Oldsmobile partnered with Hurst Performance from 1968 to 1984 to offer a special breed of muscle car. These were offered sporadically (not every year), but always on a Cutlass and always with a Hurst-supplied shifter. The seller’s 1983 edition has the quirky “Lightning Rods” shifter setup, and the dealer (we think) has positioned this example as possibly one of the nicest ones left. Located in Henderson, Nevada, you can roll the dice and buy this Olds here on craigslist for $32,500.
We don’t think we’ve seen this Hurst/Olds before, but they all looked alike: black paint with silver and red trim. 3,001 copies were produced in 1983 (they were repeated in 1984 but painted silver instead), and the seller’s example was #2,548 to roll off the assembly line. It has been lightly used, in that the odometer reads just 40,000 miles. All ’83 Hurst/Olds were mechanically the same with a 307 cubic inch V8 rated at 180 hp SAE net. These cars were not as fast as, say, the 1968 versions, but were good by 1980s standards.
According to the seller, finding flaws in this car may be hard. The paint and body are all good, as is the interior, except for one small stain. Everything, including the factory A/C, works well except that the cruise control is inoperative. The machine has T-Tops providing convertible-like comfort for Springtime cruising. Recent repairs include the Lightning Rods shifter (rebuilt last year), a new battery, tires, brakes, catalytic converter, and tinted windows.
The buyer will have to get one thing addressed. There is a small oil leak, which the seller surmises is associated with the timing cover. I owned a 1983 Olds Cutlass Supreme for many years and loved the car, so having a Hurst/Olds of the same vintage would be a dream, though this one is 2,000 miles too far away. Kudos on the tip, Jack M.!
I looked at a new early 80s Hurst in the showroom, but they were silver that year. Blotchy, mottled silver paint and misaligned decals did not inspire confidence. GM still has issues getting metallics like silver to lay down evenly.
For some reason, silver and white paint patches would blow off in a stiff breeze on early 80s to mid 90s GM units, especially trucks and vans, exposing the primer underneath. It rarely happened on the other colors.
I worked for a sheet metal and roofing company in the 80s and 90s in Baltimore, and we worked in the GM plant there.
They wouldn’t let any silicone sealants to be used in the plant after they started having issues with the paint failures.
I had a silver 1984, bought it for $3000 in 1995. Ok car, not fast by any stretch of the imagination. Had it for a year and got rid of it. Can’t say I miss the car.
KHayes… how did you like those lightening rods ? Or was it usually left in D ?
Clean survivor and a lot of money here.
Lightning rods..without the high voltage. These were mainly appearance units since engineering didn’t exist that would give them the performance a Hurst Olds should have and maintain smog requirements. Still, GM tried along with Hurst (Lightning Rods?), but I also think the seller of this car is dreaming.
Very nice but it would be a good idea to verify the low mileage even though the condition supports it. Easy to disconnect the speedo/odo at the cruise control under the hood and keep mileage down. Was selling GM around this time and we used this trick to keep miles down on the salesman demo’s. This is a very nice example but I’m not sure it’s $32K nice. GLWTS.
Love these and still want one. Just wish Olds would have put the V6 Turbo in the Hurst. This is a very nice examples but still not a $30k plus car. Drop $10k and I may be interested. Lighting Rods are there for looks more or less, 99% of your driving was in D.
Lots of ask for this H/O. Knock off about 10 grand…
Probably not a bad price for this car. It is not a stump puller, but it is in super condition. A very nice car that rides and drives very well, if you have ever ridden in one. The only thing is the oil leak, but that couldn’t be much to repair. There is no way you are going to buy or build something this nice for this money. Not rare production wise, but rare as far as when was the last time you saw one. It would be a nice family car or a very neat car to take to the local car shows. Good deal!!!!!! Shouldn’t last long.
Even though I’m not a GM guy, these were very prevalent during my teen years & I’ve always had a soft spot for them. Sharp cars, look great, but kind of dogs.
I have always liked these with my favorite being this 1983 black version. There is no comparison performance wise to the 68 or 69’s though. Not even close. This one sure looks nice, but it’s a little pricey, but the values on the 83/84’s are sure on the rise for good ones.
i have all of the promo items sent to the dealer from Oldsmobile in the box from Oldsmobile for the 83 H/O. this car looks to be in the wrapper. if it’s as clean as looks and as the say well worth the asking price. if i were in a better position i would buy it. this is 1 sweet looking olds.