Hurst Olds Question

[John inNH]

Hi All,

I just got a call from a friend who is selling a boat, someone came by and likes it, but said he needed to sell his Hurst Olds first. My friend said that he may know someone interested and called me. I talked to the owner, and found out he has an original '75 Hurst olds W-30, 455 auto, T-tops, tach, white with gold. Its supposedly in fair condition, needs some work to body in front of rear wheels, otherwise its solid. I plan on looking at it Saturday. Any idea what this may be worth? It sounds like he is looking to get around $2000.00 for it. I may have 2 '75 Cutlas' if thats the case.

John

[Hurstolds1973]

If the car is solid & your looking for a second ride it sound like a good buy. Sounds like you have already made up your mind ??? If not I'm sure one of the nice guys/gals here will buy it...:cool: JOe

[ragz442]

It seems since the airing of BullRun the prices of '75 H/O's really climbed. That sounds like a great deal if it's in decent shape. I'd check the floor boards for rust and around the top. Because of the t-tops, and the padded roof, they tended to rust quite often.

[442MUCH]

If he wants $2000 offer him $1500 and see where that goes. Good luck.

[sumrof75]

We all know just the tach is 3 to 5 hundred by itself. The interior sail panels are prone to deterioration and not readilly available. I know. I am collecting parts to do a white H/O also. Wasn't thrilled with the color at first but they are pretty when they are done. Good luck keep posted.

[texxas8902]

Back in 1999 I was scrounging for parts at Apache auto salvage in Mansfield, Texas and they had a white 75 Hurst Olds up near the front for sale for $950, rusted in front of the rear tires, steering column gone, radiator gone. 455, swivel buckets with the flipable center section. No tach and stock Cutlass shifter. Very original Texas car. I had about 15 cars at the time and had bought a 68 triple black Dodge Charger with a 383 hp, leather seats, power windows and front disc brakes the day before for $900 so I had to pass but I still wish I would have bought that H/O. Wish I still had that Charger too. I made a mint selling it with out doing a thing to it, but the value of that car now with the color combo, leather seats, power windows and disc brakes. Probably the rarest car I have ever owned. Never drove it, started it once and towed it around way too much.

[gmkarguy]

If he wants $2000 offer him $1500 and see where that goes. Good luck.

I agree with 442--sounds like a lot of car for about $1500 or so if everything folks here have already mentioned is in decent shape. There's a '74 Hurst in Hemings (August, 2007 pg. 610) for $1800 obo.; "W25, needs restoration, all there."

Doesn't say how much of the metal is still all there :) and no picture. Best of luck!

[texxas8902]

I agree with 442--sounds like a lot of car for about $1500 or so if everything folks here have already mentioned is in decent shape. There's a '74 Hurst in Hemings (August, 2007 pg. 610) for $1800 obo.; "W25, needs restoration, all there."

Doesn't say how much of the metal is still all there :) and no picture. Best of luck!

Yeah I posted that Hemmings ad on the cars for sale section here on the board if anyone needs the phone number.

[John inNH]

OK, here is the scoop. I plan on looking at it tomorrow morning. I will take some pictures and get the vin and post it here. IF its as good as he says, I will be buying it. I will probably have to sell the Salon to keep peace with the minister of finance, but I figure a 455 Hurst will be a fair exchange for that.
More to follow.....

John

[gmkarguy]

Cool -- Thrill of the chase is ALWAYS a rush...hope you get the car.

[PSU442]

OK, here is the scoop. I plan on looking at it tomorrow morning. I will take some pictures and get the vin and post it here. IF its as good as he says, I will be buying it. I will probably have to sell the Salon to keep peace with the minister of finance, but I figure a 455 Hurst will be a fair exchange for that.
More to follow.....

John

yeah, that's an acceptable trade up...

[442MUCH]

Cool -- Thrill of the chase is ALWAYS a rush...hope you get the car.

Or as Mr. Spock once said" Having a thing is not as desirable as wanting, it is not logical, but it is often true." :D

[John inNH]

Update. I can't see the car today, the town fireworks were postponed on the 4th due to rain, so I have to do the inspection today. We will try again either tomorrow or Monday. I do have some more information. There is some rust on the lower fenders, doors and quarters, which is what I expected. He says the floors are not rotted at all, and neither is the frame or trunk. He has not driven it in 2 years due to lack of time (new baby). Car has 79,951 miles. VIN is 3J57TM261104, can anyone decode this?

Thanks,
John

[sumrof75]

Go to the registry and click on links, there is a vin decoder link you can use.

[John inNH]

Just a quick update in case anyone is curious. I have not been able to see the car yet, due to conflicting schedules. We are planning on Thursday after work. Also, the VIN he gave me is missing a digit, so I can't decode it untill I can get the whole number.

John

PS, I just got a fan shroud, clutch fan and some color-matched touch up paint for the Salon, so I can at least keep plugging away with that.

[John inNH]

Hi all,
I got to see the Hurst Olds today. About what I expected, a full resto needed. Its got a solid frame, some surface rust on the frame, but mostly paint. Floors are rusty on the inside due to roof leaks, but solid and still painted underneath. Bumpers are great. No dents anywhere. Rust behind front wheels, at door corners and in front of rear wheels. All looks repairable. 455 runs strong, but 1 muffler is literally blown apart by a backfire. some previous owner did some mods to the car, there is a dual exhaust, with correct crossmember, and a Moroso ignition. The tach lights up, but the numbers don't change, probably due to the ignition mods. will need a carpet and front seats recovered. The only thing I could see missing was the hood ornament. He has $2500.00 into it, but I would only offer $2000.00. He went for it after a while. I am leaving on vacation, so I won't pick it up untill next weekend. I ran the VIN, and it comes back as a 75 Cutlass Supreme, 455 4 bbl, so that checks out. Did the H/O's come with a 442 suspension?
John

[ragz442]

Good deal John, sounds like a nice resto candidate. Not positive, but I thought the H/O's got the FE2 suspension. Keep us posted.

[sumrof75]

Congrats! Good luck on the project!

[John inNH]

Hello, all

I've been out of touch on vacation the last week, so I have not had time to update this. After a second look I decided not to get the Hurst. There was more rust on the floors than I thought, it looked like the whole floor had been filled with water. The bucket seats were rusted into place, they would not swivel or move forward/back. The right door would not open. The brakes went right to the floor when I pressed on them. The engine ran OK, but had an antifreeze leak, and oil was burning somewhere near the right exhaust manifold. There was also some electrical issues, no interior lights worked, and some of the gauges were also inoperative. It is still a restorable car, but I did not want to sell my drivable '75 Salon, for a major project. If he drops his price, I will reconsider, but I doubt he will.

John

[ragz442]

Bummer about the car John. I've seen them rusted like that before, where the seats are rust welded to the floor etc..I'm pretty sure it's from the t-tops leaking over the years. I got lucky on my '76, the t-tops didn't leak, but some yahoo poked a big hole in the firewall for aftermarket gauges and water ran in and rusted the drivers footwell. Should be a fairly easy fix though. I'm sure another one will come along that doesn't need as much work.