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AS a 17 year old Indiana farm boy in 1977 I was BIG into going fast, read ALL the big Car magazines I could read and afford, and after having had a 1965 Impala SS since Id gotten my license at 16 I then bought a 1972 Chevy Nova SS with a 350 4 bbl, 10 bolt positrac, and Muncie 4speed tranny with the prerequisite for racers and go fasters like me Hurst Competition Plus shifter with a polished "Hurst" embossed "T" handle on top.
It didnt take me long to install headers, a hotter cam,and traction bars.But I was proud of that chrome plated Hurst Shifter and even sported a big ol "Hurst" sticker on the dash with the 4 speed shift pattern on the four corners of the H behind the Hurst lettering (you old timers like me
will remember that decal too). The ONLY thing I ever did to that shifter after many years of abuse and hard shifts was replace the worn out shifter bushings in 1978 and I LOVED it.
After Graduation from High School in IN. in 1978 I moved to Cheyenne WY with my folks and started going to Wyoming Technical Inst. (now WyoTech) in Laramie for their now defunct but very well thought out Parts Technician Course about 50 miles away on I-80.
Going back to school one Monday morning I heard a voice on the CB radio asking for assistance, no one answered and the voice got louder as I got closer to it. Finally I saw a motorhome broken down along the road so I stopped. An older (50+ was a LOT older then) gentleman came up and thanked me for stopping, and told me he and his wife were on vacation and his tranny was acting up and then asked if I could give him a ride back to Cheyenne so he could call AAA to come tow him.
I said "Sure! Hop in"
I Drove him about 25 miles back to Cheyenne and as we were driving he asked about me and what I was doing with my life, I gave him the short version of me at Wyo Tech and we made small talk for a bit ,then he said "This is a Nice car!" I said thanks and he asked about it, said,"it sounds real good" and asked what id done to it and so on, making small talk and then asked ,"How do ya like that Hurst shifter?"
I thought was a kinda strange thing to ask about but I told him that I liked it a LOT and that Id only changed the shifter bushings after they got kinda sloppy and it was good as new.
Nice guy and a nice talk (but I thought to myself "Boy! This old dude SURE does like cars!"), and we shortly ended up back in Cheyenne and he asked me to drop him off at a local restaurant and asked "[i]What do I owe you?". [/i} I said "Oh..., Nothing at all" and as he got out he said "Well...Thanks a lot" and extended his hand to shake mine (no one older had EVER done that to me and I was floored) and asked my name so I told him, and I said "No problem at all Good luck!"
I then asked him what his name was as we shook hands and he replied, "Im George Hurst",
Then he turned and walked inside as my mouth was hanging open!
I was simply floored, In MY car I was talking to THE guy that designed MY shifter! THE shifter!THE "Miss Hurst", "Hemi under glass" and the Hurst Oldsmobiles MR. Hurst himself!!
I drove away saying "I will NEVER forget THIS!MAN!!" and as I did I looked down at that Hurst shifter and there, on the pasenger floorboard ....laid a $50 bill.
I wish to this very day that I had had Mr. Hurst sign my shifter. Unlike the $50, I'd have kept it forever!
R.I.P. Mr.Hurst
It didnt take me long to install headers, a hotter cam,and traction bars.But I was proud of that chrome plated Hurst Shifter and even sported a big ol "Hurst" sticker on the dash with the 4 speed shift pattern on the four corners of the H behind the Hurst lettering (you old timers like me
will remember that decal too). The ONLY thing I ever did to that shifter after many years of abuse and hard shifts was replace the worn out shifter bushings in 1978 and I LOVED it.After Graduation from High School in IN. in 1978 I moved to Cheyenne WY with my folks and started going to Wyoming Technical Inst. (now WyoTech) in Laramie for their now defunct but very well thought out Parts Technician Course about 50 miles away on I-80.
Going back to school one Monday morning I heard a voice on the CB radio asking for assistance, no one answered and the voice got louder as I got closer to it. Finally I saw a motorhome broken down along the road so I stopped. An older (50+ was a LOT older then) gentleman came up and thanked me for stopping, and told me he and his wife were on vacation and his tranny was acting up and then asked if I could give him a ride back to Cheyenne so he could call AAA to come tow him.
I said "Sure! Hop in"
I Drove him about 25 miles back to Cheyenne and as we were driving he asked about me and what I was doing with my life, I gave him the short version of me at Wyo Tech and we made small talk for a bit ,then he said "This is a Nice car!" I said thanks and he asked about it, said,"it sounds real good" and asked what id done to it and so on, making small talk and then asked ,"How do ya like that Hurst shifter?"
I thought was a kinda strange thing to ask about but I told him that I liked it a LOT and that Id only changed the shifter bushings after they got kinda sloppy and it was good as new.
Nice guy and a nice talk (but I thought to myself "Boy! This old dude SURE does like cars!"), and we shortly ended up back in Cheyenne and he asked me to drop him off at a local restaurant and asked "[i]What do I owe you?". [/i} I said "Oh..., Nothing at all" and as he got out he said "Well...Thanks a lot" and extended his hand to shake mine (no one older had EVER done that to me and I was floored) and asked my name so I told him, and I said "No problem at all Good luck!"
I then asked him what his name was as we shook hands and he replied, "Im George Hurst",
Then he turned and walked inside as my mouth was hanging open!
I was simply floored, In MY car I was talking to THE guy that designed MY shifter! THE shifter!THE "Miss Hurst", "Hemi under glass" and the Hurst Oldsmobiles MR. Hurst himself!!
I drove away saying "I will NEVER forget THIS!MAN!!" and as I did I looked down at that Hurst shifter and there, on the pasenger floorboard ....laid a $50 bill.
I wish to this very day that I had had Mr. Hurst sign my shifter. Unlike the $50, I'd have kept it forever!
R.I.P. Mr.Hurst
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