Way back in my teen years my cousin and I had fun rebuilding our '47 Pontiac 2-door "fastback" - with the straight eight engine. Ah, little did we know. . . But that's not why I'm writing. Back then we bought lots of parts and pieces from J c Whitney, also known as Warshawsky. Both companies sent out catalogs, and when we finally got into downtown Chicago to visit - we discovered that they were one in the same -- with doors opening on one side of the building as J C Whitney, and doors on the other side as Warshawsky.
Their quality was about as funky as the idea of two names on opposite sides of the building -- pretty lame. I haven't bought from them in more than 45 years, and just their longevity might mean that they've cleaned up their products. But as kids from lower Michigan, traveling into Chicago to buy cheap parts was grand fun.
And the Pontiac did run again. It was the first engine I tore down and put back together -- no manual, no shop help, heck, no torque wrench. It sure was forgiving. . .