It may seem completely insane but the 1988 Hurst/Olds may be the rarest of them all. Certainly not the most valuable of the examples that were produced for the better part of 40 years in one form or another but they are certainly among the most unique. This particular car comes from the collection of Jack Watson and if you do not know who Jack Watson is, you do not know what a Hurst/Olds is. Watson was the Hurst Shifty Doctor, he was the brains and mad scientist behind some of the most iconic parts of the company’s history including the Hurst Olds, the company’s association with the GTO through accessories, the Hurst Hairy Olds drag car, and on and on and on. The guy is a hot rodding hall of famer and this was his car. Not only his car, but his personal project.
When the 1988 model year came around and GM was getting ready to kill the G-body platform they made it clear that there would be no 1988 Hurst/Olds. Watson thought this a travesty so he worked to develop a body package for people who wanted to personalize their own cars. He built the first four of them himself and then sold about 150 more kits over the next year or two. As this car came from his own collection we believe it is one of those first four that he produced himself.
Like lots of 1980s “performance” cars, that word is kind of an overstatement but the history that this one has sets it apart. The Watson/Hurst logos are bad ass and while this certainly is not a fire breathing monster of a car, we think it is certainly one that any hardcore Olds fan would want to count among their collection.
We do think it is a bit of a sad irony that the one thing this car does not have is a floor shift conversion. You’ll notice that the car has a console but the shift level remains on the column. Again, we’re not saying this was the highest performance Hurst/Olds ever, but it was owned by the highest performance Hurst/Olds guy ever and that’s fact!
Thanks to Matt Kehoe for the tip!
Check out the photos below of this 1988 Hurst/Olds from Jack Watson’s collection –
I’m going to have to call foul on this one. Looking at the interior and the engine, the car looks more like 126,xxx miles, NOT 26,xxx. But the main thing … they are saying that the MAIN guy at Hurst, the Big Man on Campus at HURST, doesn’t have a Hurst shifter in his personal car? Sorry, hard to believe. If somebody has paperwork proof, OK, it’s a strange discovery. Until then, nope.
Not implausible as sometimes a test mule may only have one item that was being tested on it and the rest left stock. But what’s up with all the metal on the console and the push buttons? I’m wondering if Hurst was using it to test a shift by wire setup.
I don’t know if this car is the real deal or not but this thing is fugly! If Jack Watson had a say in this car, dementia must been setting in for him.
And what no Hurst floor shifter? WTF!
Uh, yeah – next!
I like the looks of the car over all, but the interior sez more than 26k on the clock I think. I would like to have it but could not bring myself to spend that much.
BARF!
Doc Watson would have never put his name on this anemic car. Cars like this is why there is no more Oldsmobile. Too bad
1988:
Authentication:
The 1988 H/O which began as a concept car by Jack “Doc” Watson to the Olds factory ended up as being a “kit” car. Individuals would purchase a “kit”, find a 1988 rear wheel drive Cutlass Classic car, and when you combined the two, you would have a 1988 Hurst/Olds. If the kit were put on a 1981 thru 1987 RWD Cutlass, then it would be correctly called a Hurst Aero Commerative car and NOT a 1988 H/O. With the kit was a one year membership to the Hurst Olds Club.
Originally the kit was available in the Spring of 1988 from a company called Action Products located in Tempe AZ. This company had plastics’ capability through its line of mini cars, and the owner was a friend of Joe Hrudka who owned Mr. Gasket and Hurst at that time. After an initial run, Doc Watson took the molds to produce the kit, and moved everything to Michigan. It was then marketed under another company called Hurst Special Vehicles which Doc owned, and had hoped to market at that time all the items that make all years of Hurst Olds special. Best laid plans etc. The 2 kits used different plastic (revel vs ABS), and both are difficult to fit for the amateur. Once your done, and take your time, you will be rewarded with one sharp and different car.
Doc personally made four to five cars for different people, and each is different.
1.
For himself – A white car he has shown around since 1988 at various meets, and at Phoenix at the introduction of the 1988 H/O.
2.
For Joe Hrudka – A white car which would be analogous to the first 68 that Doc had presented to George Hurst. It supposed first had a DRC motor which was changed to a 455. It is seen in the original promo brochure with Doc and Linda in the photos. The scene was shot a Hrudka’s home in AZ.
3.
For Judy Badgley – A black car. Judy was Director of the HOCA at the time. They still have the car. Judy’s car is stock except for the kit.
4.
For Laurence Simpson – A white car. A New York City dentist. I still have the car and it has a 307 done over to 83-84 H/O specs along with other special items (i.e. Lockamatic shifter) installed by Doc.
He told me he did one for someone associated with the University of Michigan, but I never got the full details. As the HOCA 88 Advisor, I was able to document about 10 other cars done by people who bought the kit and installed it themselves.
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofhos.htm#HO 1988
That’s the real deal. The shifter on the column is a dummy. The shifter in the floor is a pushbutton like the old Chryslers used to have. His was the only one I have seen that has those seats. It used to have the cragar rims with the holessential in them but they were discontinued along time ago. They got updated with rocket racing wheels. I wish I knew the size.