J C Whitney?

[Geo-TH,In]

Back in the 60s I made the mistake of ordering parts form JC Whitney. They would send me sales pamphlets weekly.

Does anyone remember the gizmo that Whitney sold that bolted between brake drum and wheel. They claimed it was a self balancer.
The gizmo was filled with BBs.

Did it work?

If it did work, would adding a few oz of water to tire be a redneck self balancer?

Or adding a few oz of green slime be a self balancer?

Don't worry, I have my ties balanced.

I know water freezes

This is a what if question. .and did the gizmo work.

 

[Steve in VA]

Wow, now there is a memory. I recall that gizmo but have no idea if it worked. I remember JC mostly for the stick on white walls and the hot iron to cut your tire tread deeper. Oh, and every jeep part ever made.

 

[Dean]

If it worked well it would still be readily available.

Dean

 

[The Pennsylvanian]

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/blogs/10-crazy-car-accessories-100-years-jc-whitney-catalogs

 

[SVcummins]

They still sell em for big trucks . They put balance beads in my truck tires last time I really like they way they work best my tires have ever been balanced

 

[old]

I wonder if J.C. Whitney is still in business

 

[glennster]

and steve, every part they sold gave you a lower e.t , higher top end, hotter spark, higher cranking amperage ect.!

 

[JWinIndiana]

Yep, here they are and JEEPS are on the front cover!

 

[Timmycornpicker]

Did you know that JC Whitney sold 'rebuilt' Fordsons in the 30s? Now it's tractor-related.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

SV,
Who sells balance beads?
I don't use my 14k implement trailer much after selling a property.
I've had the tires balanced and at 35 mph and no load, the tires will start bouncing and kicking the truck's butt. Carry a 3100# load and no bouncing.

I'm wondering if balance beads would work?
Tire store says bouncing is common.
Not common on my 10k dump.

So does the tire store have balance beads?
Thanks

 

[Russ from MN]

I bought a few things from Whitney, and was in the store once. This is what I found when I googled it, In July 2020, JC Whitney was merged into CarParts.com

 

[Sprint 6]

If you ever drive a car with Fix-A-Flat, you'll know that water won't balance a tire

 

[JoeM(GA)]

they did, and do work, of course every time you start off they'll be out of balance until they work it back out. Not bad for a long-hauler, but I'm not sure about a local daily driver. When I was still working, we used the weight beads in some of our MCI coaches that had wheels they didn't want marred with weights, and on the steer tires on the road tractors.

the rings are still around -
wheel balance rings

 

[DoubleO7]

George,
Just dump in a handfull of lead shot.

Real balancing beads

 

[Tgrasher]

In the sixties I would spend hours studying their catalog always looking for something that would make my car better or go faster. Ordered a number of times and can't remember a bad experience with them.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I learned something new today, actually something old from JC Whitney really works.
Thanks.

 

[jacksun65]

They still have them for big trucks one ton and above they are called Centramatic wheel balancers, I Used them on my semi's front wheels because the wear would change the balance on the tires all the time and they increased the mileage I got out of a set of steer tires.

 

[Jerry Coulter]

I put a pair of them on the rear of my '66 Pontiac. They helped somewhat but were not perfect like regular weights.

 

[hanovertom]

What I remember about their catalog, :
if you bought all the things they said saved gas, you would have to stop every couple hundred miles and pump gas OUT

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I had the same problem. I sold my gas. Made a lot of money.

 

[SVcummins]

Ive always liked what I bought from em

 

[SVcummins]

Works perfect in my daily driven one truck . When they put em In they just dump em in bag and all takes a few days before the bags disintegrate they will lump together but after that there is no problem of them having to redistribute

 

[SVcummins]

I dont know where to buy em my tire store had em
And talked me into them . My truck used to do about the same thing at about 45 miles per hour it would hop now it doesnt

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Thanks
Good to know.
Learn something new.
Will I remember it tomorrow?????

 

[Keith True]

Geo,look up Dyna Beads.I don't bother with that stuff in my Model A's,but a lot of folks with A's seem to like them.You have to sit there with a little funnel and dribble them in,not something I'm gonna do.

 

[markct]

They are still used on trucks and buses and widely available

 

[Dean]

...[G]izmo that Whitney sold that bolted between brake drum and wheel....

Where does one get one?

Dean

 

[bweb]

I was at a estate sale a few years ago and I think this person saved everything. I bought a JC Whitney catalog from 1961. Interesting reading. They used to sell used tires then.

 

[OregonAaron]

I always wanted to buy the "ocean liner blast horn"....

 

[Gabby Hayes]

I had a co-worker that ordered some parts from them or their sister company Warshawsky's in the late 70's. They were both out of Chicago. They mailed him that all his parts were on backorder and he ordered 2 separate times for other parts he needed. They filed bankruptcy that summer and he never saw any of his parts or money.
'

 

[marloweg]

have used balance beads in my Gold Wing for 190,000 plus miles will not mount a new tire with out

 

[VicS]

There is 4- 8 lug balance rings on top of a 77 Oliver in my shop. My son believes in them. I just bought a bag of no.6 lead shot. Put a pound in every truck tire.

 

[Hdonly]

Bought lots of car engine rebuilding parts from them back in the day. Never had any problem with them.

 

[Phil-mar Farms]

The were a great place to buy floor mats and seat covers to freshen up an old pickup

 

[Rich'sToys]

I bought a few things from J.C. Whitney back in the day.
That catalog was like the Sears Christmas catalog--the "wish book" for any young guy with a car!

 

[Texasmark]

Biggest thing of importance to me back in the day was their CD Ignition bought that. Oddest was the water injection system which I blew off as a joke. I don't know about improving MPG, but later on in life I had a Chevy combo intake manifold/head crack over #3 and learned that adding a controlled amount of water to the combustion chamber can really clean it up......spotless.

 

[8850dave]

They built a new building near Utica, Illinois like 25 years ago and its still here but the name has changed and they use to sell parts over the counter but that option closed a couple of years ago

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Rich,

Before TP, guess what the Sears catalog was used?
Better than a corn cob.

 

[dzc3]

I had a Ford with the split rims. tire shop tried to balance them, got it almost right, said that it was the best they could do. I added 4 oz of Berryman's to each tire, and it helped a lot

 

[fastfarmall]

A Gyro, or something like it! It was called J, C. Whitney on two sides, the other two sides of the building said Warshawsky, before they moved out of town to the West!

 

[miner09]

Warshawsky was the wholesale end of it. J.C. was retail. After buying from them I was able to get set up in wholesale. This was in the early 70's.

 

[DRussell]

Napa sells them.

 

[SVcummins]

Not if your anything like me you wont