Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Hurst/Olds Lightning Rod shifter sports three levers that allow a form of sequential shifting for its four-speed automatic transmission. That makes it wonderfully weird kitsch, but is it worth the seller’s asking price?
What do they say, “go big or go home”? Paul McCartney also asked us, “Why don’t we do it on the road?” » The 1985 Renault R5 Turbo 2 we reviewed last Friday was undoubtedly quite daring. And being from a rally background, he could do it on road, in gravel and on dirt.
Since it’s located in Southern California, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this particular R5 Turbo on several occasions, as it showed up at the Best of France and Italy car show, which takes place each fall in Van Nuys. If you plan to be in the greater Los Angeles area early next month, this show returns on Sunday, November 2. It will take place in its usual venue, the grassy field of Woodley Park in Sepulveda Basin. At $175,000, it’s unlikely any of us will be bringing the Renault to the show anytime soon. Not with the 93% “No Dice” he received in the vote.
Hurst History
Because the prevailing opinions about Oldsmobile until its demise were that it was a line of cars for seniors, the whole idea of branding and modestly elevated impulses didn’t seem to fit. At the time, however, even Olds tried to get into the performance game, perhaps most notably with the 455-powered 1968 Hurst/Olds, a derivation of the Cutlass coupe. This car paired, in traditional muscle car fashion, the 390-horsepower big-block Rocket V8 with a three-speed THM400 automatic transmission, which could be shifted manually between gears via a Hurst Performance double-gate ratchet shifter. Special paint and wheels let others know it packs the goods.
Hurst’s relationship with Olds through this dual-brand model continued throughout the 1975 series, but the commercial success of the standard Cutlass meant that there was no room on the production line for the small-run model for 1976, so it was put on hiatus. A new version, now on the newly downsized Cutlass Calais, arrived for 1979. The model featured Oldsmobile’s 5.7-liter V8 and Hurst’s Dual Gate shifter, but emissions and fuel economy compliance robbed it of most of the performance of its predecessors.
It’s your dad’s Oldsmobile
This 1984 Hurst/Olds is also Cutlass based and is the final year of the partnership package. It’s a bit of a show and go upgrade. On the outside, the purpose of the model is revealed by the special silver and black color treatment with red accents, as well as deep rally wheels and a rear spoiler. Records show that a total of approximately 3,500 models were built in 1984. This is one of only 1,500 models equipped with a T-Top roof, which makes it all the more remarkable. For the forward side of the equation, the car is powered by the Olds 307 CID V8 with a Quadrajet carburetor and dual exhausts. So equipped, it produced a languorous 140 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque from the factory. At least the latter comes to bat at just 1,600 rpm.
But it’s what’s behind that that makes this car really interesting. This isn’t the THM200R4 four-speed with auto overdrive and somewhat anemic 2:56 open rear. No, it’s the Hurst shifter that controls that body and powers that rear axle.
Lightning rods
The long-standing Dual Gate shifter is gone from this edition of the Hurst/Olds. It was replaced on this model by Hurst’s seemingly impenetrable three-lever “Lightning Rod” shift mechanism. After explanation, it’s really not that complicated. The combination of lever positions determines gear selection. By moving all three levers to the rearmost position, the car goes first. By blocking the rightmost lever, the car shifts to second position. Doing the same movement with the middle lever takes you to third place. Switching to overdrive is as simple as moving that last lever up a notch. Alternatively, one could simply leave the main lever on and let the automatic transmission live up to its name. Historically, this will lead to more rapid changes anyway.
Still, the shifter makes a great party item and conversation starter at car meets and for livening up boring parties. The rest of the car looks up to par as well, although its seller describes it as “NOT perfect” but still in “excellent condition.” It comes with a clean title and only 41,000 miles on the odometer. Original sales documents are also included in the sale, although several are stamped “DEALER’S COPY” so someone might come and collect them.
Money moving
Although it’s probably not required, the seller states that ideally he would like to sell the car to someone who has previously owned a Hurst/Olds from this era, apparently so he doesn’t have to explain to the new owner how the shifters work. Anyone interested in the car will need to show up with $35,000 in hand to complete the deal. This is the seller’s request, and now we have to decide if it’s a good deal for the buyer as well.
What do you think of this little muscle car from the malaise era and that $35,000 asking price? Does this seem fair to you given the model history and condition of the car? Or is it just too much money to spend on the purchasing process?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, Craigslist, or click here if the ad disappears.
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