The way their cars performed that this wasn’t far from the truth. Oldsmobile advertising made you think Jet Fighters were rolling off their assembly lines. In the 50s and 60s, you might have thought America’s space program was located not in Cape Canaveral, but in Lansing Michigan. The 442, Oldsmobile’s luxury muscle machine. And oh yes, it just happened to launch like a rocket. They called it 442, what more could the driving crowd ask for. This car featured among other things four-barrel carburetor, a four-speed transmission, and dual exhausts. High style, the ultimate in creature comforts, and neck-snapping performance. Yet was exactly what the new performance-minded youth market was asking.įor this car embodied everything that Oldsmobile was about. Olds built a car that had the image of the world’s most exotic sports car. Oldsmobile was the only General Motors division other than Pontiac that wasn’t asleep at the switch. When the first shots were being fired, in the muscle car wars. And if you wanted a good healthy dose of all three you bought an Oldsmobile. If you wanted good basic transportation, they offered you Chevrolet, and if you wanted high-performance picked a Pontiac. If you wanted luxury, there was Cadillac and Buick. General Motors has always made cars to suit everyone’s taste. Narrator: Coming up on The American Muscle Car, the amazing story of the Oldsmobile 442. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, Michigan the wrecked 1967 car was shipped back to Hurst Performance and dismantled.Oldsmobile 442 Logo Video Transcript American Muscle Car – The Oldsmobile 442 and the Hurst Olds Story – Part 1. The 1966 car presently resides at the R.E. The 1967 car was the subject of one of the most popular model kits of the 1960s, a 1/24 version produced by Monogram. This coupled with engine oil spray out of the valve cover breathers because of the pressure of the superchargers.Ī second Hurst Hairy Olds was built in 1967, but was wrecked during an exhibition race in Niagara, New York. Visibility was poor as well due to tire smoke from both ends of the car. The rear engine contributed to unloading of the front wheels, which in turn caused the front engine to overspeed. The tremendous amount of power at the front wheels caused massive torque steer, resulting in difficulty in keeping the car in a straight line. The result was a 2400-horsepower, four-wheel-drive exhibition drag racer which smoked its front and rear tires down the length of the race track with times in the eleven-second range.Īlthough the drive chains held up admirably, the car was not without its problems. Weight was reduced through the use of aluminum body components and Plexiglas windows. Additional power was provided via a Cragar Equipment-modified 6-71 GMC supercharger atop each engine, each burning a blend of nitromethane and alcohol. Two engines meant two of virtually everything in the cockpit related to the operation of the car, including two cable-operated shifters, two tachometers, two sets of oil pressure and temperature gauges and even two accelerator pedals. Hurst installed not one but two 425 in³ (7 L) Oldsmobile engines and Toronado transaxles both front and rear a pair of drag parachutes were mounted in the stock taillight positions and four-wheel disc brakes were fitted as well. Driven by Joe Schubeck, the Hurst Hairy Olds began as a fully trimmed and later upholstered Oldsmobile 442 in body in white (BIW) form. The car debuted at a meet in Bakersfield, California on March 4, 1966. There were doubts in the automotive press as to the strength of such a system the Hairy Olds was designed to dispel these doubts. Hurst Hairy Olds is the name given to a pair of exhibition funny cars campaigned by Hurst Performance in 19.ĭeveloped with help from General Motors engineer John Beltz, the Hurst Hairy Olds was built to be a showcase for the then-new chain-driven automatic transaxle of the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado as well as a rival to the Hurst Hemi Under Glass.
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