With the large number of car model kits produced over the years, it’s a given that some are more fun and desirable than others. This Revell creation scores way high on the cool scale, as not only does it feature an outrageous Oldsmobile known as the Hurst Hairy Olds, but there’s also a replica of Miss Hurst, a persona created in the sixties by Hurst Performance and portrayed in real-life by the lovely Linda Vaughn, who became known as the First Lady Of Motorsports and also appeared in the 1983 NASCAR-themed comedy Stroker Ace. This model kit can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and we’d like to thank Barn Finds reader PRA4SNW for finding it and sending us the tip! Fifty bucks sounds like a reasonable asking price here.
The story behind this Oldsmobile is an unusual tale, as it’s likely one of the scariest promotional vehicles ever created, built from a 1966 model 4-4-2. Dubbed the “Hairy Olds”, it was another spectacular invention from George Hurst, who decided it would be a good idea to include a pair of 425 CI fuel-injected and supercharged Oldsmobile engines. The car featured four-wheel drive, two gas pedals, two shifters, but only one brake pedal. Needless to say, it made quite a lasting impression on the drag race circuit at the time. A second unit was built in 1967, but it crashed and was returned to Hurst Performance, and is said to have been dismantled.
It’s reported that assembly of this model kit has already begun, and the photo of the contents shows that a few parts have indeed been removed from the stalks. There are quite a few more pieces still to go, but it appears that Miss Hurst has already been put together and painted, or perhaps she came as we’re seeing her now when this was new. Revell produced this item in 1998, and according to the box, it was a limited-edition run of 10,000. It’s manufactured at 1/24 scale, a popular size for many plastic cars.
It’s great that model versions of the Hurst Hairy Olds were created, but getting to see the real thing in person sounds like a blast. Fortunately, that’s entirely possible, as the original Hairy Olds has been recreated. It can be seen in Lansing, Michigan, at the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum, and might be worth planning a visit to the Great Lakes area to check out if you’re a huge Oldsmobile enthusiast. It’s probably not worth a special trip to Chattanooga just to pick up this model, but if I were nearby anyway, I’d consider dropping fifty bucks here. How about you?
These seem to sell on eBay between $25 and $40 depending on who pays shipping, but either the boxes or components are sealed.
Steve R
I agree, $50 is pretty strong for that kit in opened and partially assembled condition. Unfortunately the parts on the chrome tree are all faded and the decal sheet looks dried out and unusable.
Revel kits aren’t that highly sought after to start with, and generally race cars are less desirable than models of production cars and/or the old annual 3 in 1 releases that offered the ability to build a stock, race or custom model. Keep looking, there are plenty of nicer Hairy Olds kits out there for similar money.
Those decals are absolutely gone!!! As soon as they touch water, they’ll disintegrate, so you’ll need new decals made, and that’s roughly $20-$25 for custom decals!!! The chrome can be redone, but the stuff to do it is $40 a can, so right there, plus, there’s no guarantee the one piece window piece isn’t yellowed, you’re $90-115 in the hole for a kit that’s in all likelihood going to be rereleased within the next year or 2.
No Linda 💅
Miss Hurst is on the table wrapped in plastic.
My fantasy when I was ten and built this model. Well, maybe on the table WITHOUT the plastic.
I’m sure there was more plastic than the wrap in real life…
Well,,,many things. 1st, while the “1st Lady of Motorsports” and her promiscuous outfits, may be true, but it was Shirley Muldowney that was the 1st Lady of Drag Racing. Then the model itself, $1.98, and glue( the good kind), .59, not included, then paint, still available in those square bottles, maybe $3bucks total…then I don’t think Ms. Vaughn ever rode on this car, it did not have a shifter on the trunk, and truth be known, it was one of the most dangerous drag exhibition cars, and rarely made it down the track in a straight line. It was piloted by a Joe Schubeck, and said it was unpredictable, and after the 2nd crash, was dismantled.
$50 bucks,,sigh,,,I suppose a modern take would be “ONLY $50 bucks”,,,terrible,,
Oh, more. Some younger folks may wonder where the term “Hairy” came from and how it applied to this car. Certainly the car didn’t need a haircut. In the 60s, people were still very concerned how they looked. Nice clothes( from Robert Hall) clean shaven, crew cut, nice shoes, “and then along came Mary”, and during the war, people, hippies mostly, began to “let it all hang out”, and long hair and beards were a sign of anti-establishment, radical thinking. Anything that was coined as “Hairy”, was considered off the wall, too much, a dangerous situation, and this car represented just that.
Now you know,,,any other 60s hippie trivia I’d be glad to answer,,,anyone? sigh,,,
Being 10 years old in 1967 was a magical time to watch all of this transpire.
Now at 68, I am now well aware that real, genuine hippies are the most trustworthy, caring people on the planet. They’re who I associate with most of the time. They truly are a different breed of human.
“big, hairy deal.”
Howard got me thinking of the smell of those Testors square bottles of paint and that glue. Thanks Howard.
The final run and crash took place at Niagara International Dragstrip, I was there.
Mike, it says Linda came prepainted and assembled right on the box cover.
really cool but would be better if the box was still factory sealed. rare to see 1 of these today.
Not really. That version is only 10 years old. It’s NOT an original issue, and is a rereleased from 2016. $20-$35 all day long on Ebay and can even still be found in some hobby shops.
The challenge would be to paint the model to match the actual car. As a side note, my stepson gave me a recent model of “Grumpy’s Toy,” Bill Jenkins’ Pro Stock Vega. The kit didn’t assemble as nicely as the old AMT kits I used to buy in my youth, the pieces didn’t seem to fit together as well. Or maybe it’s me?!
It’s not you. AMT kits were the way to go.
It’s because the molds for that kit are antiques. LITERALLY!!!
$50 for an opened, partially assembled kit is way out of range. At least for one that is not really rare.
Mint-in-box, with the outer plastic wrap intact, is the gold standard. Then comes opened-but-complete, and never assembled or tampered with in any way.
After that, you are into the “hopefully it’s all there” category, and for that stuff, $10 is a stiff price unless it is an extremely hard to find kit/subject.
I remember assembling that particular model when I was a kid. Wow
Linda Faye Vaughn (born August 11, 1943 in Dalton, Georgia, United States is an American motor racing personality who has been described as the “preeminent beauty queen of stock car racing”, and “The First Lady of Motorsports”. Every teenage boy’s fantasy in the 60s & 70s, and still a beautiful lady today.
A “Bear” for car gays,,, I mean guys,,,,,,
Agreed – steep price for what this kit is. I have the repro kit from 2016 – can be had for $25 to $30 on eBay. The old unopened kits are rare treasures – you can actually build the repros.
Mike, I like how your write-up says Linda Vaughn “was put together”. Lol!
I assembled a lot of models in my youth (a Testors glue sniffer in front of my parents) and I, too, found Revel models to be poor fitting unlike AMT or Monogram which were great. I have a Monogram 1/8th scale ’63 Corvette in blue in the box.
Never heard of this model.
Am I the only one who can see what’s happening here? I’m not sure if the “brothers” know what a gold mine of memories they have uncovered. Not to brag, but I’ve probably been around the longest here, and a rocky road sometimes, but I see a lot of new names that have such cool memories of these times. It’s almost like meeting up with your neighborhood chums 50 years later. We finally have an outlet, not usually seen today. Linda Vaughn, and there were others, I think 4 “Hurst” girls total, or “Hurstettes”, Vaughn the most famous, triggers a memory, or should. The image of her on platform in her risky ( for conservative Midwest) outfits, standing next to a giant shift lever, well, it didn’t take Einstein to figure out what they were selling. It wasn’t all floor shifters.
Postings like this dig deep in the memory banks of many, almost forgotten, they is, clouded over by such matters of circumstance today, then, out of the black, BAM,,,model car kits, Hairy Olds, Linda Vaughn,,and all the ensuing comments, there was so much going on, what will younger folks hold dear?
A special thanks for that.
Good one Richard John Butler, I knew I remembered that run at Niagara drags. After Mass on Sundays my older brothers and I would go out to the races from Wheatfield and watch the best racing around. There were fighter jets coming and going from Niagara Falls Airforce Base at the same time. Great memories
My uncle worked the pit gate; my brother and I were there most every week from the 60’s through the 70’s. Niagara was a great track,
and we saw many giants of the sport.
Hurst Hirsute Oldsmobile.
This is not an original kit, it’s a later re-release from a few years ago…nothing special. It’s a waste of time to even have it posted here.
Sorry, I disagree. Anything that conjures up Ms. Vaughn, or anything Hurst, drag racing and flaming tires, is not a waste of time for us.
It’s absolutely NOT an ORIGINAL RELEASE!!! It’s a RERELEASE from 2016!!!! The box is a DEAD give away!!!!
This Kit comes with the VW chassis