Jc Whitney model A cam

36coupe said:
Found a JC Whitney model A cam new in the box
312 or 3-2. Worth while buying?
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Likely a stock grind, worth it for nothing other than nostalgia of what used to be readily available. I would not put in anything other than a B/C/"touring" grind cam if I was refurbishing an engine.
 
My experience with Whitney stuff while they were a market force was that it was "hit or miss" quality wise.

Like purchase of a front spring - which came with the leaves cut square, uniform thickness of leaves, center to center distance was correct, but the spring rate was considerably "stronger" than the original Ford spring

My truck "rode like a truck" with the Uber trailer spring. For which I speculate it was otherwise used.

Other things were more successful - like the Hutchins horn - but that was produced by others and merely sold through JC.

Joe K
 
You didn't say what the asking price is, and it is likely a stock cam. The numbers don't mean much to me, 312 could be the lobe lift, slightly more than stock. Like JayJay says, buy a touring cam if you need a cam.
 
I think it would be usable but it would all depend on the price. I am using a JC Whitny radiator bought in the '70s and it works very well still. I think of JC Whitney as a jobber/liquidator and they are not calling the shots on manufacturing quality, but could be wrong.
 
Jim Brierley said:
You didn't say what the asking price is, and it is likely a stock cam. The numbers don't mean much to me, 312 could be the lobe lift, slightly more than stock. Like JayJay says, buy a touring cam if you need a cam.
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Friend has parts that came with an A. He is a hotrodder and will never do anything with it.
 
A cursory inspection might give you a better sense of the quality. Mic all the bearings and the size of the cam lobes, look for consistency. If you can set it up between centers, check the lift.

Joe B
 
That website is now nothing more than a webaddress that is linked to another low buck seller. I am afraid of it.
 
Thanks J. I have a rear view mirror and a 6v cow horn on my car from them and their still kicking. I thought about getting one of their magizines to look at it until I noticed its $22.00 a year. No way...............
 
I remember reading about J C Whitney and Warshawsky in the 50's when we were buying parts for 40s and 50's VW bugs (Type I, type II and type III) and the occasional Porsche (356s) that we were fixing up.

I like the part about them collecting abandoned cars from the streets of Chicago and reselling the parts!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JC_Whitney
 
Benson said:
I remember reading about J C Whitney and Warshawsky in the 50's when we were buying parts for 40s and 50's VW bugs (Type I, type II and type III) and the occasional Porsche (356s) that we were fixing up.

I like the part about them collecting abandoned cars from the streets of Chicago and reselling the parts!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JC_Whitney
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I remember they use to sell Jensen Superchargers for VW's and other foreign cars among other parts like headers.
 
Y-Blockhead said:
I remember they use to sell Jensen Superchargers for VW's and other foreign cars among other parts like headers.
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Judson - I had one on a Nash Metro convertible.
 

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If I remember correctly, a lot of model A parts that they sold back in the 70s were sourced from South American manufacturers. There were some of problems with that stuff that I remember the complaints about. It was always better to find a US source back then but some items were not reproduced here in the US in that time frame so it was a matter of purchasing from the only sources available on some items. Everything was done by snail mail and occasional long distance phone calls in the part of the country I came from. The Hemmings Motor News was the bible back then.
 
I bought quite a few A parts from Whitnew and Warshawsky in the 70's.Both companies had the same address.I think I mostly bought VW parts from them though.I still have a couple of the $11.VW fenders.They sold used A parts too.I have a couple of steering setups,wheels,columns,and boxes,with the box part of the units wrapped in burlap,tied with a string.They have J.C. Whitney mailing tags on them.I bought a Tudor many years ago with a Whitney rebuilt short block in it.It was in place,but the head had never been installed.No two pistons were at the same height in that engine.I fired it,and didn't expect it to run as smooth as it did.It's had a couple of owners since I sold it,and everybodys been happy with it.
 
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