Hilarous History: Crazy, Weird, Insane Products From 1950s Car Magazines

The 1950s were a decade of technological advancement, excitement, and automotive enthusiasm. It was also a decade where people sold the most bizarre and wacky stuff on the pages of car magazines.
A battery that claimed you could drive two miles without gas? A Uranium Year Book? A "Speed Tuner" mounted on the dash? A lifetime bronze oil filter? This is totally awesome, totally wild, and barely scratches the surface!

[@NBSV1]

It’s funny how many products like this still are being sold today. Electric superchargers that are just a fan, tuners that don’t do anything, I’m sure there’s even stuff like the crazy battery out there today.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahaha you are probably right!

[@twiggss4344]

I was thinking along the same lines. In the 1980's they were being sold in JC Whitney, 2000's on ebay and today on temu.

[@powertothesheeple5422]

Don't forget about the magnet you put on your fuel line or the device you can plug into your 12V power port to improve fuel economy 😂

[@jeremymackevincaylor5041]

Don't forget the intake tornado lol.

[@WyattWillis88]

Also seems crazy that their are actually albeit only two companies who sell an aftermarket electric supercharger that legitimately adds power. I'm guessing the pinch point was always battery technology. But I do think it would be fun to try a torqamp. Still to much money for a hobbyist such as myself 😂

[@realmaindrianpace]

It's nice to know that my Micro Bronze Permanent All-Metal Oil Filter still has 31 years left on the warranty.

[@colinbrassington3192]

Nice work with this! I know you’ve covered them before but can’t believe no Turbonique Drag Axles here!

[@strykerentllc]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 This was hilarious. Right up there with X-Ray glasses and Sea Monkeys ads in comic books. Thanks Brian!

[@brianlohnes3079]

My pleasure!!!!

[@WhiteKnightCutlass]

When i was a kid in the 80's our school library got hot rod , and car craft magazines, i read evert one cover to cover adds and all the ads were half the fun

[@stevecunningham2759]

My favorite was the Ford 11 second stop advertisement. Terrifyingly true as I recall, with poor road surfaces, skinny bias ply tires, heavy cars, wobbly suspensions, drum brakes, etc. I love your history videos!

[@brianlohnes3079]

That one still boggles my mind!

[@rtod4]

You shouldn't be driving 115 mph around a bus load of nuns. 😂

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@rtod4 real world examples!!

[@powertothesheeple5422]

The Shelby Cobra could go from 0-100 MPH and back to 0 in 11.5 seconds.

[@mickangio16]

​@@powertothesheeple5422 Gslaxy needed the Shelby option😊

[@rayleehylton8427]

The 61 Ford that took 11 seconds to stop probably had one of those nuclear batteries..lol.. another great video Brian, thanks for all you do !!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahahah

[@bobroberts2371]

Don't forget Lee Petty as the spokesman for the battery additive VX-6 . " I'd rather race without tires than without VX-6 in my battery. " Apparently it contained cadmium sulfate that was supposed to limit / reverse suflfation of the plates.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Wow!

[@aerotube7291]

Haha, yep advance the timing and ditch the air filters was worth a few hp

[@P_RO_]

Sure to have been a King Midget ad in the back somewhere, and maybe a Rocket Radio crystal set ad too!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Oh you know it!

[@ThreenaddiesRexMegistus]

I always wanted the “X-ray” glasses as a kid. And the rifle you got for selling Hostess Twinkies in the comics. Popular Mechanics had some truly crazy projects back then too. It was a time of endless optimism! 👍🏻

[@the4x4pig]

Thank you for another entertaining video. My favorite channel.

[@vehdynam]

Crazy stuff!,Very interesting ; and most appreciated . I agree with comments below , there were lots more then and still some today. Thanks again Brian.

[@Commander-McBragg]

Keep up the great work, Brian!

[@wilco3588]

Actually uranium exploration was encouraged in the 50s even with some government subsidies they thought everything was going to be nuclear powered and they encouraged people to find deposits of uranium.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Wild!!!

[@all4runner316]

They expanded to Australia at that time and mined our deposits in FNQ. Uranium was very sort after and governments paid handsomely for a discovery.

[@benrossbach6501]

You sir are the man. Great history and and a laugh. Is it bad that I wish I had a speed tuner just for responses

[@brianlohnes3079]

Me too!!

[@charlesdalton985]

Outstanding presentation and down right hilarious too. I'm intrigued by the head gasket to be honest, as one of the first swaps for drag racing teams in the 50s and 60s was a thinner head gasket. Regardless, great stuff.

[@timford3599]

OMG Brian, this is without a doubt your best and funniest writing and delivery. I enjoy all of your videos but, this one had me laughing out loud so much that I had to pause the stream because I couldn't hear your voice over my hysteria! Great job! Your sense of humor is second to none. Thanks for the entertainment.

[@raykaufman7156]

A 61 Galaxie going 115! 😂😂😂 I was thinking the same thing you were...forget the braking hype, the top speed was funny enough...

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahaha

[@davidpawson7393]

Static straps, curb feelers and fender chandeliers are a necessity for your Buick Electra 225 or Pontiac Bonneville.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Haha 100%

[@astrodiver1]

Great job Brian! How funny. This reminds me of the J.C. Whitney (?) catalogues of the 70's and 80's. Half of it was junk I'm sure but I just had to have the "Brake light indicator" and the "digital light equalizer" for my 8 watt radio and a "Bra" of course.

[@calebdean2440]

J.C. Whitney parts....universally fits nothing

[@AntonHoward-mx9sb]

I love every film you put out Brian, some way out stuff in every one, keep up the good work.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Totally wacky!!

[@BrieeAnnaTeylarr]

Im surprised there wasn't a ad for sea monkeys in that magazine along with the rest of the questionable products 😂 .

[@brianlohnes3079]

Oh they were in there!!!

[@CarsandCats]

I ordered some when I was a kid and my Stepdad took one look at them swimming and said, "I know where there is a million more of these and I won't even charge you for them!" Then he took us to the hot springs where I learned about Brine Shrimp. Lol.

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@CarsandCats so awesome

[@allareasindex7984]

The story of the Sea Monkey inventor is unbelievable. He also came up with X-Ray-Specs and Invisible Goldfish. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_von_Braunhut

[@mikecurtis2585]

Those are some good ones! Always fun hearing about the adds from those days! Keep them coming!!

[@brianlohnes3079]

More to come!!!

[@masongiles8443]

Look forward to the next one thank you for helping immortalize some of this old print

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks for watching it!!

[@billlamb1937]

Do you remember the J.C. Whitney catalogs? Seemed like they were loaded with stuff like this, some legit, some not so much.

[@dusterowner9978]

I have 3 or 4 years of my father's Popular Mechanics magazines from back in the late 40's to early 50's . They had some wacky ads in them as well !

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

My dad also owned a 1928 Willy's Knight (he obviously didn't buy that one new) that had adjustable spark timing advance from inside the cab. Most cars of that era did because they didn't have automatic timing adjust systems back then.

[@brianlohnes3079]

There was no centrifugal mechanical advance in the ignitions back then. That is why all cars of the era had a sweep control on the steering wheel to adjust the timing. But by the 50s they all had mechanica/vacuum advance for sure.

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

@@brianlohnes3079 yes...

[@allareasindex7984]

Yep, putting the timing lever back in the car was a step backwards. How about a crank starter, too! It would save wear and tear on your nuclear battery!

[@ed.puckett]

Your videos always leave me with a smile on my face and a good mood. Thanks!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Glad you like them!!!!

[@ottopartz1]

Well there was a uranium boom back in the 50's and slowed down but kept going until the 1970's. The DOE was buying ore and if someone did find a rich lode they could become quite wealthy... If they lived long enough to enjoy the money might become a problem.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Haha wild!!!

[@edminas3159]

Brian that was hilarious. I was laughing along with you. If you keep this up you won't need to do any more announcing . That said I would miss your fantastic announcing after all you are the best!!!!! .

[@brianlohnes3079]

Oh, I’ll always want to be doing that!!

[@ronw59]

@@brianlohnes3079 And here's hoping you always will, Brian.

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

I've personally driven my dad's 1961 Pontiac Catalina 4-door with 389 2-barrel at over 125 mph. That 11-second stop time seems about right... That was over 40 years ago. However, my dad bought that car new in 1961. My mom still owns it. Dad passed away in 2011. The car has around 58,000 miles on it. It has been garaged it's entire life. It still has the original wiper blades, radiator hoses, and heater hoses on it. It still has the plastic covers on the seats that were supposed to be removed by the dealer at time of sale. Dad asked the dealer to leave them on. I drove that car to prom in 1983 and away from my wedding in 1986. It's still in the garage at mom's house under a cover right now.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Wow!

[@Iowa599]

I ran the quarter mile once, ~11.0s@~125mph, so the braking distance was something more than a quarter mile… ("1961 Galaxy" @8:26 ) I bet those drums could fry bacon!

[@brianlohnes3079]

They could melt the sun!

[@That_Ryan_Guy]

Some that crap must have sold by the boatload based on the size of the ads. Just proves there is a sucker born every minute...and a hucksters waiting in line to collect their cash! This was a awesome look back in time dude!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks and thanks for watching it!

[@Freesavh1776]

Dude this was great! I couldn't stop laughing at all. 😂😂😂

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks for watching it!!

[@joshgreen2164]

Hilariously excellent video!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thank you!!

[@Megabob777]

I absolutely love these old advertisements

[@allareasindex7984]

Brian, I love your work! I remember an ad (maybe an article?) about a super counter-weight to make your car go around corners like a racer. It was a big weight on the end of an arm which was spring loaded to return the arm to the center. You were supposed to bolt it onto the floor of the car’s trunk and it would swing side-to-side. Of course, it actually would swing outwards in turns making the side to side balance even worse, not better. Let alone the unsettling weight transfer in an S-turn. I was probably 14 at the time but even then I knew this was a disaster waiting to happen. Just image a 100 pound barbell rolling around in the trunk!

[@Sleeperdude]

It’s crazy how much false advertising there is in the United States

[@giggiddy]

Because advertising is run by the same filthy players as the news, Hollywood, sports team ownership, porn, etc. The slimmest people on earth yet Americans are too dense to figure it out. 😅

[@ridgerunnerperformance-jas5418]

Absolutely hilarious loving these adds!!!!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Awesome!!

[@kirill42069]

The 2 mile driven on battery probably means using the starter in first gear to move the car forward. I've had to use my starter to get my car up on a flat bed multiple times. No doubt I could crank it like that around the block.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Yeah but TWO MILES!??!

[@kirill42069]

@@brianlohnes3079 if the battery is good, no doubt. How long can you crank your engine for. 10 minutes straight? That's about 2 miles in first gear.

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@kirill42069 - Wrong. So wrong. When you free crank an engine it is turning itself, not spinning the transmission, the driveshaft and the rear axle. It is not trying to move the car. Moving a car on the starter can be measured in feet per minute. NO battery is going to move a car 10,000ft loaded with the work of actually motivating the car.

[@kirill42069]

@@brianlohnes3079 if you don't have a clutch lock out you can crank your engine in gear on a manual transmission. The car will move forward as long as your battery can put out amps. I have no doubt that you can drive the car around the block and even shift into second.

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@kirill42069 100% agree. Have seen hundreds of guys over my time in drag racing “stage on the starter” but there is a zero percent chance two miles is achievable on a normal, especially 1950s era lead/acid battery.

[@tomstiel7576]

When I was in grade school I hung out at the gas station ( where else),,,in a junk drawer was a little piece of plastic with a lightning bolt on it,,,it was a spark enhancer of some sort,,,,of course I took it home and promptly installed it between the coil wire and the distributor cap,inline,,,and said nothing to my unsuspecting mother. Lo and behold a couple days later she had to get a ride home because the car just quit running...hmmm I'm thinking,so I ride my bike over to where she left the car and upon opening the hood,,there was the gadget dangling from the coil wire in mid air,,,didn't fit well and just ejected itself, I never told her I was monkeying around with her car,,,took a hacksaw to it and there was NOTHING inside but a piece of rod. She is 94 now and still driving,,,,maybe its time to fess up,,,or maybe not. Great context,love it

[@brianlohnes3079]

Bahaahhaahah

[@georgeadams8230]

Another good one, just need Charles Atlas in the mix! Thanks

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahahahaahha

[@joshuagibson2520]

Awesome video.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@jasonstinson1767]

I am assuming that the battery ad is saying you can use the starter to turn the engine and drivetrain over for 2 miles?!?

[@brianlohnes3079]

I think so but still…no way!!

[@jasonstinson1767]

@@brianlohnes3079 must've been idea conditions like dead level or downhill road. Coast far as you can. Put it in your high, high gear spin up the starter dump clutch n pray. I have moved vehicles that would not start but had a fresh battery and even with a modern battery there is no way there is enough energy in a battery to get a vehicle a ⅛ Mile let alone 2 miles. The truth in advertising laws has been around 20 years by this time I guess they were just selectively enforced in the automobile. Great content is always please don't stop what you're doing because you fulfill a niche that you have made your own that combines history storytelling and entertainment like nobody else. Greetings from knob Creek road Bullitt county

[@ManiacRacing]

Same old snake oil. I'd imagine the first magazines in human history had similar ads for worthless crap. But as you showed, there are always a few worth a second look even in back page ads.

[@brianlohnes3079]

For sure!!

[@IowaBudgetRCBashers]

Cool video

[@Roosters_Restos]

Brian, i own several mcculloch outboards and they were built in minnesota till 61 when he went to California and shut the plant down with little notice. I have a great deal of knowledge on him and you should do a video of him. I can help with some of the history. The guy was a genuine genius for sure. The things he made and designed were way ahead of anyone. Some things are in the Smithsonian today. His 3 cylinder outboard is like a pissed off chainsaw with a prop. They fly. Being a mercury guy they can beat them. It was proven in 61 much to the dismay of mercury. But robert paxton mcculloch was brilliant.

[@brianlohnes3079]

He is 100% worthy of a deep dive!

[@ronw59]

@@brianlohnes3079 That peaks my interest.

[@danielcarroll5667]

"Priceless" no pun intended...

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahahaah

[@smokeebeefpv]

'Braking distance measured in parsecs' is hilarious 🤣😂🤣😂

[@brianlohnes3079]

Glad you heard that!!!

[@MrShobar]

That Ford Galaxie was a hell of a car...

[@Deviation4360]

So McCulloch had that ball drive back then. I thought such drives were a fairly modern invention in CVT's. Always amazed that such mechanisms don't fail quickly from galling. That final cover image is interesting on its own with the curly tip cooling fan.

[@rocsti5402]

I just saw a speed handle tuner thing in some classic car last week but can't remember the video. It was a big old school racer who did it.

[@jimanderson1355]

I remember a headline on the cover of Motor Trend: “Nuclear Powerplant for the ‘66 Dodge?”

[@Skorpychan]

"DRIVE X MILES WITHOUT GAS" is how they advertise plug-in hybrids these days. And 'lifetime' is used for batteries all the time, especially the slightly-better-than-cheapest ones from Halfords that you buy to make your old-but-not-classic car start again. Pretty sure 'electric superchargers' are a thing too, considering how my idea of running one off a dedicated battery got mocked when people refused to understand what I actually meant.

[@CarsandCats]

Don't laugh because I ordered the "add 4 inches to your manhood" - twice - and to this day, can't go through a door sideways without getting stuck!

[@brianlohnes3079]

Bahahahaha

[@rtod4]

My 64 Ford Galaxy 500 would peg the speedometer at 120 mph and keep on getting it.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Man I love those cars

[@rtod4]

It would outrun a Cadillac. It's amazing I made it to adulthood. 😁

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@rtod4 beep beep….beep beep….His car went….

[@jordymiller7830]

McCulloch also brought the London Bridge to Lake Havasu. He also brought the fountain to, and founded Fountain Hills AZ

[@brianlohnes3079]

Yes he did!

[@CarsandCats]

I just read about the London Bridge move and didn't know it was the same guy!

[@Merylstreep1949]

Yeah The May 1955 Popular Hot Rodding had a funny ad for a " Doc" Brown's flux capacitor that was supposed to help you reach speeds of 88 mph Seriously tho, great channel ❤

[@56clipper2]

Reminds me of the stuff they had in the old warshowski's (aka jc Whitney's) catalog back in the day

[@riccocool]

My buddy in paint sales drove home on 2 gallons of centari 8022 enamel reducer he had in the trunk.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahahah amazing

[@P_RO_]

I drove a 240ci Ford van about a mile on kerosene. Forgot to gas up while I was at the station getting heater fuel. Knocked and smoked but it worked!

[@bobroberts2371]

@@P_RO_ Pre 1960's farm tractors could be had with a kerosene fuel setup, Compression was lowered to tolerate the fuel. There was a small tank of gasoline to allow the tractor to cold start then switched over to kero.

[@IowaBudgetRCBashers]

They used sintered bronze filters as fuel filters with huge success but I dunno about a lifelong oil filter

[@brianlohnes3079]

As a filtering medium good. As a “life long” solution? No. Haha

[@MrZippy052]

Now I just want to hook up my "Turbo-Electric Supercharger" to my "Nuclear Battery" I should be able to drive to work without Gas!

[@bobroberts2371]

Brian said in the expanded description " The 1950s were a decade of technological advancement, excitement, and automotive enthusiasm. " I say, well . . . . Standing tough under stars and stripes We can tell This dream's in sight You've got to admit it At this point in time that it's clear The future looks bright On that train all graphite and glitter Undersea by rail Ninety minutes from New York to Paris Well by seventy-six we'll be A-OK

[@MoonwolfeConsulting]

Thanks for the lyrics! Love Fagan.

[@oldrustycars]

The brass filter address is now "Best Los Angeles Mattress Sales."

[@nikolaosstavrou5327]

hey Brian I have an idea for a 60s add , lets use snake oil for a car engine , it will work like new!!!!

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

I think the weird no gas battery claim might have meant that you could put the car in first (presumably) gear, let up the clutch, and crank the key so the car would move under starter motor power. Sure, but two miles? That starter and cables would go thermonuclear.

[@MoonwolfeConsulting]

Isn't that Long Life battery the prototype for Sears Die Hard? Simply scammed before the Class Action was created.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hahahaha

[@travislostaglia8861]

I promise you a 61 galaxie with the 375hp or 401hp 390 FE will do 110 MPH

[@brianlohnes3079]

I bet it will!!

[@DM-wp9vq]

I bought a thing called the Auto Pazer or Paser, i think it's pazer. Gotta find it. For like $2 at the thrift/garage sale section of a church bazaar. It was for V8's, and it links to every spark plug and then you put the leads on the top of each of them by daisy chaining them all together with a single wire. Just 8 sockets and a wire connecting the sockets. It would trash the firing order and cause tons of pre-ignition! It was put out by REI back in 1970 and it cost $29.95 new! It's complete nonsense I'm certain, and I'll never hook it up to an engine. It made all of the classic claims of more power, better gas mileage, less pollution, saves you money, etc etc. $29.95 for a snake oil gadget in 1970! Pure madness

[@ronaldrey8474]

Car batt. 2-miles... A manual in gear & crank starter will take you how far ? 2-miles ??

[@brianlohnes3079]

Not TWO MILES!!

[@BrieeAnnaTeylarr]

​@@brianlohnes3079 it's possible , but ONLY if you run out of gas at the top of a 2 mile long hill & crank it a few seconds just to get the car moving on its down hill journey 😂 .

[@brianlohnes3079]

@@BrieeAnnaTeylarr this wins! Hahah

[@ronaldrey8474]

@@brianlohnes3079 t.y. for replying. I'm not tech. savvy & 2 miles seemed crazy but I just wanted to ask. Yes Crazy Ad ! How many quarter mile tracks are you up to ??

[@jonhill9564]

Support

[@danwood1121]

Glad to know that some of this stuff never changes. Instead of nuclear being the buzzword, today it's all AI and quantum.

[@gafrers]

Nothing changed. Some products are sold today in a slightly different dress. Marketing is even worse the keep using the most current terms "Quantum, Ai, 3D, Green, CarbonNeutral/Negative". Worst are the technology clout sites and Crowdfunding

[@brianlohnes3079]

Ohhhh yes. Oh yes!

[@brianalbrecht4423]

lol...uranium hand book...!..."sure to put u on the goverments list"....great one..!..lol...thing is...we are ALL on that goverments list nowadays...for...who nows what..!..?..incredable stuf...thanks..!

[@joshuagibson2520]

I'd have gave anything for 2 miles without gas as a youngster traveling with Dad.

[@brianlohnes3079]

That would have been an experience

[@vintagetractorsaustralia]

I love the old advertisements. We collect old power farming magazines, our collection goes right back to the 40s. Some of the advertisements are brilliant. Everything from weird products promising the world all the way to just straight up racism and sexism. It’s always fascinating to have a read through them.

[@danjones815]

Kind of like today with all the phoney ads here on KZbin

[@FranktheDachshund]

You would rear end a car stopped a half mile in front of you.

[@ShainAndrews]

Who TF is this Francois Arseneault? I located two channels of the same name... NEITHER have any related content.

[@brianlohnes3079]

Hey, I screwed up. Crummy as there was a lot of work into that, but a lesson learned. It will be fully released as an audio podcast in my Dork-O-Motive series shortly.

[@malakiblunt]

🤣😂🤣 11secs

[@brianlohnes3079]

Like stopping a locomotive on ice

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

It’s too bad you couldn’t actually get these products and test them instead of just making fun of them . They might’ve actually worked like the claimed 😂

[@mickangio16]

Being able to adjust your timing from inside the car isn't such a bad thing- IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, and if it's a decently made product. There were more modern electronic controls that allowed the same thing and probably still available.

[@mikepaul3959]

😀

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks for watching!!

[@beecj0]

.

[@tomcampbell4414]

Laugh all you want, I use a copper filter on my cowboy killers for years and I’m still alive. I’ve been smoking for 1.01 years and no issues

[@jarm7726]

😂😎

[@brianlohnes3079]

Thanks for watching!!!