Up for a challenge? This 1975 Hurst Olds is the genuine article based on the VIN number and badging, but it’s in need of some serious body help! The project was partially disassembled and then left for someone else to complete. It’s now located in Traverse City, Michigan and is up for auction here on eBay at no reserve and an opening bid of $1,800.
It looks like someone started to source more solid body panels than were the originals for the car, but stopped there. The 1975 Hurst Olds cars were the most popular of the type to that point, with 2,535 made. However, only 1,193 were W-30’s like this one with the 455 cubic inch V8 according to this website. You can see what’s left of the distinct vinyl roof and first ever “Hurst Hatch” factory T-tops that only became available in 1975. Apparently there were a lot of sealing problems with them and they went through several design iterations! I hope enthusiasts have solved those problems by now–this car has enough holes in it already!
The seller tells us that the floors and trunk are rusty as well as the rear quarters. I’ve fixed Triumphs that looked worse, but I don’t know how complex these cars are back there. Calling Barn Finds reader experts!
Luckily, some of the special panels like the hood are intact, and those fenders actually don’t look too bad! I’m calling it a W-30 because of this VIN decoder and this information page but the decals are no longer on the fenders. By the way, the W-25 was the small block, the W-30 was the big block.
Now here’s an oddity. I think the rear seat is original due to the white vinyl, but I’m guessing both the front seats and the carpet aren’t, because I found at least one source that claimed that interiors were either white or black–which would mean these maroon parts came from another car. Apart from the emblems, the interior was largely the same as a Cutlass, so perhaps this isn’t too big a problem. What do you think, are you up for the challenge?
My friends 75 looked better with the blower poking out the hood.
This could be a cool car.
Yes a restoration would exceed value but.
It’s still a sweet ride.
I hope it doesn’t go flat black with 24s.
It might be hard to imagine how striking this car will look if restored but these photos of a 1975 Hurst Oldsmobile that I shot for my 2012 book, Hurst Equipped, might give you some idea. This is an original-owner 1975 model that is not for sale.
The good thing about a car like this is most of the sheet metal is available. The bad thing is that all of the Hurst-only items are made out of unobtanium so if they are missing they will be close to impossible to acquire.
http://automotivetraveler.fotki.com/1975-hurst-oldsmobile/?view=roll
3D printer?
I know these cars. I owned a ’75 Hurst/Olds with the W30 package around 12 years ago. Looked just like the one in this picture above my comment….except it said W30 on the side. Same color, same T-tops, tic-toc-tac on the center console just forward of the shifter, His/Her auto shifter, swivel buckets (which those burgundy seats probably are not), and even had an alarm system with the key entry I believe just back of the driver’s side front wheel well, that would disable the transmission I was told… never looked into how that worked but it was there. And the true Hurst/Olds were the only ones made without the opera windows on the sail panels. These cars had H/O badges everywhere on them. In spite of its weight these car would really get moving, especially while in the “His” side of the shifter (different hydraulics internally). You could light up the rear wheels and they wouldn’t stop til you let off the pedal… the 455 had some serious torque. With a friend once, we entered an on-ramp and I stepped on it ….. at about 50-55 it shifted into 3rd and we both heard it chirp the rear tires(concrete walls on both sides made it easy to hear) as it snapped into gear and took off from there… Exhilarating!! Obviously 2nd gear had already done better but who would’ve figured there was anything left.. the car was bone stock, albeit with low miles and maintained from new at a high level of appreciation from the original owner I purchased it from. All these years since I’ve said that was one car I should not have sold. With the low production numbers on the W30 package I always knew it was destined to go nowhere but up…
I still have another set of original H/O t-tops that I picked up back then as backups just in case. Should anybody need a pair they are available.
How much for the pair of T-tops? Are they cracked? I have a 75 H/O W-25. All origional. But I wouldnt mind having “spare tops”.
I’ll be back in Phoenix sometime next week. I’m in Illinois at the moment for the Thanksgiving holiday. I will pull the t-tops out at that time and get you some good pictures. They have no cracks anywhere on them. They are pretty nice.
When I owned my 2 75’s, they were high on car thief’s lists. My Supreme was stolen from in front of my house around 2:30 am. When it was recovered and I went to meet the police at the impound lot, the officer said that he thought that it may have been used in a crime as there were numerous bullet holes in the deck lid…….
I had to admit that I pumped 7 9mm rounds into the back of my own car as the thief drove away. He said: “good for you!”
I hope someone has deep pockets for this one. :)
The cranberry column, dash, console, and carpet are correct. The seats and door panels are not. They should be white vinyl with reversible seat cushions (white vinyl and cranberry cloth). The H/O specific white sail panels are usually crumbling apart at the edges and are virtually impossible to find. Interiors were available in white with five colors that I’m aware of: black, cranberry, blue, tan, and green. Black is the most common. I’ve owned green and black and currently have a cranberry car. The Dual Gate shifter has nothing to do with the transmission internals. The right gate simply allows manual slap shifting and prevents accidentally hitting neutral. The cars were only available in white or black with white or black vinyl tops. With a massive catalytic converter, tiny single exhaust, and high gearing (3.08 is the lowest from the factory) these cars are dogs when stock. I have 3.23’s, headers, and duals on mine. Much more fun! Two great places for more information on these cars are the 73-77 Olds Forums and the Hurst/Olds Club of America.
I guess I might have thought of the mechanisms within the transmission a little differently back then. I was just young and impressionable by what I believed was a pretty fast car back then. I’ve been in much faster 4-cylinder cars since then. The line pressure was increased and the shift points were modified by using the “His” side of the shifter correctly.
The cranberry buckets in this car might be Malibu buckets, but they do swivel. I had a 75 supreme, right out of high school in 84, medium copper with white vinyl top, also had the reversible seat cushions. I have yet to see another cutlass with the reversible seat cushions. Loved that car, still regret selling it. A lot of people dis-like the colonnade cars, but man did they drive nice.
It looks like the doors and seats were taken out of a parts car. I always thought that the reversible cushions were a 75 H/O thing, but it looks like I’m wrong. I love that copper color.