This is one of 3,001 examples of the 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds 15th Anniversary Edition cars that were made. It spent the last 20+ years tucked away in storage, and has only recently been rolled back out into the light as it’s due to be sold.
The car is powered by a 307 cubic inch High-Output V8 and it’s equipped with a factory Hurst “Lightning Rod” shifter, air conditioning, power brakes, power steering, a T-top roof, power windows and locks, a Delco cassette stereo, and even cruise control.
Fast Facts – The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
- This 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds 15th Anniversary Edition is one of 3,001 examples made, featuring a 307 cubic inch High-Output V8 engine and the unique Hurst “Lightning Rod” shifter. It has spent the last 20+ years in storage and is now up for auction with 34,666 miles on the odometer.
- The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds originated from a 1960s partnership between George Hurst and Oldsmobile. The Hurst/Olds debuted in 1968, with special models continuing through the 1980s, featuring unique styling, performance parts, and limited production runs.
- The 1983 Hurst/Olds featured a modified Cutlass Supreme chassis with a 307 cubic inch V8, 3.73 gearing, dual exhausts, and Goodyear Eagle GT tires. It came in a black and silver paint scheme with red accents, a rear spoiler, and distinctive Hurst/Olds badging, designed for strong market demand.
- This particular Hurst/Olds has been meticulously preserved, with original parts intact, including the rare Hurst Lightning Rod shifter. It will be auctioned by Mecum in October, with an estimated starting bid of $25,000 and no reserve, from the Ray Oliver collection.
The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds is a car that only came to be thanks to a strict General Motors policy in the 1960s that restricted engine displacement in their mid-sized cars, likely so as not to inadvertently produce models that were notably faster than the Corvette.
This is the spec sheet from the 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds brochure, showing the car’s power output of 180 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 245 lb ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, not bad numbers for a car in this class at the time. Image courtesy of Oldsmobile.
This strict GM policy meant that when George Hurst of Hurst Performance approached Pontiac about building a special Hurst/Pontiac based on the Firebird that would be capable of challenging and beating the Shelby Mustangs.
George’s original concept had been to fit the Firebird with a big block V8 and a slew of other performance upgrades, he even offered to fit the engines at his own facility to bypass the General Motors rulebook. It was all to no avail, and Pontiac sent him on his way.
Not one to give up, George then took a similar concept to Oldsmobile. Essentially he figured out, along with his right hand man Jack “Doc” Watson, that it was possible to fit an Oldsmobile 455 V8 into the mid-sized Oldsmobile 442, a car that left the factory with a 400 cubic inch V8.
Now Oldsmobile had a similar policy to General Motors regarding engine displacement restrictions in mid-size cars, but George was able to talk his way around it by offering to swap the engines in at his own facility – this time it worked, and Oldsmobile signed on the dotted line.
These cars would be named the Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds and their first year of production would be 1968. Interestingly the engines would actually be fitted at the Oldsmobile factory and not by Hurst, though the cars would be shipped to Hurst for the fitment of the various special parts that made them a Hurst/Olds.
Due to the wild popularity of the original Hurst/Olds, a series of other cars would follow in the series in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1984, and 1988. The cars all had a few things in common, like special paintwork and Hurst parts, and they remained popular with demand often outstripping the limited number that were made available.
This is the unusual Hurst Lightning Rods shifter with its three levers, allowing the driver to quickly switch between the gears in the automatic transmission manually.
The 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds
The Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds that was released for 1983 was the 15th Anniversary Edition – it was now 15 years since the first Hurst/Olds had debuted in 1968.
The car was essentially a modified Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with a modified version of Oldsmobile’s 307 cubic inch V8, a Hurst Lightning Rods shifter, 3.73 gearing, dual exhausts, and Goodyear Eagle GT tires.
This engine was good for 180 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 245 lb ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. The speedometer only went up to 85 mph even though the car was capable of easily surpassing 100 mph and continuing some way above it.
The cars were fitted with a power bulge hood and a rear spoiler, and they were given a distinctive black paint scheme with silver rocker panels with red and silver stripes separating the black and silver paint. They were given Hurst/Olds emblems, and the initial plan had been to make 2,500 of them.
Demand was so strong that dealers insisted on more. Eventually the number was capped at 3,001 units and the Hurst/Olds was brought back for 1984 with another 3,500 made, this time with inverted paint colors.
The 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds Shown Here
The car you see here is one of those original 3,001 examples of the 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds. For reasons not disclosed the car has spent the last 20 years in storage gathering dust, and it has just 34,666 miles showing on the odometer – likely original.
The 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds was opulently equipped for a car from this era, with a plush interior and all the modern conveniences.
As you would expect, all the original Hurst/Olds parts are in place including that unusual Hurst Lightning Rods shifter with its three levers sticking out of the center console. The car is now due to roll across the block with Mecum in early October with a price guide starting at $25,000 USD.
If you’d like to read more about this unusual 80s-era Oldsmobile or register to bid you can visit the listing here. It’s being offered with no reserve out of the Ray Oliver collection.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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