Okay, I think it’s time for me to “chime in” here. Before addressing Matt’s original Post in regard to the Horseshoe Bumper-ettes, I’d like to enlighten him a bit. Matt, you must be one of our younger members; J.C. Whitney Company began in 1915 as the Warshawsky Company in Chicago. Initially, they bought out old Dealers and even defunct manufacturers and sold true NOS parts. At some time (I don’t know when), they evolved into selling only aftermarket parts. They also brought in the name of J.C. Whitney. There was actually a time during the 60’s, where both a “Warshawsky Catalog” and a “J.C. Whitney Catalog” were printed. This was “the place” for Model A Restorers in the 50’s and 60’s. In the late 50’s, J.C. Whitney also became “the place” for aftermarket parts (tube grills, dual four intakes, Lake Pipes, etc.
Back to the Horseshoe Bumper-ettes. I want to expound a little on Jeff’s initial reply. First, a little background so you’ll know I’m not just “shooting from the hip”. I purchased my first Mustang, a 1966 Coupe, in 1976, just about the time the early Mustangs were beginning their resurgence. Since that time, almost 40 years now,I, have collected many,
many original Options and Acessories for mainly 1966 and 1967 Mustangs, and more importantly, documentation of the same. This documentation includes 1966, 1967 and 1960-68 Ford Master Parts Catalogs, Ford published Accessory Catalogs from 1965-68, Ford Shop Tips, Ford Times, Ford Technical Service Bulletins, Ford Buyer’s Digests, Ford Marketing Publications, Filmstrips and Records, Sales Brochures and Flyers, Ford and Aftermarket Ads for Mustang Accessories, various Ford Technical Publications, etc. – I think you get the idea.
That being said, I have never, ever, seen the Horseshoe Bumper-ettes listed as a Genuine Ford Accessory, and definitely not in any Ford Brochure, Catalog, etc. I would welcome any information to contradict this. As Jeff mentioned, it was fairly common practice for Dealers to carry Aftermarket parts. In the mid to late 60’s, accessories were a big thing. It was no secret that Accessories were a very high profit margin item, for both Ford and for Dealers. Dealers would carry popular Aftermarket items to draw customers, and then once they were “in the door”, would try to get them to also purchase additional Ford Accessories. There were even special Marketing strategies for Salesmen to promote Accessories along with the cars they were trying to sell. Some Dealers even carried this practice farther; an example is the Cigarette Lighter Map Lights that Jeff mentioned. This was a true, Ford catalogued Accessory, with a Ford Part Number. Some dealers realized that they could go right to the manufacturer and purchase the identical item, although not in Ford packaging, for much less than through Ford, yet sell at the Ford retail price, thus boosting their profits even more. (This practice is still carried on today).
The “Horseshoe Bumper-ettes” (notice the spelling with the hyphen, right off the box) that Matt shows in his initial Post were made by “S&R Mfg & Dist, Inc.”, located in Burbank, CA. I have a NOS set of these in the original box (exactly like the set that lancelot66 noted the link for), that I picked up some years ago. Unfortunately, I missed the matching front ones with the Horse Heads several years ago, and these were a match to the one Matt showed, not the round ones that Jeff posted the ad for.
So, in conclusion, the “Horseshoe Bumper-ettes” are NOT an original Ford part; were NOT made by Ford; and were not Catalogued by Ford. However, they could have been sold by various For Dealers.
Hope this helps clarify the “mystery” of the “Lucky Horseshoe Bumper-ettes”.
Bob
