1988 Oldsmobile Hurst/olds 20th Anniversary Aero Commemorative 455 The Red One

1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Description

This is a 1988 Oldsmobile 20th Anniversary Hurst/Olds Aero Commemorative. In 1988 Hurst did not deal directly to convert Oldsmobiles with General Motors. Instead you were offered this special aero kit which included the ground effects with rear spoiler, special black and gold striping, and Hurst/Olds name badges. Most kits were sold and never registered. The only way they could be registered is if you installed them on a 1988 Cutlass. No other year car could be registered with Doc Watson at Hurst. When you registered it, you sent in your VIN and then Doc Watson would send you back a special silver decal for you car with your car number on it. This car is #64. I have yet to see a higher number. Some cars were sent to Hurst for conversion where Doc Watson would install your kit for a fee.Others were converted by their owners which is what happened in this case. With the flexibility to do almost whatever you wanted as long as you registered it and used the aero kit, you were very free to build your Hurst/Olds about any way you wanted, hence the color red which my dad is partial to. It will probably be the only red Hurst/Olds ever built.

In 1992 my father purchased this gray 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Classic Brougham. It wasa one owner local car with 62,000 miles on it. It had the big speedometer in it at the time with no gauges. He switched it to a specially prepared rally pack guage cluster with a 160 mph speedometer that was set to zero. This odometer now reads about 13,500 miles. Hence the whole car actually has about 80,000 miles on it.

It hadn't been home a week when we began to change everything on it including the driveline, interior, and obviously the color.

DRIVELINE:

Despite there being nothing wrong with the 307, he decided he would rather have a 455. I think it was a 1969 block, but can't remember. It has "C" heads and a Competition Cams camshaft.The cam is part number 42-228-4 if you want to google and look up the specs. He did not want to build a racecar. The block was bored .030 over and high compression pistons were installed like you would find in 1970 Olds 98. Nothing really fancy about the rebuild. He just wanted something reliable, easy to start, and would support the power brakes and run the ice cold air conditioning which is what it does. It did receive a pair of the W and Z exhaust manifolds to breath through a true dual exhaust with no cats exiting through a pair of NOS 1983 Hurst/Olds mufflers and tailpipes. It has a nice tone. The air cleaner is also from a 1983 and sports the rare dual snorkel air cleaner set up.

The original 200R4 transmission was removed, rebuilt, and upgraded with the heavy duty input shaft and clutch packs. It also got a shift improver to help firm up the shifts. The ring, pinion, and carrier were pulled and replaced with a posi trac and 3.73:1 gearing. It is still the 7.5 carrier unit.

INTERIOR:

The interior was changed out of a 1984 Cutlass Calais and is in pretty good condition. We upgraded toreclining bucket seats and console. I also added the Hurst Lightning Rod shifters.

EXTERIOR:

You will notice he also had me add a Hurst/Olds hood scoop from the 1983 or 1984 era. The original Hurst/Olds emblems that were supplied in the kit were tossed in favor of some custom made decals similar to the ones also find on the 1983 and 84 Hurst/Olds except they say "20th Anniversary" and are done in a black and gold shadow lettering.The decals reallylook good against the red paint. The paint isa Chevrolet Lumina red from the early 90's. It was painted in Deltron single stage and has held up pretty good. It could probably use a light buffing, but most folks think it looks awesome like it is.

THE CAR OVERALL CONDITION:

Overall the car starts, runs, and drives out excellent. It tracks good and the tires are balanced great. The air conditioning still works along with the cruise control, power windows, power locks, and auto dimming mirror. The shifters have a tendency to jamb up if you try and use all the sticks and manual shift it. We just put it in overdrive and let it shift automatically. It probably needs an adjustment. The temp guage in the dash reads inaccurate so we installed one on the pillar post. The woodgrain on the ashtray lid in the console looks a little worn and weathered. The paint and driveline all have about 13,000 miles on them and are starting to look like it. A little paint is burned off the motor and the exterior might have a nick or two that have been touched up. There are some scratches on the sill plate of the aero kit that you see when the drivers door is open. The radio plays but the CD player does not work. Dad drove it to Lexington, Kentuckyfour years ago which is about five hours away and it ran fine. Since this, it has been delegated to just a few local shows per year.

RECENT MAINTENANCE:

New BF Goodrich Radial T/A's Size 235/60R15 front and rear 2011 before it went to Lexington, Kentucky

New Battery in 2011

New ignition modjule in 2016

Heater core 2014

Heater Control Valve 2014

Coolant Flush and fill, oil change, lube, and filter 2015

New A/C Compressor, drier, and condensor in 2015

Please note all the supportive literature that is included in the last pictures.

Don't ask what the reserve is. Just bid what you think it is worth and what you can afford. It always works best that way.

With all that has been done to this car, I am sure there will be questions. Please feel free to email me or call my dad. His name is Jerry and can be reached at 812 459-1438. He does not text.

Pre inspections are welcome. The usual stuff applies such as there is nowarranty, don't bid if you cannot pay, I will assist shipper of your choice.When the auction is over make contact with me to explain how you would like to pay. A cashiers check,or cash is highly encouraged. No bank transfers or Paypal.The fees are God Awful.

Usually this bidding is a binding contract to pay for and own it. But if you get here to pick it up and there is something that we have grossly overstated, you are welcome to walk away without following through on your promise.

Good luck and happy bidding.