit. I’m planning, however on getting a real AM/FM radio in the not too distant future.
I bought a used 1974 Ford Maverick that had one of these in it. When I lived in Cleveland, it worked great. But once you got out in the country, the reception wasn’t so great. But for the most part, it was great!
I wonder how well these record players worked? Was the record inserted like a CD?
Obviously not this one, but an car record player was Motorola’s first product. Hence the name, for Motor Victorola.
The one in the catalog was made by Philips, and sold in the US as Norelco.
Yes, the 45 rpm record inserted like a CD. They’re collector’s items now!
Happy Motoring, Mark
IIRC, Chrysler products had an optional record player in the mid 50s. One of the drawbacks to the Mopar record player was that it played a specially sized disc only available at Mopar dealers.
I seem to remember the Mopar record player looked a bit like a 2/3rds scale record player that mounted under the dash but stuck out far enough to have the record put on the turntable just like a “normal” record player.
And they played at 16 2/3 rpm. Many record players in the sixties had this speed on them to play these discs.
They didn’t. Next time you go to a car show, if you see one, ask the owner.
I couldn’t find an illustration, but I always wondered how well the “chrome” rust-repair tape worked, if at all.
Once the dual headlights came in in ’58, it was time to update your “old” ’57:
The Ford conversion doesn’t look too bad (probably because Ford somewhat anticipated a factory version when it was styled) but, man, that ’57 Chevy is something else. Has anyone actually ever seen one in the metal?
I wonder if the conversion kit was inspired by Studebaker, many of whose vehicles looked like the styling was actually done by using a JC Whitney catalog.
It would’ve been more effective to “convert” the Chevy by keeping the stock single headlights, putting auxiliary high beams in the grille where the turn signals go and moving those to the Dagmar blanks.
It would have pretty simple on a Chrysler product.
Many years ago I read a review of J. C. Whitney–possibly in the Whole Earth Catalog, but I could be wrong. It said, “J. C. Whitney products have the reputation of being serviceable, but the magic spark plugs should be considered as strictly for laughs.”
And I was always skeptical about these:
Used engines for Import cars.
Here’s a good one. The “Power boosting”, “gas saving” air cleaner.
Dang, $225 for a good used 40hp VW engine. Where was that ad in December?
Interesting to see which import cars they offered engines for.
It is an interesting and surprisingly comprehensive selection. I wonder if the donor cars’ bodies simply rusted out so quickly in those days that a steady supply of still-useful engines was left behind.
I installed this item on a 63 Fairlane. Wishful thinking. Next step was a set of recapped whitewalls.
I’ve been thinking lately that a variant of that would sell well nowadays. Same sort of topper but the whole thing would be silver, maybe with black trim in strategic places to match the wheel, that made 15″ wheels look like 19″ wheels.
I want a set of these for my Focus
Going deep into the cobwebs of my memory here, but I seem to recall that the stick on wide whitewalls weren’t compatible with radial tires. I think that there was too much flex in the sidewalls for them to stay stuck on.
You might find this interesting:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2015/02/25/the-oddest-auto-accessories-ever/#794498477116
I’m wondering–do “gyroscopic stabilizers” actually work? They sound great! I have a car that vibrates a little at highway speed…
IIRC, there was a Gulf oil commercial (mid 60’s) where the bare foot gas pedal got a cameo appearance. Its a young couple in a car who only have less than a dollar to buy gas because the male has spent all his money buying accessories for his car. However, the gas attendant is still courteous and cleans the windshield and checks the oil while the couple have an awkward look on their face. In the commercial, one of the items the male had purchased was a gas pedal like the barefoot accelerator featured above. I guess the producer had a JC Whitney catalog at home.
Australians got something similar with an outfit selling stuff branded as “Cal Custom”
Candy apple paint in aerosols and “imitation walnut” and chrome window winders & door handles come to mind. And, yes, the barefoot pedals too. They were marketed as
‘surfie’ pedals here.
I dropped a dime or two at JCW in my youth. Some items that come to mind are a convertible top for my ’66 Impala, which actually was of pretty good quality. I had the FM converter, which worked well, and dual air horns which I still have in a box somewhere. And I still have the “barefoot” gas and dimmer switch pedals, which will go into my ’54 F100 at some point.
Here’s a clip from a 1954 catalog…Cyril the Educated Horse
$4.95 in 1954 dollars for Cyril the Educated Horse! Education wasn’t cheap back then either.
Yes, that is equivalent to about 50 bucks today!
“When Cyril is on fire, the motor *really* needs a tune-up.”
And don’t forget the ever popular “cruise control” which was not much more than a modified clamp that held your accelerator pedal in one position.
I can’t imagine how many modifications were required to instal it, and even worse, how was it released during an emergency stop?
How was it released? With the available “J.C. Whitney Emergency Stop Hammer,” of course. 😉
Here’s the Foot Gas Pedal that was installed in my parents (and then mine) 1977 Dodge Aspen station wagon. I can never remember a time when it didn’t have that in it. Image swiped from my COAL article (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1977-dodge-aspen-wagon-the-party-wagon-for-the-whole-family/)
Cool to see one out in the wild!
I bought a rings, bearings and gasket set for a Ford 289 engine. Rebuilt it in my spare bedroom. And it ran pretty well after the rebuild. I also bought a top for a Fiat 850 Spider. I installed it myself. It fit well and lasted until I got rid of the car. I bought the car for $100.00. It had a bad front wheel bearing. I had another Fiat 850, a coupe. It had a blown engine. A simple bearing swap and I had a good running 850 Spider. It did have the floor rusted out though. I cut the floor out and welded in a cross brace made from a child’s swing set. The roof of the 850 coupe was welded in as a new floor. I drove it for a few years. Then I was asked to bring it to the Fiat dealer for a rust inspection. They had a fit when they saw the rebuilt floor and cross brace. I was not even permitted to drive it home to get my belongings out of the car. The dealer cleaned the car out and delivered me and my belongings home. I was given a check for $400.00 and that was the end of my 850 Spider. I always had a soft spot for Fiats and other strange automobiles.
Oh goody! An excuse to post my second favorite Gulf Oil commercial…
for the record, my favorite Gulf commercial. Always saw it during the Apollo mission coverage.
…and my third favorite Gulf ad.
I’m not sure if the second one is intended to sound like a real sea shanty or a parody of one. Whatever the intent, the advert could be shortened from 2:00 to 30 seconds without losing much of the effect. As for the first one, most of the stuff they did at full-service stations seemed superfluous – the car has a built-in windshield washer so I don’t need it wiped by hand, and tire pressure and oil level can’t be accurately checked when the car has just been driven.
most of the stuff they did at full-service stations seemed superfluous – the car has a built-in windshield washer so I don’t need it wiped by hand, and tire pressure and oil level can’t be accurately checked when the car has just been driven.
Cars in the 50s, and earlier, had rather poor wiper coverage of the windshield. They not only left a layer of schmutz on the ends of the windshield, but also a triangle of filth down the middle. When the synchronized wipers, that overlapped in the middle, first came out, car companies were running ads showing how much more of the windshield they wiped, vs the older setup.
Cars used to burn/leak a lot of oil too. Checking the oil didn’t need to be precise. Some people would run a car dry of oil, if it wasn’t checked for them. I was at a show a few years ago, talking with an elderly woman about her Lark, when her son arrived, with several bottles of oil. Apparently, she had finally twigged and called him to bring oil. I can’t remember now if he put two quarts in, or three.
I’m not sure if the second one is intended to sound like a real sea shanty or a parody of one…the advert could be shortened from 2:00 to 30 seconds
Gulf was very proud of that terminal when it opened. The 1967 Middle East war closed the Suez canal, forcing tankers to go around Africa. “Suez max” tankers were not as cost efficient on that route, but port facilities in Europe were designed to take the smaller tankers. So Gulf built the terminal at Bantry Bay to offload oil from “Cape class” tankers, and reload it on smaller tankers that could deliver it around Europe.
The song used in the ad is based on “The Gallant Forty Twa” by the Clancy Brothers, an Irish folk group that was active over the same time period as the Irish Rovers. Normal run time of “The Gallant Forty Twa” is a bit over 2 minutes.
Yes, I’m an old phart. I was a teenager when overlapping wipers, the song, and the Bantry terminal were all new.
In the early ’80s in Seattle I saw a parked Renault 5/Le Car with fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror. Talk about culturally incongruous. The owner’s tongue has to have been in their cheek.
Snake’s car on The Simpsons has one.
I honestly have a set of headlight visors on my 62 Dodge D200 purchased from JC. Just the plain little ones, not the jeweled jobs. I bought them in the late 80s for a 60 GMC and they languished in the shed for years after the GMC was sold and another quad light vehicle came around. Dodge also received a pair of eagle head clearance lights on the forward cab corners. If there were a JC catalog today, those would certainly be in it, probably on the page after the lighted hood ornaments.