The differences between 1968 and 1983, as far as muscle cars go, are like flying a kite and going to the moon. That isn’t to say that a car like this 15th Anniversary Edition 1983 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds isn’t a great car for its era but monster power-wise, a lot of things happened in those 15 years. The seller has it listed here on craigslist in beautiful Buckeye, Arizona and they’re asking $8,900 or offer.

Space travel went in a somewhat similar direction as cars did in the era between 1968 and 1983. The moon landing in July of 1969 was done by what is considered now a pretty crude vehicle, Apollo 11 – think 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds. On the other hand, by 1983 NASA was using space shuttles which were light years ahead of Apollo 11, technology-wise, like this 1983 Hurst/Olds could be considered compared to the 1968 version. Did any of that make any sense whatsoever? It’s hard to type with this straight jacket on.

Ok, back to earth and the 1983 Hurst/Olds. The Oldsmobile 442 wasn’t available in the early-1980s – instead, the company offered the Hurst/Olds for two years, in 1983 and 1984. It’s hard to beat a 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass/442/Hurst/Olds body style for me but Oldsmobile sold a ___ton of this era Cutlass and they were nice cars. The 15th Anniversary Edition had several badges and decals and they’re an eye-catching vehicle. This car, although a bit faded from the Arizona sun, has no rust and only 56,512 miles on it.

Here’s where the magic or the confusion happens: the famous Lightning Rod shifters. This is an automatic transmission and they were reportedly somewhat inspired by drag racing transmissions. The shift patterns and multiple combinations of choices that a driver could make would cause most carjackers to keep on moving once they see these three separate shift levers sticking out of the console. The company had to put a warning label on the secondary shift levers so make sure owners read the instructions before using them.

The interior looks good for the most part with some cosmetic issues such as tears and wear spots on the seats, some stains and/or burns in the otherwise perfect back seat and front seats, and normal fading and wear and tear. The seller has provided the maximum number of photos so kudos to them for doing that!

This isn’t a 390hp 455 V8 of yore, which would have been in the 1968 version, it’s a 307 cubic-inch V8 with 180 net horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque. The seller says that it runs and drives well and the seller has it priced below the fair condition value so this could be a good buy. Have any of you owned a Hurst/Olds?