Oh, this is sadness. I don’t go on Copart often, but every now and then I’m linked to the site for one reason or another via social media and this time, it’s a heartbeaker. Three out of my first five cars were 1978 or 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlasses in similar vintage to this 1979 Hurst/Olds, and neither one carried the panache of what this car represents. You and I both know that this is more or less a “Decal GT” car from the late 1970s, readers, but 1979 was not going to be a heyday of power from the factory. Instead, it’s the potential that we’re seeing here: an early G-body coupe in the desirable trim level, in desperate need of a bath, a horsepower injection and a forever home. Yes, I’m using animal adoption terminology, and I’m not the least bit ashamed of it, either. 

For every barn save or field find or whatever, there’s probably two or three cars that slip through the cracks for one reason or another. They were projects that were never completed. They were inheritances given to unworthy survivors who wanted nothing to do with “that old car in the garage”. They were cold and hard to start, so the car must’ve been broken…any number of excuses will see a car donated and more often than not they wind up at a place like Copart and usually, the next step tends to be the crusher. This Cutlass deserves a hell of a lot better than finding itself unwashed in a Copart lot with an uncertain future. Even if you just washed and polished it up and got it running and did nothing else, that would be much better than sitting with a three-digit bid and hours left on it’s clock.

Don’t make me play the Sarah McLachlan music.

Copart Auctions Link: 1979 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds