In 1983 and 1984, Oldsmobile went one last time to the well of rear wheel drive “Hurst” performance cars. This 1983 model looks to have been well taken care of despite covering over 100,000 miles. Thanks to reader Pat L. for calling this survivor to our attention! It’s listed for sale here on craigslist and can be found in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The price is posted at $7,500.
This car was not made for wallflowers and introverts! The loud but tasteful graphics, rear wing and chrome when most manufacturers were blacking out everything on “performance” cars really made this 15th Anniversary Hurst Olds stand out.
Let’s have a look inside, shall we? I don’t think the interior is actually this washed out; it looks brighter red in some of the other pictures. I wish they had gone with a sportier steering wheel, though. However, look in the center–that’s the feature that really distinguished this car when it was new–of course, it’s a Hurst shifter. What a shifter–or rather, shifters!
The Hurst “Lightning Rods” were considered so unusual at the time, there was a special section in the owners’ manual to explain their operation. No, you’re not seeing triple, there are actually three shift levers.
I’m a mechanical engineer by training and I had to look twice at this diagram before it made sense. Can you imagine the average Millennial that can’t shift a manual transmission trying to make sense out of this?
Here’s the other half of the owners’ manual tutorial. I wonder how many folks just left it in Drive and never bothered to learn how the shifter worked? There’s a video of the operation here if you are interested in learning more. Do any of you remember these when they were new? Any of you have experience with one? I’d love to hear about it–please leave a comment telling us what it is/was like.
I’m a little curious why the owner didn’t wash the car off before taking most of the pictures. Regardless, it looks to be in nice shape and is said to run well. There’s a new dash in the box included with the car as well, so someone has planned for the future. There were only 3,001 of these cars produced, with another 3,500 silver over black ones produced in 1984–perhaps you could enjoy this car and sell it on for a profit eventually. What do you think?
Is that a yuge bash on the rr 1/4 panel?
These things were pigs and the shifter was a gimmick. The car wasn’t fast enough to seek any real advantage.
Nice looking car but $7500 no
It looks like a reflection in that RR quarter panel. The bottom picture shows the reflection shift forward on the quarter panel when shot from a different angle.
It actually looks like a Harley parked between the 2 cars. You can see a turn signal and saddle bag in the other picture also.
My brother has a 1983 HO, it’s no pig, it launches hard and breaks loose when making the 1 – 2 shift.
The shifter is patterned after the ones in dragsters, yes gimmicky but it works, simply pull them all back in sequence and slap them forward from right to left to upshift.
I met a guy at a car show with a car like this. Yes, the shifters were impressive ( again, more must be better, had to one up the Rambler) but the guy even said, he just leaves it in drive. One of the few renditions of black and silver that I thought looked good. Who’d have thought, 20 years later, it would be the only colors offered by car makers ( or so it seems) Very nice car here.
I always thought that shifter was just so mickey mouse. Prefer the Monte SS of that vintage far more.
What you got against Mickey mouse dude🐀
I like the His & Hers from Pontiac.
180 HP and 3100+ lbs = pig
When you accelerate you are pushed back in the driver’s seat. The Lenco transmission that this shifter is modelled after you actually pull back on the handles to upshift.
https://youtu.be/2zx54zjDU4s
I remember looking at a brand new 83 as a young man. It was sitting on the showroom floor all shiny and looking like it was ready to go to the dance! All us gearheads heard about the crazy shifters on these cars and wanted to have a look. It made a strong impression on me, and I thought it was the coolest new car ever! After all when you are young, you think you know everything! Lol…..
All the Oldsmobiles of that era were smooth riders.
I had a “regular” one with a V8 and automatic transmission.
Lot of them had overheating issues, especially the ones with the V6 engine.
I’d love to have this one for the memories.
this interior always causes a” Murff job ” with your underwear.
Back in the day if you were lucky enough to roll in one of these you had class. The Olds Cutlass V8 was a nice car. These were not a race car by any means but a nice looking smooth solid car. The median age buyers were in their mid 30’s/40’s with nothing to prove. (When you wanted a fast car you got a Mustang GT. Little has changed).
Very impressive showing at the Spring Nats in ’83 the Warren Johnson racing team were proud of their Olds. The team trailer had the mighty 442 emblazoned on the side as big as you please.
I think the seller will get close to his ask more so then someone with the same year/condition Monte Carlo SS. Hard to imagine when this car was made that soon enough GM would discontinue the Olds brand in favor of the Saturn a very sad day indeed.
Had a friend buy one of these in the late 80’s. One of the sharpest color combos since the gold and white colors of the Hurst in 1968. I’ve always liked this anniversary model and I’m sure this will only go up in value. They were slow but everything else was back in the 80’s. I think this is a good buy and would be a sweet car for the amateur/beginner collector.
Cool car. I like a little gimick now and again…kind of like the fake padel shifters on my 2001 Acura CL S Type (sundance gold with navi) back in the day…that car flew!
This vintage Cutlass along with the Grand Prix, Regal and Monte Carlo had the last recognizable Nascar bodywork. I remember lusting for a “shovel nose” Cutlass after graduating from college.
Always wanted one of these growing up,a 350 or 455 would pretty much be a bolt in.That would make a cool sleeper.no ls swap please,lol
I remember driving by the Demmer Tool building at Capital City Airport in Lansing and seeing a bunch of the silver & black original Hurst Olds parked outside. Having owned a ’69 Cutlass coupe I always thought the ’69 H/O was the best. It was too bad that the malaise era began so soon after the advent of the H/O. I wished that Olds would somehow continue the concept of the Hurst cars and this example really is pretty cool. The only thing missing is a monster engine. This car should have a minimum of 375hp from a GM pushrod V8. NIce find.
I liked the ’83 H/O black paint scheme better than the ’84 H/O silver paint scheme.
….need “auto” (ha, ha) spell check…paddle thumb shifter…😞
Just to let you guys know…. Keep knocking on the Cutlass…. Just remember the Lightening Rods were a great n marketing tool or not…. The number one selling car in the 80’s was the Oldsmobile Cutlass, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Salon, Cutlass Calais, Cutlass Calais/Hurst Olds package, and the 442. All rear wheel drive models.
And you can blame the a–holes from the EPA for the poor horsepower on the Olds V8’s. Buick Got away with it with there Grand National’s and T-types cars because the Dupa’s at the EPA didn’t have a clue with Turbo’s until it was to late. This is NOT a personal attack,nor any other thing then the truth.
I been there….
Had a friend who bought one of these new and he kept it bone stock. He did not know how to work on it. Apparently the dealer’s Service Dept. did not know how to either as my friend made numerous trips back there with the same carburetor issue. He finally had enough and sold it when it was running decent.
I had an 84 H/O about 2 years ago, roughly same condition though my headliner wasn’t so great, sold it for $8500. I can attest that these are not fast cars and I was disappointed with the performance. The Lightening Rod shifters were kinda cool, but like one of the other posters said, after awhile I pretty much just kept it in Drive.
I bought a new 83 Hurst/Olds, in Houston. The Monte SS had a bench seat, in 83 and I didn’t want the bench and auto on the column. The lighting rods confused the car wash guys, but was fun. It came with 373 gears, so that helped the acceleration feel. I installed a NOS powershot system that added 125HP. Surprised some Monte Carlo SS and Mustangs. Sold it when the warranty expired. The look is timeless.
I have a 83 H/O and loved these cars when they came out. I was in college then with no money, but after buying and restoring a 1971 442 convertible I talked my wife into letting me buy one of these. I have had it for about 10 years now. Exchanged the 307 for a ’70 Olds 350 with the same cam as my 455 in my 71. Headers and 3″ dual exhaust…it definitely gets noticed when we crank it up. How it should have come originally. I still have the 307 ready to go back in if need be, but not anytime soon :)
I have a 83 Hurst Olds still. I bought it in 1987, needed some work and I took care of all the issues, even replaced a fender and some front facia pieces. I sure got a lot of attention as most people did not know what the car was. It was the slowest muscle car I ever had, but loved cruising in it as it was more of a sports luxury car than a muscle car. Right now, it is in primer as the original Lacquer was cracking and blistering. I have the paint, and the decales to put back on. Since I do not like that nasty slow smog 307 motor, I bought a 1972 455 Olds motor and put a 671 blower on it. I bought a cutlass hood so that I didn’t touch the original hood as it needs to be cut out for the blower to stick out. I have new carpet, reupholstered the seats, need to get a new headliner and put it all together so that I can Cruise Woodward again. Kinda weird to think that the car is 38 years old already !! I bought it when it was only 4 years old. No plans to sell it as I don’t see many of them out there anymore