The Lightning Rod shifter in today’s Nice Price or No Dice Hurst/Olds sports three levers that allow a form of sequential shifting for its four-speed automatic. That makes it a wonderfully weird bit of kitsch, but is it worth the seller’s asking price?
What is it they say, ‘go big or go home’? Paul McCartney also asked us, ‘Why don’t we do it in the road?’ The 1985 Renault R5 Turbo 2 we looked at last Friday was arguably pretty audacious-looking. And being rally-bred, it could do it on the road, in the gravel, and over the dirt.
As it is Southern California-located, I have had the pleasure of seeing that particular R5 Turbo on more than one occasion, as it has shown up at the Best of France and Italy car show, held every fall in Van Nuys. If you’re going to be in the greater Los Angeles area early next month, that show returns on Sunday, November 2. It will be held at its usual haunt, the grassy field at Sepulveda Basin’s Woodley Park. At $175,000, it’s doubtful that any of us would be showing off the Renault at the show any time soon. Not with the 93% ‘No Dice’ drubbing it received in the vote.
Hurst history
Because prevailing opinions about Oldsmobile up until its demise were that it was an old man’s car line, the whole idea of the marque and modestly raised pulses didn’t seem to jive. Back in the day, however, even Olds tried to get in on the performance game, perhaps most notably with the 455-powered 1968 Hurst/Olds, a derivation of the Cutlass coupe. That car paired, in traditional muscle car manner, the 390-horsepower big block Rocket V8 with a three-speed THM400 automatic, which could be manually moved through the gears via a Hurst Performance dual gate ratchet shifter. Special paint and wheels let others know that it was packing the goods.
Hurst’s relationship with Olds through this dual-branded model continued through the 1975 model run, but the sales success of the standard Cutlass meant there was no room on the production line for the small-series 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 its predecessors possessed.
This is your father’s Oldsmobile
This 1984 Hurst/Olds is also Cutlass-based and is the last year for the partnership package. This is a bit of both a show and go upgrade. Externally, the model’s purpose is made known by the special silver and black color treatment with red accents, along with deep dish rallye wheels and a rear spoiler. Records show a total of around 3,500 models having been built in 1984. This happens to be one of just 1,500 of those equipped with a T-Top roof, making it all the more notable. For the go side of the equation, the car is powered by the Olds 307 CID V8 with a Quadrajet carb and dual exhausts. So equipped, it made a languid 140 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque from the factory. At least the latter comes up to bat at just 1600 rpm.
It’s what’s behind that, though, that makes this car really interesting. It’s not the THM200R4 four-speed with overdrive automatic and somewhat anemic 2:56 open rearend. No, it’s the Hurst shifter that controls that slushbox and feeds that rear axle.
Lightning rods
Gone on this edition of the Hurst/Olds is the long-serving Dual Gate shifter. It was replaced on this model with Hurst’s inscrutable-appearing three-lever ‘Lightning Rod’ gear shift mechanism. Upon explanation, it’s really not all that complicated. The combination of lever positions determines gear selection. Moving all three levers in the back-most position puts the car in first. Jamming the right-most lever up shifts the car into second. Making the same move with the middle lever gets you to third. Slipping into overdrive is as simple as moving that last lever up one notch. Alternatively, one could just leave the main lever in drive and let the automatic live up to its name. Historically, that’s going to result in faster shifts anyway.
Still, the shifter makes for a great party piece and conversation starter at car meets and to enliven boring parties. The rest of the car seems up to the task of show duty as well, although its seller describes it as “NOT perfect” but still in “excellent condition.” It comes with a clean title and a mere 41,000 miles on the clock. Also included in the sale are the original sales papers, although several are stamped “DEALER COPY,” so someone might come looking for those.
Shifting cash
While probably not mandatory, the seller states that, ideally, they would like to sell the car to someone who has owned a Hurst/Olds of this era in the past, ostensibly so they don’t have to explain to the new owner how the shifters work. Whoever comes calling with an interest in the car will need to show up with $35,000 in hand to make the deal. That’s the seller’s asking, and we now need to decide whether or not that’s a good deal for the buyer, too.
What’s your take on this bit of malaise-era muscle car and that $35,000 asking? Does that seem fair given the model’s history and the car’s condition? Or is that just too much money to shift in the purchase process?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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