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now THIS is a GREAT THREAD!!!
Thank you.
“(J.C. deliberately called it a book in order to let us tell our parents we were indeed reading a “book””
And Shotgun News isn’t a real newspaper but it sure is fun to read.
This is weird. I was thinking this week about how much fun the J.C. Whitney catalog was when I was a kid. You could really find out what you could do with a car through that catalog and I did read it cover to cover every year.
This was in a time when any car made in Detroit could be made into a racing car. Which shows you how old I am.
JCW got so much of the little money I had especially in the mid to late ‘60’s when my family had a brand new Mustang convertible and a new VW camper van. I put JCW flower stix all over it and both the van and I became known as “Flower Power.”
The future Mrs p6 came up with that...her parents forbid her to ride in the van.
Nowhere else on eart could you buy an under-dash 8-track player for $20!
Extra speakers for another $20.
Gotta love the pride of LaSalle Illinois!
No where!
The Sears & Roebuck catalog was fun too. Toys, women’s lingerie and a bunch of other junk.
My first real job at age 16 was working the parts counter at an auto parts store. This was before computers became prevalent, and you had racks of parts catalogs that you relied on to find what the customer wanted. I learned how to look up parts, and about different makes and models, by reading J.C. Whitney catalogs from cover to cover. Working part time at a salvage yard, and having access to Hollander manuals helped also. I still can remember part numbers and what parts would cross with what models even now.
First year I had my driver’s license I used to lust after the glass pack mufflers and headers in that catalog.
Somehow my mother didn’t share my obsession when it came to her car.
I remember going to their Chicago store in the 1970s. Big mistake. That store had the rudest staff I'd seen — they really worked at offending their customers. I can understand why the catalog was popular; you didn't have to deal with obnoxious employees.
BTW- I don't think there was ever a time when I received my entire order (from either one of them) all at once! They were masters at using other peoples money for about a month or so, before you finally received whatever was "back ordered". (Do that on a nationwide scale, to enough people, and that $10 or $20 here and there adds up!)
Yep! I remember those days well! J.C. Whitney catalogs gave me hours of entertainment. I even ordered items from them for some of my projects. Good memories! Anyone remember Herter’s?
I guess I went more in the geek direction. I went for the Lafayette catalogue, Radio Shack if I was slumming. Lafayette actually sold prerecorded open reel tapes!
Thanks for the great Father’s Day gift — the memory of my Dad on getting his Whitney in the mail. We knew he’d be busy for days — and want so much to share his “great finds” with my Mom, sister and I but we just didn’t get it. It’s a guy thing and a wonderful memory for me. Wish I’d shared more with him when he was here.
I’m so glad you posted that cat ad. Our neighbors had a cat like that in the rear window of their car whose eyes would glow red. I thought it was satan’s cat. Now I know it was just a fake. Wait a minute. That cat was grey.
I still like JC Whitney “books” but I miss the Western Auto store.
I used to LOVE receiving my J.C. Whitney “book” in the mail each month!
the good old days.....
When I was in fourth through about tenth grade, I was an abuser of the Fisher Scientific catalog.
Oh, the lists I used to make from that publication...
Let’s not forget Hemmings, either.