1979 OLDS CUTLASS HURST

Description

Another car, now called simply the Hurst/Olds, appeared in 1979, based on the Cutlass Calais coupe. It used the L34, Oldsmobile's 5.7L (350in³) V8 engine. A Hurst Dual Gate shifter was standard. After a three-year hiatus, the H/O returned for 1979 on GM's newly downsized Cutlass body. The first H/O to be built entirely by Oldsmobile Division, it was also the first H/O that did not offer a 455 engine. It was, however, the only GM G-body to offer a 350 V8 in 1979. It was also the first W-30 to come with the Olds 350 and not the Olds 455. White and black again were the color choices, but with a wider choice of interior trims than ever before. Gold paint covered the hood, most of the top, and the very rear of the trunk. The aluminum wheels were also painted gold, along with the grille. This H/O was built by Oldsmobile at the Lansing plant and didn't get sent off for additional work at Hurst Performance Products or Cars and Concepts. For this reason, there would be no possible loophole around the then current EPA regulations. In part and summary, those regulations stated that as long as an engine/transmission combination had been certified in any production model for that year, the same combination could be used in any other model that the factory desired, so long as less than 2,500 were produced. If more than that were built, the engine/transmission combination had to be certified specifically in that particular model. The "R" code Olds 350 engine in combination with the TH-350 transmission had already been certified in the 88 models for 1979, so legally that same combination could also be used in the Cutlass body without specific certification as long as less than 2,500 were built. That's why 2,499 1979 Hurst/Oldsmobile's were produced. Now, there were no 350ci four-speed combinations already certified by Oldsmobile in 1979, so certification would have been necessary.

Known as the W-30, it was produced for the following year in the 1980 Olds 442. The only major differences between the 1979 and the 1980 were the headlights, and the 1979 also had the dual gate Hurst shifter.