It isn’t unusual for vehicle manufacturers to adopt a “toe in the water” approach when releasing a Limited Edition. Such was the case with Oldsmobile when it unveiled the 1968 Hurst/Olds. Demand far outstripped supply, and these first-year classics remain as highly sought today as they were in 1968. Our feature car presents nicely, needing only minor work to really “pop.” I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting the Olds listed here on eBay in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The seller set their BIN at $62,000 with the option to make an offer.
Oldsmobile adopted a “one size fits all” approach to paint colors for the 1968 Hurst/Olds. Buyers could select any color, as long as it was Peruvian Silver with Black stripes and a matching trunk lid. The company continued that policy until 1973, when buyers could select from two colors. This first-year example isn’t perfect, with the seller admitting it requires minor sheetmetal work and fresh paint to present at its best. However, it is still a tidy vehicle, and with no rust on the underside, the buyer could leave the Olds untouched until time and circumstances made a refresh viable. The panels are straight, and I can’t spot any significant trim issues. The windshield and rear window are new, but the remaining glass is original. The Super Stock II wheels aren’t perfect, but restoring them during the cosmetic refresh would be pretty straightforward.
General Motors employed a policy during the 1960s prohibiting its brands from installing engines larger than 400 ci in their intermediate models. Oldsmobile creatively circumvented this policy. It falsely informed the board that the 455ci V8 under the hood of each Hurst/Olds was installed by Hurst, and said so while keeping a straight face! It was only years later that the truth emerged: the cars left the line with a 455 occupying the engine bay. However, it was a perfect example of how marques employed lateral thinking to satisfy the Board of Management. Every 1968 Hurst/Olds buyer received a 455, a three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission, power steering, and power front disc brakes. The company utilized two versions of the 455, depending on whether the buyer ticked the box on their Order Form for air conditioning. Although Oldsmobile quoted the same power and torque figures of 390hp and 500 ft/lbs for both, it is widely acknowledged that the W-46 version in those with A/C was slightly milder. This Olds isn’t numbers-matching, although the V8 under its hood is date-correct and appears to feature the appropriate components for a W-46. It features a new exhaust and extensive documentation, and is a turnkey proposition.
One aspect of this Oldsmobile needing virtually nothing is its interior. Trimmed in Black vinyl, it features new front seatcovers and a new headliner. The remaining upholstered surfaces look excellent, as do the carpet, dash, and pad. It is essentially unmolested, retaining its air conditioning, the console with the Hurst Dual-Gate shifter, sports gauge cluster with a Tick-Tock-Tach, real timber trim, and the functioning pushbutton radio and 8-track player. Close inspection will probably reveal minor imperfections, but for those seeking a driver-grade classic, this Olds ticks that box.
The 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds is an example of what can happen when someone sticks to their guns. Jack (Doc) Watson and John Beltz developed the concept for the 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds, but faced enormous opposition from the company’s Sales and Marketing Department, which believed that it would struggle to sell the proposed production run of 500 vehicles. These fears proved unfounded, with dealers receiving 3,000 firm orders when Oldsmobile announced the Hurst/Olds. However, without the capacity to fulfill the orders, only 515 examples saw the light of day. Our featured car lifts the rarity stakes, as only 153 buyers selected air conditioning. It may not be numbers-matching, but this Hurst/Olds has generated significant interest. Do you share those feelings enough to consider pursuing it further, or is the seller’s BIN too rich for your blood?
I’ve never seen a Hurst Olds in this color. What a great looking car inside and out.
Quite possibly the most underrated muscle car of its time at 390HP and 500 ft lbs. It was not until 1970 that Oldsmobile offered the 370hp (20hp less) 500 ft lbs 442 W-30 in their line up.
In 1968 within the intermediate A body line up, nothing came close. The vaulted 68 Chevelle with a solid lifter 396 11:1CR was 375hp and 415ft lbs was stout but not quite as powerful. But the Olds was not just powerful, it had a performance suspension lifted from the 442 with stiffer shocks and springs, boxed rear control arms and larger front and rear sway bars. In fact, only Oldsmobile used rear sway bars of that era making them the best handing of the GM A bodies. Factor in AC, PS, PB with dual piston front calipers, specially calibrated Turbo 400 ( bullet proof) with specially curved distributors and quadrajets and you have a package that was comfortable, fast, good handling with understated good looks wrapped in that Peruvian Silver paint. In the Ford and Mopar camps, you could get a more powerful intermediate but not by much and not with the creature comforts and handling of the Hurst Olds. The 4 link rear suspension was hands down the best for ride quality and handling vs the cheaper leaf spring as it kept the rear axle planted.
I own a 68 442 convertible with black interior and top in Peruvian silver that I installed a 455 with 10.5:1 CR, Aluminum heads, roller cam, headers with an X pipe. With 3.23:1 posi rear, it does awesome burn outs which the grand kids love. Wish I had budget for this Hurst Olds. Always wanted one. It truly was a gentleman’s’ hot rod or one built for an engineer that was just at home taking the kids to school in AC comfort.
John, your drop top 442 sounds awesome!!! I’d love the big smoky burn outs too!!! I’m partial to ’68 because my Mom had a ’68 Cutlass S 2 door hardtop in burgundy. It was her absolute favorite car she ever had. So whenever I see any ’68 Cutlass, or 442 it always tugs at me.
I bought mine in 1968 while living in So Cal and it was our weekend ticket to fun. Used to load the wife and kids and go to Venice beach, Griffith park or just watch planes at LAX. Now it’s hauling the grandkids around! I wanted one since I was 13 and the new body style came out in Sept 1967. Our neighbor was the Olds dealer and I used to ride my bicycle to his dealership dreaming of owning a 442. He never received a hurst olds but he did have a 1970 W-30 442, a cutlass SX, a Ralley 350, aW-31 cutlass and a plane Jane whitewall tired non PS, no AC 442 with a hurst shifted Muncie 4 speed. He practically had to give that one away! Happy 5th!
Absolutely beautiful. And very rare too. The good Dr. Olds certainly built an animal dropping the High Performance 455 in these too. I always wondered why they didn’t have an optional 4 speed, especially considering the Hurst name was attatched? 🤔 Anyways, I hope this gets exercised some on nice days. Absolutely beautiful find Curvette!!! And Adam, thank you for writing up yet another favorite car of mine!! I didn’t know that the 455 was “snuck” under the hood of these. Nice one!!! Thank you!!!
The story as I recall was that Demmer Machine Tool near Capital City Airport got these cars from Oldsmobile and dropped in the engines and did some modifications to turn them into Hurst/Olds. That was 1968 and we believed everything the adults told us. I even saw a half dozen or so silver Cutlasses at Demmer’s shop. Olds probably sent them over to have a Demmer tag riveted on just as a CYA.
I had a ’69 Cutlass S coupe and always liked the ’69 Hurst a little better, but this car is definitely a looker. Considering its rarity and place in automotive history I’d say the price is very reasonable.
Yeah, I’d say that having no money to spend and no place to keep it. But somebody else should certainly snap this car up and drive it like you stole it.