George Hurst is the father of the Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds, but well before George started working with Oldsmobile, he was supplying Hurst shifters to Pontiac for the GTO. Hurst first produced shifters for the Goat in 1964, although they would not bare the iconic HURST logo until 1965. HURST shifters were the first branded aftermarket part to appear in a factory GM car.
When the Pontiac Firebird debuted in early 1967, Mr. Hurst came up with an idea for a Firebird performance package. He approached Pontiac management with the idea of shipping Firebirds less drivetrains to the Hurst factory where they would be stuffed full of Big Block goodness, then sent back to Pontiac for the finishing touches. In so doing, Pontiac could get around the internal GM edict restricting midsize passenger car engines to 400 cubic inches of displacement. Chevrolet called shenanigans, however, claiming that a Hurst Firebird would carve away Camaro sales. The Hurst Firebird never got off the ground. Mr. Hurst still thought the idea had merit, so he approached Olds about applying the treatment to the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Since the Cutlass was more of a GTO competitor, and Pontiac didn’t mind the idea, the Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds was born.
The 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds was shipped to Demmer Engineering who crammed the Olds 455 Rocket V8 under the hood. The Olds Big Block generated 390 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of pavement-wrinkling torque. The Rocket inhaled air through a ram air intake located beneath the front bumper. The Hurst/Olds could only be had in Toronado Peruvian Silver with a black rear deck lid and black stripes outlined by white pinstripes. The interior had goodies like bucket seats, walnut trim on the instrument panel, and Hurst’s own proprietary ratcheting dual gate shifter in the center console. Oldsmobile was overwhelmed with orders, and just 515 Hurst/Olds left the factory for the 1968 model year.
The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds returned for the 1969 model year, with a new paint scheme, ram-air hood, and slightly higher production numbers. The new colors were Cameo White with Firefrost Gold stripes and accents trimmed in hand-painted black pinstripes. The grilles were blacked out, and the under bumper ram air slots were replaced with massive mail slot inlets in the hood. Those bulging inlets were accented with painted “H/O 455” emblems on either side. “H/O” emblems were also featured on the front fenders and trunk lid. Production for 1969 increased to 913 units.
Our feature 1969 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds has been treated to a frame-off restoration. It is finished in the correct Cameo White and Firefrost Gold trim, and is powered by its factory 455 Rocket V8 and Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic transmission with dual gated Hurst shifters. It is equipped with F41 Special Front and Rear Suspension, power brakes with front discs, and power steering, and sport steering wheel. The sale includes books, manuals, broadcast sheet, and multiple show awards.
This exceptional 1969 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds will cross the Mecum Auctions block at their Kissimmee, Florida sale on Saturday, January 18th.
Comments
Great looking car. I always said that Olds had the best overall quality of all the GM brands back then.
Trans was a tubo 400 , I might have owed this very one
Not true about the engines being installed outside of GM’s plant. There is a book called “Hurst Equipped” that came out quite a few years back. In the book there is information from the folks originally involved with the early Hurst/Olds program. It’s clearly stated the engines were installed at the GM assembly line.