There were only 380 Hurst Olds W30s built in 1974 with the 230 hp 455 CID. This car has been owned by the same family and was only driven for 8 years before being stored. They claim the 12,000 miles showing is accurate, but then they also say this car is in excellent condition. One would hope this rare Olds would be worth more and being stored so long would be in better shape. Apparently it was stored outside under a tarp. It appears moisture under the vinyl top has caused extensive rust. Time and moisture have not been kind to this car. The asking price here on craigslist is $5500. Checking eBay, I see a beautiful 1973 triple black 455 Olds that just sold for $11K. Sadly, I’m not sure this Olds is worth saving at this price. It’s located near Alexander, Alabama. Do you think this Olds is worth restoring at any price? Special thanks to Robert R for this tip!
Wow. To bed it’s in such sad shape. Fun and rare cars but I think this one may be to far gone. I’d rather buy the one for 11K and be money ahead and enjoy it right away. But that’s just what I think.
Yep. I totaled mine in 1982, young and drunk, passed out behind the wheel, ran it into a brick wall (a building). It was nice, and I killed it, and the REAL cost of not having a car but having a reputation as a drunken idiot (I was that night) cost me the perfect girl for a wife too. Now that is sad!
i’m amazed at the number of people that post vehicles for sale but never bother to try and wash of vacuum them… ???
With you there. Is soap, water & some elbow grease that hard to find?
Wow. What a waste. There just isn’t enough value in these to bring one back from the grave. Probably never will be. Sad that someone only got 12k miles worth of enjoyment out of it. That rust is beyond hope. Nothing here but parts
Stored outdoors with the windows down too. Real shame. Looks like the roof is ready to peel off, maybe make this a “convertible” before driving it to the junk yard?
REALLY??? seller claiming mileage only 12k, ya right! try 112k or maybe more, barn find? where was the barn? in a swamp? this is a $1000.00 parts car at best, and thats being generous.
Another lesson in how not to take care of your stuff. How sad, now the owners think it is worth someones attention. I had a neighbor in Irving Tx, back in the late 70’s that had one of these full size jewels. It sure sounded good, but it was no “Rocket”!!
Yep. A graphic demonstration on how not to store a car.
I have been thinking about the idea of “worth restoring” for most people, this is not a busisness, when I was young and poor, I had more ambition than money. I would buy project versions of cars I really liked just to get a toe hold rebuild them as I had money and time, I did not have the money to buy a restored car I guess i still do that some. It was like making payments only not to a bank…….to myself as I could afford it. There are many cars featured here that I would not have any interest in at any price…..the plethora of Fords and AMC products come to mind, but to someone without a lot of cash, these cars can be a great deal. If the market continues to grow as it has, a project car buyer can experience most of the growth in value with much less investment than the guy that buys a restored car. Along the way he can learn some skills and generally have an adventure while building something he likes.
i whole heartedly agree with you, and while i have bought many many project cars, parted many more, put some in better homes and restored a few, this seller is not being honest about what he has. a project/ parts pile needs to be priced like one. this is the price for a running driving reasonably rust free example.
No pics of the engine? Rest of car def looks beyond stated milage. With running examples being sold at 15K this isn’t worth the asking price.
who buys a car and throws it in a barn with 15k on it? Without checking on ot, wiping it down, etc etc. I’ll pass
totally sad to see it in this shape.. the seller is hoping someone will buy it for the name I’d pass on it too
I have been thinking about this poor car this afternoon, and is it possible when the owner pulled off the cover they were heartbroken, thinking the cover would have kept the car pristine? I recently learned on here that car covers can ruin a car. I’ll bet they’d take 4K, and that seems reasonable, but there was so much money lost, the owners may just let it rot the rest of the way down. I’ve seen it before.
The cover has held in to much moisture. This car has more rust than is apparent.
Makes me sad…I love those cars but will take too much work to justify the price. I sure would like to have it but $1000-1500 is all of it…
This is what happens to a car with a car cover under a tree. It never dries out. Mold starts, then rust, and it never stops until the car is put inside. What a tragedy in this cars case. I think the car was covered for probably a year when the elements caused it to be worthless. After about a year car covers tear, rot, and become worthless to whatever they’re covering. The miles listed on this car????? Totally untrue! The interior shows it’s over 100k. The dash is warped among plenty of other issues. I can’t believe people will write such stuff…….
These Colonnade-roof cars used to rust quickly around the rear quarter windows and backlight, especially with a vinyl top (which most of them had). I remember my dad carefully removing the window trim (which was plastic on the side windows and became very brittle) and very carefully peeling back the vinyl roof to expose the rust to repair it. The point is, this car would have rusted badly, car cover or not. Also, the door weatherstripping would crumble within a few years, so it hardly mattered whether the windows were up or not. That’s probably why the owner resorted to the car cover.
It would be better to find a good donor body for the admittedly desirable drivetrain, drive it like stink, and don’t worry about the authenticity. The price is too high for what this poor heap has to offer.
I was selling these back then and they were very rust prone. This one is to far gone and in restored condition it wouldn’t bring near the cost to bring it back.
I wanted to say yes – it is worth saving – but it’s too far gone.
I think they meant the frame is in excellent condition.
Such a shame. I had a 73 455 HO. They only made 1097 73 models. The only reason I saved it back in the 80’s was because it was cheap and rare. I know where a black one is sitting but I’m afraid to stop and ask. I bet it’s in this shape too.
I always liked this bodystyle, but I think this one is only good for parts.
If the story is true, it’s even sadder than someone storing a tired muscle car in their back yard with the idea that they will “fix it up someday”. They did it to a 12,000 mile car? Pathetic.
A flipper managed to convince these folks that they will never do anything with it and assumes he has stumbled onto a goldmine. Sorry, not this one.
I found this 74 W30 covered in a barn with 64,000 on it a original and no rust. $5,000 and it’s not for sale.
Mold! Hard to deal with. One just sold at Marcum for 8000 no money left on bone for that price.
what ! its still resting there with the owners ? I was in Alabama last year…wish I had known would have called in to have a closer look to see and work out if it had done 12,000 miles from new. it doesn’t matter now as ave got one coming that’s got 36,000 miles original from new and cost £6,233 in our money (u.k.) that’s about $8,330 in yours….same car but rocket 350 motor and white interior ( obvousley W30 big engine car would have cost me a lot more money ) but am more than happy with this one.
also the 1st new owner didn’t want the dealer to apply the decals so were left in the trunk ! “a rare decal delated car” rgds russ
Not much better than the 57 Plymouth they dug up in Oklahoma several years ago. These cars were very rust prone and this baby is to far gone.
Never tarp a car. Gotta find a garage. A guy turned down $37,000 for a near perfect black 75 HO earlier this year at Mecum. The rust damage to this car and mildew is pretty bad.