Update 4/9/21 – This one got bid up to $7,600 but has been relisted on eBay again for some reason. Might be your second chance if you wanted this cool Olds!

From 3/20/21 – 1984’s Hurst/Olds would be the car’s ninth and last time on the Oldsmobile assembly line. And it would also see the highest number of units produced, although 3,500 is not a mammoth number to companies like General Motors. The ‘84s would repeat the car’s use of the “Lightning Rod” Hurst shifter that was introduced the year before. This H/O was purchased some time back for a restoration that never took place. It looks to have been outside during this period, although at least it was covered (there are pros and cons to that). The Olds will need considerable work to be a player once again and can be found in a storage yard in Lodi, New Jersey. It’s also available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $4,206.

Oldsmobile and Hurst Performance put their heads together and came up with the first Hurst/Olds in 1968 based on the 442. They would continue their association with limited production performance cars in 1969, 1972-75, 1979 and 1983-84. After the Cutlass line was split between the front-wheel drive Ciera and the rear-wheel drive Supreme in 1982, they brought back the H/O in ’83 for the 15th anniversary of the first one. Whether you consider it a gimmick or the coolest thing since sliced bread, they used the Hurst Lightning Rod shifters those two years. That system was set up to work like any ordinary automatic gear selector with a conventional PRND shift pattern. But two additional levers were used: the one to the far right (and its release button) performed the 1-2 upshift, while the middle lever and button performed the 2-3 upshift. Or the driver could just leave the lever in D and drive normally. Here’s a quick video clip of how the thing worked.

The ’84 H/O differed from the ’83 mostly in color only. The former cars were painted black, while the latter were silver, like the seller’s edition. We’re told this was a running car when it was parked, and the transmission had recently been rebuilt. The seller has not made any recent attempts to start the car, so its mechanical condition is unknown after sitting for a long time. He says the Lightning Rods are fully functional, but how would you know that if you can’t drive the car? These cars came up a modified version of the Olds 307 cubic inch V8 engine with an 8.5-inch rear end and 3.73 gears. Posi-traction was optional, which this car is said to have.

We’re told the body and frame are in good condition and the floors are solid. However, the area around the power sunroof looks troubling. Someone has attempted to make repairs to the sheet metal surrounding it on the driver’s side and bondo was generously applied without being finished. We assume there was either rust or a leak or both. And the power roof is not currently functional. There are some small dings, dents and scratches which don’t look problematic, so fixing the roof will likely be the biggest challenge.

The interior has not fared well over the years. The seats are going to need recovering and the carpeting has faded from red to almost pink. The seller tells us that it will also need a new headliner, probably tied into the issues with the sunroof. These cars almost always came with factory air conditioning and it looks like all the plumbing under the hood has been completely removed, not just disconnected. The seller does not mention if that equipment has survived. The reported mileage is 108,000, so the car was not pampered prior to its being parked.

Hagerty estimates the resale value on a 1984 Olds H/O to be more than $30,000 in tip-top shape, with $9,000 being the target number in Fair condition. As the one is non-running and has other issues, that leaves about $20,000 to fund a restoration. In 1984, the H/O cost about that much brand new compared to $12,000 for a stock Cutlass Supreme.