Best Muscle Cars

Pick Of The Day: 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Hurst, Numbers Matching, National Show Winner

By FastMuscle | October 28, 2015

#474 of only 1,097.
Engine: 455 V-8.
Rear end: 3.08 gears.
Mileage: 74,523.
Price: US $31,995.00

‘Original engine, transmission, and rear end.’
‘Full History & Documentation.’

Here we have a gorgeous looking Oldsmobile which has been treated to a ground up restoration.
There were precious few of these to start with, which means to have an example as fine as this one means you have a muscle car rarity on your hands.

The ’73 model looks a bit like a mash up of muscle cars, like it’s trying to be a performance vehicle and executive sedan at the same time, but at a time when you could still drop a huge engine into a car.

A unique muscle car, maybe not in the most prized of years, but a great example all the same.
Just check out the details below for the work that’s gone into this fine Oldsmobile.

‘In 1973, Oldsmobile built 1,097 Cutlass S models, equipped with 455 ci. motors and Turbo 400 (automatic) transmissions, along with rear ends equipped with 3.08 gears (in air conditioned cars), or 3.23 gears (in non air conditioned cars). They were painted in either black or white, had the 442 grills and the (louvered) 442 hood. They were then transported to the Hurst factory, where they were given many modifications, thus transforming them into the famous Hurst/Olds. The louvers in the hoods, were covered by bolt on scoops, with upward louvers. The bodies received gold vinyl graphic stripes. The large triangular opera windows, were filled in with plastic inserts on both the inside and outside, and then covered by a custom padded, wet look landau vinyl top, which greatly reduced the size of the windows, and gave the car a more elegant look. The front of the cars received hood ornaments, with “Oldsmobile” scripted on both sides. The grills were painted flat black, except for the leading edges of the fins, which were left silver/grey. The taillight surrounds were also painted flat black. H/O decals were applied on the center of the (now reduced) opera windows–which Hurst called, the “Mylar etched” opera windows, along with a H/O emblem on the lower right side of the trunk lid. Inside, they received swivel bucket seats, with wet look vinyl coverings, to go along with the vinyl tops. The floor consoles were equipped with the Hurst Dualgate shifters, along with H/O emblems placed just behind the shifters. An interesting note with these cars, is that the black painted cars received rally wheels painted black (to match the body color), while the white cars received rally wheels painted gold (to match the stripes)’

‘This particular example, is painted Ebony Black, with black top, and black interior. (approximately 40% of the ’73 H/O’s were black, as opposed to 60% being in white) It has spent all of it’s life in Texas, until being brought up to New York, last year. The car was in storage from 1985 until 2011, where a complete restoration began, being completed in 2014. The car was disassembled, the (original paint) body was stripped and repainted in the correct Ebony Black color. A new vinyl top was installed, exactly as the original. A reproduction vinyl graphics kit was applied. The original wheels were sandblasted and repainted. The underside of the car was sandblasted and powder coated. The trunk was refinished, and has a properly equipped spare tire, jack, and mat. On the inside, the seats were recovered with the correct wet look vinyl, new carpet and sound deadener installed, and the radio and rear speakers rebuilt. Note: this car still retains all of it’s original body panels. The engine was rebuilt to stock specifications, the (3.08 geared) rear end rebuilt, and the transmission opened, examined, found to be in good working order, and was then serviced. The engine was painted, and compartment detailed. New shocks and springs were installed, along with the suspension parts refinished or replaced, as needed. All new brake, fuel, and transmission lines were installed, along with a new gas tank. The air conditioning system overhauled. Five new P245/60R14 BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires have been installed. And, a new, complete exhaust system was installed. This is just the tip of the iceberg, work-wise and parts-wise, that went into this restoration, as you can see. After the restoration was completed, the H/O was taken to the 2014 Oldsmobile Nationals, where it received first place and best in class awards.’