Liberty Classics JC Whitney 1/43 Scale Diecast Ford Model A Delivery Truck

For those of us of a certain age, the name "JC Whitney" conjures up as many fond dreams as did the Sears Christmas Wishbook's of our childhoods, but different kinds of dreams. While the Sears Wishbook's were full of kids toys, the 'toys' in the JC Whitney catalog were of a grown-up kind. You see, J.C. Whitney was the 'go-to' catalog for car and truck replacement parts, and customizing parts. Needed a new stereo? Hit the JC Whitney catalog. Wanted flashier rims or hubcaps? Hit up Whitney's. Just had to have that nickel plated gas pedal in the shape of a foot or skull shaped shifter knob? Yup, Whitney's had those as well. And everything was either mail-in or call in. This was a pre-Internet catalog - old school, cool school!

Here's a partial quote from the Curbside Classic blog (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/nostalgia/jc-whitney-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-automotive-icon/):

"...JC Whitney began as a scrap metal yard on Chicago’s south side, formed by Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky, who came to the US to escape religious persecution. Warshawsky named the company JC Whitney in order to give the company a less foreign-sounding name.

While Israel did alright for himself, things really started to pick up when his son Roy Warshawsky joined the business in 1934. Possibly inspired by the success of fellow Chicago mail-order giant Sears and Roebuck, it was Roy’s idea to expand the business beyond Chicago by entering the burgeoning mail-order catalog business...

...Ah, the JC Whitney catalog: The pulp paper, the dense pages with tiny print, the minimalist line drawings. It is an interesting window into the automotive zeitgeist of the 1950s and 1960s. These decades marked the heyday of JC Whitney."

The original post is much longer than this extract but the feeling of what it used to be like is there. JC Whitney went into decline, was bought out, and has re-emerged basically in name only with no connection to its former owners. As for this diecast truck, I have absolutely no idea if at any time Whitney used trucks like this (with understandably different graphics) in their business which, as the article stated, goes back a long time. As a toy, it is a reminder of a fun past. Of shade tree mechanics fixin' their rides. Of guys on a budget looking for cheap parts. Of simpler times.

Enjoy! Opa Fritz