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Dual Gate Shifter: 1979 Hurst/Olds W-30

With only 88,000 miles on the odometer, this 1979 Hurst/Olds is for sale in Wenatchee, Washington. The car is for sale here on craigslist for $13,000. We appreciate David R sending this into us to review. The Hurst/Olds W-30 package was based on the Cutlass Calais and only 2,499 were made in 1979.

This car is equipped with a factory sunroof. I was able to find that only 547 Hurst/Olds were built with T-tops but I don’t know how many were built sunroofs. The Hurst/Olds was painted in two-tone gold with either a black or white as the lower color on the exterior.  Each car came with special aluminum wheels that look fantastic.

The car is loaded with tilt steering, power windows, power locks, air conditioning, and a console-mounted Hurst Dual Gate shifter. What I did not know about 1979 Hurst/Olds W-30 cars is that they were built with the Oldsmobile L34 350 cubic inch engine. I thought they had the lower performing 307 cubic inch engine. Each Hurst/Olds engine came with an automatic transmission, dual exhaust, and a 4 barrel carburetor.

Here’s a shot of that his/hers shifter. You can leave in in drive or manually shift your own gears. This is perfect for when you cruising and someone pulls up to challenge you at a stoplight. Just push it over into the manual gate and then you can hold each gear until redline.

The 1979 Hurst/Olds W-30 was built in Lansing Michigan and was the first H/O to be built without a 455 cubic inch V8 engine. Based on the research I looked at, the L34 350 cubic inch V8 engine produced 270 horsepower and 275 ft lbs of torque. While not impressive by today’s standards, at least it was a good try and a good platform to build on if you wanted more performance.

Comments

  1. Avatar Mitchell Gildea Member

    I’ve always wanted one of these cars but in black and gold. This one is really nice tho

    Like 5
    • Avatar robert adomono

      i have one its a 1979 w/30 needs paint and tlc but run’s good CA car no rust must sell $11,500 obo call me at 951-855-2292

      Like 0
  2. Avatar William Fox

    IMHO, there hasn’t been a true Olds 442 Indy Pace Car replica since `72. These are nice, but they lost something along the way. especially in size.

    Like 1
    • Avatar bry593

      True, but in ’79, this thing was a monster! 350 Olds cubes vs 305 Chevy vs 301 Pontiac. Sure, it had a puny cam and low compression, but those problems are curable. And 270 Hp in ’79 was like 425 Hp in 2020.

      Like 10
  3. Avatar randys

    I think you meant to say 170 hp!

    Like 10
  4. Avatar Superdessucke

    The L34 350 was standard on these and in the 1980 442, which was a virtual carbon copy of this, i.e. they made it to use up the leftover H/O parts because this didn’t sell as well as Olds probably expected.

    It was no fire-breather but reasonable for the times. 0-60 was in the high 8s and the 1/4 mile in the mid-16s. In other words, a little bit slower than its contemporaries like the 1979 Z28 and Trans Am and about the same as a 1983-84 H/O and 1985-88 442 with the H.O. 307.

    Like 5
    • Avatar Tim Ford

      Oldsmobile built 2499 1979 Hurst Olds. Every one of them sold. There were no parts left over. The 1980 442 was the same body style except for Quad headlights as the 79 Hurst. the only “Hurst Olds part” that wasn’t used was the Dual gate shifter. So your statement that the 1980 442 was just left over her stoll’s Parts is not very correct.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Lee

        And they had a falling out with hurst where olds wanted to use their own shifter and badge it as a hurst olds and hurst wasn’t having it so they turned in about 880 cars as 442 for 1980 Also the 1980 has the 1980 tails and different radio. Less than half were t tops.

        Like 1
  5. Avatar S Craig MacDonald

    May be time for a geography lesson. Wenatchee is outside of Seattle, and so is Canada. It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive between those two cities that goes over the Cascade mountain range.

    Like 1
    • Avatar CoDrvr

      Yeah, saying that Wenatchee is outside Seattle is the same as saying that Denver is out side San Francisco. Geeeeez!

      Like 1
  6. Avatar Joe Padavano

    Better check that research again. The 1979 VIN R 350 was rated at 170 HP and 275 ft-lbs. Hey, there’s a reason it’s called the malaise era.

    Like 4
  7. Avatar Gus Fring

    If it was 270 horsepower I’d have bought one a long time ago. Ehhhh…at least it’s a 350 and not a crappy 307 or, worse yet, an even crappier 260. For what it’s worth, this was the coolest car produced in 1979 except for the 1979 E-58 360HP Chrysler Newport and Dodge St. Regis police package cars, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Magnum GTs.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Joe Padavano

      And yet, the VIN 9 307 was 180 HP.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar MikeB

    A perfect example of 1970-80’s all show and no go. After 1970 emission rules forced much lower compression ratios and the power all went south. Even sadder is now as I watch Tesla’s just kill about everything else performance wise and the electrics are just in their infancy. So glad I was 17 yrs. old in 1957 and got own a few great cars and just enjoy the times.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Tim Ford

      Really, in 1970 and 71, it was the insurance companies that started the Crackdown on high horsepower muscle cars. Do you see a soon followed with stricter regulations especially after the first gas crunch in the early 70s. Wants the car manufacturers decompressed the engines and detune them to achieve lower horsepower, it was the APA that took over with stricter regulations and more smog control which hindered even more the performance of the 70s and 80s engines.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar FrankY

    I just sold mine this past spring for a $6500 Which included a extra set of the rims…mine didn’t have t-Tops or the sun roof But had 65,000 miles. It was featured in BF last March I believe By someone who saw it for sale on eBay. Yeah I took a loss. Haven’t t we all at some point in time.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Tim Ford

    The 1979 Hurst/Olds R code 350 was actually rated by Oldsmobile at only 180 hp. Because there were only 2499 (less than 2,500) Hurst/Olds built in 79, Oldsmobile could use the 350 engine and TH350 tranny combination that was already EPA certified for the 79 Delta 88 and install that engine and tranny combination in the 79 Cutlass body Hurst/Olds without having to recertify it with the EPA. Because less than 2500 Hurst/Olds were built in 79, Olds could use the 350/350 combination that was already certified and standard equipment in the Delta 88 and install it in the Cutlass bodied Hurst/Olds which was not available as an option for any 79 Cutlass. Long story short, Oldsmobile used the same horsepower and torque ratings that they used for the 79 Delta 88. Because the Hurst/Olds is a two-door mid-size car which made it a bit lighter compared to the full size 4 door Delta 88. I’m sure that the horsepower to weight ratio of the Hurst put the R code 350 hp closer to 200 hp. And bumped the torque up slightly.

    Like 2

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