1969 Hurst Olds 442

Back in the olden days, there was a buying pecking order at General Motors. Young buyers bought a Chevy. Then as you get a little more pay, you got a Pontiac. Then and Oldsmobile, and finally, a Cadillac. A nice, straight line towards the biggest and most profitable division in GM.

Since Oldsmobile was just one step away from a Caddy, most Oldsmobile buyers were older guys... fathers. An Oldsmobile is what your Dad drove. However, the designers at Oldsmobile weren’t immune to muscle car fever. Olds’ muscle car was a goosed up Cutlass called, the “442.”

Meanwhile, in Warminster, Pa, the folks at Hurst Performance were supplying every street machine owner and racer with heavy-duty, rock-solid Hurst Shifters. Someone inside of Hurst performance decided to get into the specialty muscle car biz and the Hurst/Olds was born. These gold painted Oldsmobiles had extra stripes, badges, scoops, a spoiler, and extra go-fast parts under the hood. They even offered a special “automatic” Hurst Shifter for those who preferred GM’s Turbo Hydramatic 400 transmission.

These were very classy, quick, and fast muscle cars. This was DEFINITELY not your father’s Oldsmobile.