Tyson Horwood 1969 HURST OLDS

TOP-ORDER MUSCLE CAR IS A RARE BEAST HERE AND IN THE USA

The car is an Oldsmobile and, back in 1969, the company got together with Hurst to make a limited edition Hurst Olds. The car was sent to Hurst as a plain white 442, and Hurst changed over to the 455 Oldsmobile motor, the new Hurst 38 dual-gate shifter, stripes, scoops, big wing, mirrors wheels and tyres.

This car is number 223 of about 906 made that year. There are only about 550 left in existence and this one here is the only known one in Australia.

For the Hurst package back then, it was about $950 option. So when the cars were only worth about $3500, that was a huge jump.

I was looking for one of these – the family has always been into the Oldsmobile brand and I can remember seeing pictures of these when I was a kid. It was the scoop, the stripes and the wheels that I loved about it – something that was obviously very different.

It was about six years ago, when the Aussie dollar was high, that I found this one in Texas. It didn’t look anything like it does now – I had to do a full body-off resto. It’s all been done and it’s now as close to factory correct as I can get it. The only thing that isn’t factory is the seatbelts, which we needed to get it on the road. Otherwise it’s pretty much as you would have bought the car back in 1969.

What does it drive like? Beautifully – cruises nicely. The 7.5 litre Oldsmobile engine sounds good. This one came equipped with power windows, cruise control, air-con and factory tinted glass. Whoever bought it back then had some money to burn. The cruise alone was an extra $350!

(Ed’s note: we met Tyson at this year’s Picnic at Hanging Rock Show. Look for a full feature on this car in the near future.)