Oldsmobile : 442 Base Hardtop 2-Door

This amazing project coming up for auction is a very solid. rust free example with the born in engine and transmission. Includes original sales contract. Protect-O-Plate. owners manual. dealer copy of window sticker. hanging accessory tags. Doc Watson letter. declaration sheets for the Hurst Olds equipment. ultra rare dealership marketing kit and more. An incredible opportunity to own and restore one of the most sought after muscle cars that are approaching the six figure value. Often referred to as the Executive Super Car and Gentleman's Hot Rod - these H/O's performed quite well turning 5. 3 seconds 0-60 and running a 13. 24 in a 1/4 mile. There were only 515 Hurst Olds produced. 459 of which were Holiday Coupes like this example offered here.  

Unfortunately while this car was tucked away in a garage the car next to it caught fire. starting the rest of the garage on fire and spreading to the 442. Fortunately the fire did not completely destroy this car as it is very restorable and saved from the scrap yards.

Tackle this project on your own or have our award winning restoration facility bring this car back to its former glory.

NOTE: The first picture if of Ken with the salesman at Coe Motors taking delivery. The second picture is shortly before the fire damage. The remainder of the pictures are in it's current condition.

Buyer's Guide from Hemmings Muscle Machines

March. 2013 - Matthew Litwin

During the second half of the Sixties. ever-growing big-block V-8 engines--and the tarmac-tearing torque they generated--were the hot ticket on the street. Yet while GM's A-body-based performance models were wildly popular. the corporation had imposed engine displacement limits of 400 cubic inches across the intermediate car line. Ford and Chrysler. meanwhile. knew what youth buyers wanted and proceeded to offer 428 Cobra Jets. 440 Magnums and even Hemis in their respective mid-size models. stripping market share away from GM.

But thanks to one man's vision and a carefully coordinated venture that wound through some gray areas of the General's rule book during the summer of 1967. a GM intermediate coupe made it to market with a top-shelf 455. and more.

According to Lansing lore. George Hurst. of performance shifter fame. had the fantastic idea of creating his own ultimate supercar. In short. he wanted to purchase a fleet of Pontiac Firebird 400s. pack them with 428 cu in engines and other speed-enhancing goodies. and sell them back to Pontiac for dealer distribution. Oldsmobile. meanwhile. was apparently still seething after being denied its own version of the F-body. and trying to figure out alternative ways to reach the youth audience it was missing despite the division's new "Youngmobile" ad campaign. In the end. GM executives suggested that Olds would be a better home for Hurst's project. both in terms of sales and attracting truly youthful buyers. The result was the Hurst/Olds. but it didn't come together without a glitch or two along the way.

When the proposal was redirected. Hurst handed the project to Jack "Doc" Watson. who outlined the desired modifications; purportedly. one prototype was developed before the project stalled. Whether it was Olds officials or GM executives who were responsible is immaterial--the project was still delayed as of March 1968. at which time Watson left Hurst. Soon after. the 455 project was approved--along with an order for 500 cars--and Watson was hired back as a consultant; he then engaged Lansing-based Demmer Engineering to assist with the conversions. By now. the clock was working against them. effectively forcing the team to forego their desired hideaway headlamps and adjustable rear spoiler; they also had to abandon the Firefrost Gold Metallic paint/black stripe scheme due to a GM color matching issue.

All told. by the time everything was hashed out. the team had a little more than 40 days (from mid-April to Mid-June) to complete the '68 Hurst/Olds project.

There was also concern over selling the cars--which rapidly proved to be unfounded. Once promotional material was distributed to zone managers. 2. 00 orders arrived within a matter of days. Before the car's launch. a Lansing dealer had already sold 11. which effectively forced production to jump to 515. Demmer converted 56 pillared Sport Coupes. while the other 459 were hardtops (still called "Holiday Coupes"). all of them starting life on the assembly line as 4-4-2s.

In a previous issue (HMM#93. June 2011). we discussed the attributes of the 1969 edition. which was vastly different both mechanically and visually. Here. then. are the specific build details of the original. the 1968 Hurst/Olds.

ENGINES

In order to help expedite the entire process. it's been reported that Demmer was responsible for transplanting the 455 cu in engines into the small armada of 4-4-2s provided by Olds. However. this was an intentionally fabricated story meant to appease GM executives. given the fact that federal laws--then. as today--mandated that all engine blocks carry a properly corresponding portion of the VIN. As to the 455. Olds actually installed two variations depending upon a single option: air conditioning.

Non-air-conditioned cars were given the freshly developed W-45 version of the 455. It was a basic 455 short-block at its core. with a 4. 12 x 4. 25-inch bore and stroke. except that engineers dove into the parts bin and installed the W-31 camshaft with its 308 duration and . 474-inch lift. A nodular crankshaft was included. though there are suggestions that some forged-steel cranks were issued. Cylinder heads were the now rare and highly desirable "D" casting units from the W-30 engine; specifics here include 69. 75cc combustion chambers and 2. 072/1. 625-inch valves. Capped with a standard cast-iron intake manifold. the engine also employed the same 750-CFM Rochester Quadrajet as found on the W-31 package.

Meanwhile. those H/O models to be equipped with A/C were given the concurrently developed W46 version of the 455. Significant differences began with the installation of a milder cam (285/287 duration; . 472 lift) and "C"-casting cylinder heads. These heads had an 80cc combustion chamber coupled with 2. 072/1. 625-inch valves. Lastly. a 735-CFM Rochester Quadrajet carburetor was installed.

Common points shared between the engines. aside from the intake manifold. were the exhaust manifolds; specific distributor (part number 1111468); and the W-30 Outside Air Induction system. complete with red fenderwells. under-bumper scoops and corresponding ductwork and air cleaner assembly. Check carefully when inspecting a '68 H/O: The scoops should be of the larger 13-inch version with a chrome trim ring. rather than 9-inch scoops that appeared in 1969. In addition. Olds never called the induction system "W-30" in association with the H/O package. meaning the code will not appear on any factory paperwork.

This article originally appeared in the March. 2013 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.

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On Nov-14-14 at 07:17:01 PST. seller added the following information:

Just when you thought it could't get any better. Stock Exhaust Manifolds do come with the Hurst Olds. Below are the casting numbers.
D1H 398708 RH
389269 D2    LH

On Nov-14-14 at 10:34:59 PST. seller added the following information:

Owner has opted to drop the reserve and let the ebay market dictate the value. If you want to be the new owner of this Hurst Olds make sure to bid. Don't miss this opportunity!
Good luck bidding.

Also published at eBay.ca

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