Hurst Performance partnered with several automakers over the years, but its most notable may have been with Oldsmobile. Between 1968 and 1984, they partnered for 10 special editions, culminating in the 1983-84 models as the most popular. Those two years were known for their “Lightning Rod” shifters to celebrate 15+ years of working together. This 1984 edition is said to be a one-owner car, yet that’s all that the seller will share. Located in Forestville, Wisconsin, this low-mileage (28,000) muscle car is available here on craigslist for $32,000. Thanks for the tip, Tony Primo.
The first time a Hurst/Olds was offered was in 1968, and they were always based on a Cutlass or Cutlass Supreme. Prior to the 1983-84 versions, the 1979 model year was their last outing together. Muscle cars weren’t what they used to be, so the 1980s versions weren’t as potent as those of the 1960s. The most unique feature of the last two years was those Lightning Rod shifter paddles for the automatic transmission – and they took some getting used to. The 1983s were black in color while the 1984s were silver. 3,001 copies of the former were produced while 3,500 of the latter saw the light of day. These were the most-produced automobiles during their relationship.
A modified version of the Oldsmobile 307 cubic inch V8 was used in 1983-84 on the Hurst/Olds, which was a gussied-up Cutlass Supreme. The cars sounded great with dual exhaust and were decent performers for their era. The car was much more expensive than a standard Supreme, with an $8,500 upcharge for the distinctive Hurst/Olds package. We’re told this is a one-owner vehicle with less than 30k miles, so it’s spent a lot of its life in a garage.
I had one of these back in 1997. I bought it for $4500 and sold 6 months later. It ran fine, but it was slow as erosion. $32k is a hallucination.
It’s a shame everything was pathetically underpowered in those days, thanks to the overkill CAFE standards.
I’ve never understood these shifters, but I’ve never tried them either.
Not one, not two, but three shifters! Well, you’d never know until you try it. I remember when these came out I thought it was a little overkill, but what do I know?
It was supposed to offer a positive shift, but they were junk and with the 307 Olds motor, there was no way I would challenge anyone at a red light and put that shifter to the test.
It could have gotten by with one given the performance level.
Dream on…
The price difference between a 1984 Hurst/Olds and a base Cutlass Supreme coupe was about $2700: $12069 vs $9348. Wikipedia quotes a difference of $8500 between a base H/O and a loaded H/O, and even at that, I don’t believe it.
I love this car, one of my favorite eras for Olds. My only hesitation would be the shifter set up. Hopefully though, the car can also be driven in some sort ‘normal’ auto trans way? Great looking vehicle though with super low miles.
You didn’t need to use the multi rod shifter, you could simply use the left rod and put it in “D”.
Red interior is a deal breaker for any vehicle
Interesting comment. I have a 79 Olds Cutlass Calais T-Top restomod which has the “carmine” red interior – lay out is exactly the same as this H/O (less the Hurst shifter), but the color is a little more red, less brown than this later version I think Olds called “maple”. At car shows, people love the interior of my car, and it has even been chosen for “best original interior” a couple of times. To each their own, I guess. I am generally not interested in black or red cars with black interiors.
Ummm, is that a mistake in the price? I’m pretty much thinking it could go maybe 20 or so, but no where near a 30k range car. There’s really nothing that special.
Yall are not creative at all! I bought an 81 with a blown diesel 350. Yanked the dead boat anchor, replaced it with a 383 stroker. Replaced the 200r4 with a 700r4 and purchased a set of lighting rods over the counter at the Olds local dealership. Switched out the 2.73 rear gear for a 4.10 posi and traction bars. Best pass was an 11.9 but it ran low 12s consistently looking like a stock Cutty Supreme on street tires. It was a budget GNX slayer. The girls wanted me and the men wanted to be me!
Ok so the last part was jive, but there is alot of overlooked 80s and 90s metal that’s extremely easy to engine swap and mod. Quit reading this and go comb the junkyard! Most parts for these cars are common, swappable and dirt cheap.
Dr Olds offered up a real wildcard here. But GM also had a H.0 Camaro w 190hp and 3.73 gears available in 84′ 👍
the i really dont want to sell it price LOL
We’re talking about basically a gimmicked up 3-levered slug here. The real Hurst Olds was a fond but fading memory in ’84. I’d just as soon have a pristine Cutlass Supreme of that year for that price. In fact for that price I should get two of them.
There’s been an ’86 Brougham coupe for sale on Fb for almost a year. Frost beige burgundy, vinyl roof, 307, and a rare leather burgundy interior. Loaded up but appears to miss a power trunk. 11,000 miles for 24k.
But you need 6 regular supremes to get the shifters two have.
As an Olds guy, this model always has me a bit conflicted. I have written here a few times about my first car being a 79 Cutlass with T-Tops, and I now own the same model resto-modded with an LS 6 liter. The 83-84 Hurst Olds came out when I was in high school. I remember seeing the ads in the car magazines. I went to the local Olds dealer to check them out. I loved the idea of a high performance Cutlass, but even at 15-16, I saw through the charade and realized I still liked my car better. 79 Cutlass had chrome bumpers and the classic Cutlass contours in the body line. By 83-84 – virtually all plastic and “slab sided”. The orange stripes were obviously decals and just looked cheezy. The “cowl” hood was another charade and a bit of a disappointment to the Olds fans who wanted to see a true air induction hood like the late 60s-72 442s. The Lightening Rods were weird, but being attached to a 307 engine with less than 200 HP made them just lame. The 79 Hurst Olds to me was a better attempt at a throwback muscle car. The 350 was detuned, but could easily be retuned. There aren’t many options for beefing up a 307. The one bright spot for 1984 – Olds put 8.5″ rear ends with 3.73 gears under the Hurst Olds, after using 7.5″ for 83. I have an 84 Hurst rear end in my car.
The Lightning Rods may be the goofiest shifter ever released by Hurst. It was SUPPOSED to emulate the Lenco multi stick shifter in Warren Johnson’s H/O Pro Stock racer, but on the manual Lenco, each stick actually controls one gearset. On the Lightning Rods, all that monkey motion still only operates a single cable that moves a single gear selector shaft on the side of the 200-4R. In reality it doesn’t do anything that the much simpler Dual Gate has done since the early 1960s. The term “poser” comes to mind.
a cornucopia of info in this ad. a pic of the odometer is not going convince anybody of the miles. need to see documents on that. the price is not too far off. these sell between 18k-35k depending on condition. love them or hate them they are what they are. look great standing there. nice rumble to the exhaust but could not get out of a wet paper bag with a hole in it. i drove these new off the carrier when they came to the dealer i was at. i would rather have this than a M/C SS. they should have just used a dual gate shifter. tried and true and always worked well. replace a few of these under warranty. need to see what the bottom of this looks like being from Wisconsin.
The seller probably got their pricing from the Hagerty Valuation Tool/ It has this model in #2 Excellent Condition at $33,400.