The laundry list of names that came about in the late 1960s and early 1970s that turned already-riotous Detroit iron into top-tier machines is well known and often quoted. Names like Nickey, Dana, Mr. Norm’s, Royal Bobcat and others have made the circle from being the ones to see if you wanted to rule your local scene to the names that somehow add at least 10% to the value of the car when it hits the auction block. But when you have two names attached to one car that was already something very interesting…well, that’s when the fun begins.

Oldsmobile hasn’t always been a performance brand. In fact, it seems that every time the company was cranking out a hot product, it only did so kicking and screaming. But when they actually made something work out…watch out, because it worked, all right! The Cutlass and 442 of the 1960s had a reputation for being Dad’s hot rod…it was upscale and well-appointed, but if some punk decided to give the Rocket a shot at the lights, they’d learn all about the magic wonders of torque first-hand as the Olds sent them packing.

Then there are the Hurst/Olds. A collaboration with Hurst Performance that first started in 1968, Hurst/Olds existed to simply bypass GM’s house rule of no engine bigger than 400ci for the intermediates. Oldsmobile told higher-ups that Hurst was performing the swaps, but the truth was that 442s were leaving the assembly line with 455ci mills pirated from the Delta 88 and Toronado lines. 380 horsepower and 500 ft/lbs of torque had no trouble turning the A-body into something worth mentioning, and for 1969 the white-and-gold paint and mailbox hoodscoops appeared, and instead of being a sporting gentleman’s car, the Hurst/Olds was now a full-fledged ready-to-go muscle car, appearances and all.

Now, here’s where the story of one particular Hurst/Olds becomes interesting. In 1968, an Oldsmobile dealer in Long Island, New York partnered up with Motion Performance to build a run of hot products that stretched the whole spread of Oldsmobiles, from Cutlass to Toronado. Only two cars were sold for 1968. For 1969, just one car…this particular example, known as the “Commotion by Motion”, was built. The W-46 455 got the full Motion treatment, the Hurst/Olds got mini-tubs and ladder-bar suspension, and the TH400 (mandatory for Hurst/Olds) got a Hurst Indy-Matic shifter instead of the more common Dual Gate. With Super Stock racing being the target, the Olds went racing in Connecticut for a few years before falling off of the radar for decades. The car is now in a collection, no worse for the wear, and still looks meaner than all hell. Who would love to hear this thing fire off, even just for a quick stroll around it’s garage?