How would you like to own this? 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Hurst - $79,900

 

It's a beauty...

 

I would love to own it but not at that price. There is no way to value this car because I am sure there is not another one. If anybody plans on driving it, plan on spending at least $5,000 - $7,000. It will have to have tires, belts, hoses and probably AC work. I do love the 83 Hurst Olds.

 

I think I remember this being on an episode of Jay Leno's Garage some years ago. It was left over on the showroom floor and the business was closing and the guy was showing it off and had it for sale. Back then it only had a few miles on it.

 

I wouldn't want any car that I can't drive the wheels off of, and paying that hellacious premium for a museum piece that only gets pushed off and on the trailer is a complete waste to me. Besides, the worst thing you can do to a car is to NOT drive it.

 

100% agree; none-the-less sticking w/ the OP original question...

Ya darn crak'n I'd like to own it (not as a museum piece).

 

Probably about 45K too high for me. I don't care. It's just not ready for driving so it's nowhere near 79K value. I'd rather have the 71 442 convertible for that kind of money.

 

Yeah, if I had so much money that I could buy an $80,000 car without batting an eye to use as a daily driver I’d do it.

I would never buy a car (or anything else) for it to be a museum piece. I actually use the stuff that I have.

 

Gotta love the T-tops.

 

I drove the wheels off my new 84 H/O. And loved every second of it. Driving that car with Lighting Rods. Is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

 

I have a pair of T-Tops and I don't love them. They leak like crazy when it rains. My wife and I went to dinner last Friday night after the OCA show. It rained and we both get wet. These are probably better than the first year ones.

 

Would love to but not at that ridiculous price.

100%

I have had several A and G-body's. As a matter of fact I've had more G's than A's. My 87 442 is a shadow of my 69 Supreme. Let alone a far more serious car like a 64-72 442. Or an early H/O.

Nice cars but no way. Early A-body's are more "car" period. Better style, strength, quality, and power. I'd spend that money on a mediocre A before a showroom mint G.

Only G-Body worth ridiculous money are GNs and of course GNXs. They are game changers. Code 9s and Monte SSs while good looking decent cars. Are gimmicky factory lightweight (figuratively speaking) throwbacks to what was. And miss the mark greatly due to early 80s limitations. Monte does take the cake when it comes to looks above all though, gorgeous.



https://bangshift.com/general-news/c...rts-mcts-soul/

 

69CSHC I disagree. My new 84 H/O with Lighting Rods. Around 20 grand new. a head turner from day one. Driving it like you stole it. Power shifting from 1st gear to second and so on up to 6,000 rpm. And full control of downshifting. Ok handling for just the driver in car. And no top end as the computer limit speed. But it was the a car to be reckoned with in certain situations. Had a 70 Buick 350 GS. Great car! Great ride and lots of torque. Not a big fan of brick wall front ends. Sorry I give it to my nephew.

But my upgrade G body (A Mike Richards car to start) still Lighting Rod equipped. And other parts from the H/O. With HP SBO 417cu in, 656 hp and 562 torque. 8,000+ rpm. Plus major upgrades to suspension, lightweight parts, brakes, wheels and tires. It's truly a rocket ship on rails. Surprises LS, Ford, imports and other fast street cars.

A neck breaker. With most people turning their heads so fast to see as I drive by. Driving always with a big smile. And have a special knowing smile. I give to fast cars at street lights.



A Mike Richard car and Bill T. built HP block. What I made her into.

 

As soon as you do start driving that car so too will the value be driven, down!!! From an originally perspective.

 

At this point the only logical move would be to preserve it as is and put it in a museum somewhere. Although driving it would be a flex.

As a 90s kid I remember my buddy and I being enamored with the G-bodys. We thought the Monte SS was the baddest ride ever made. A friend's older brother bought one and we begged him to take us for a ride in it. It was black with orange decals and was essentially stock and still kind of a new car at the time. We were so disappointed in that car. It was as if finding out Cindy Crawford was a man..

 

I think you're a bit generous with the price tag. Even loaded up the 84 H/Os maxed out a bit over $16K+, not 20K. Unless you got hi-jacked at the dealership.

Lightning Rods are fun, but they can be finicky if the adjustments are just slightly off. Back in the 80s, I found the more feared cars on the streets were those 5.0L notchback Mustangs and the GNs in the "affordable" car categories. MoPar had nothing at the time. You could maybe get the jump on one at a light, but past first gear, you usually were looking at taillights. Monte SSs, not so much. I had better luck with them. Past 1985, Olds got left behind while Camaros got fuel injection, 350s, and better stuff, GN's got intercoolers, while the 86-87 442 got the swirl-type, peanut port heads, roller cam, and mushier shifting transmissions. And, unfortunately, none of the "select-a-unit" level packages for dealership orders never included G80 limited slip. That was a separate RPO, and many dealers didn't include it on H/O and 442. I'll always consider the 85 442 the last of the attempted Olds muscle-car-as-we-old-bastages-know-it: 4-bbl carbed, flat-tappet-cammed, OHV, V8 Olds, slight stall speed converter to help aid a tire-chirping 1-2 shift, and 3.73 gears.

You're right, no top end to speak of. No limiter either. The 307 was the limiter because it wheezes at sustained high speeds with the 3.73s. At least it was an 8.5" rear. There's a trade-off with those gears. Stop light to stop light can be fun, but there's just way too much emissions and MPG engineering involved to have a true muscle car experience and high top end speeds. A single vacuum leak could drive you crazy. A 307 is NOT a 455.

Don't get me wrong, the G-body is a fine looker and excellent cruiser. I even own 3 of them myself. And Hurst and GM did what they could to make the G-body Olds look even better and perform just slightly better than their non-VIN 9 colleagues. But make no mistake, the 80s H/Os weren't much more than an appearance package with some adjustments to bump performance a little. It doesn't matter if I'm driving the H/O or the 442, I get looks everywhere. People notice the throwback 80s look I guess.

One side of me hopes the seller gets 79K for it. Maybe helps drive up the price of mine. But I doubt it. But if I were to plunk down 80K on either that green 71 442 'vert, or the lovely black/silver 83 H/O, sorry, no contest. I'd have more fun with the top down on the 71. Both super-nice cars and I'd like to own both, but I don't need another car.

 

I've never driven or rode in a stock HO car. I had an 85 cutlass in college with a 307 though. I always wondered if the 307 could rev fast enough to take advantage of the 3.73s.

 

69CSHC I think you're a bit generous with the price tag. Even loaded up the 84 H/Os maxed out a bit over $16K+, not 20K. Unless you got hi-jacked at the dealership.

My was fully loaded with every option on the list. Astroroof, with taxes. Young and dumb I payed for the rust proofing and fabric protectant. It was around 18,900 something. I have the window sticker someplace.

My LR have never been finicky. I only clean and lube them twice in the 40 years

66_Jetstar I believe the 307 H/O had 180hp compared to 140hp for other 307 Except in 1987 were it was 180hp. Yes rev the **** out of it.

 

The base Calais was $10,264. Delivery was $414. So you're looking at $1995 for the H/O option in 84 with mandatory C60 option at $730, so that's $13,403 to start with a base H/O, if your dealer got an allocation. Even with a $605 UU6 radio, an $895 astroroof, those were generally the huge dollar options that could be had, or T-tops being the other one. G80 was only $95 back then. Even then it's $14,903. With astroroof and every other available option on the 84 H/O, it was $16,218 if my math is right ($16,418 without the $200 WL7 Popular Option Package discount), and this is including the often overlooked $26 HD battery and $18 block heater. I can pretty much guarantee you you were less than 17K on the window sticker. Secondary dealer markup junk notwithstanding. There was a bump in January 84 on pricing I think. Somewhere around there. There usually was, but the bump wasn't very high. I can't recall if my figures are pre-January or Jan 84-on.

Never said LRs were finicky, I just said they can be when they get out of adjustment. If they don't come out of adjustment, then you should be good. Lord help you if one of those detent spring retainer rings pops loose. Not too difficult to fix, just a PITA.

307 VIN 9 had 180 HP through 1985, the last of the flat-tappet 307s. 86-up VIN 9 was rated at 170, but with a tad more torque due to the swirl port intake/roller cam.

 

The dealer window sticker is shown in the video and shows the price and how this one is equipped.

 

Hmm. Note this one has a busted power antenna mast cable. It happens no matter how well you take care of them. It also appears that they're supplying a new mast/cable assembly, although the seller says it's a "new power antenna". It's too small of a box for a complete antenna. It's a mast box. Which means it's already about 20 years old or older. But there's a high possibility when that's replaced it'll break soon too. People never listen but then they find out that replacing that plastic cable with an old, NOS plastic cable is just throwing good money after bad. It's not a matter of if, but when. Of course, only one person has ever come back and 'fessed up to it. Most don't wanna know me when their antenna cable breaks again.

 

Nothing better on here than a guy telling you how much you paid for a car you bought new in 05/30/84. With dealer installed equipment, taxes and fees. Love this site!! I did find the yellow carbon copy of the vehicle invoice. I will try to take a picture of this 40 year old invoice. It's a little hard to see.

 

Yup. It's going to be scary how close I'm going to be, too.

I forgot to include the V08 HD cooling as an option, if you have that. Still hadn't figured out what made that $40 difference. The 1985 CSM says V03 is extra capacity (15.6 quart), and V08 is high capacity (15.5 quart). So.....what makes V08 $40 extra? And why would my VIN 9 have it on the window sticker as an extra paid RPO since the tech manual says LG8 comes with 15.5 quarts? (same as V08) I do know when I pulled the factory water pump it had a closed impeller.

You can see the 83's window sticker and it's what, 15,6xx, which is appropriate. Pretty loaded car. Additionally, 83 had rear air shocks optional, where 84 H/O had them standard equipment.

I'll toss up the repro window sticker I made for my 84 based on the invoice. Mine was built 11/83, converted 12/1/83. Car #19. $14,904.32

 

Not really mine came in almost 2,000 more. 16,300. Add NY taxes, fees, Insection, dealer installs equipment, undercoating It over 18,000+

 

I meant my guess for what your sticker was going to be would be close. Not that my car cost the same as yours. I know my car has a few options short of being loaded.

But yeah, all those dealer add-ons can really pile up fast.

 

I forgot the dealer added hidden mini kill switch and full car alarm. It was NYC, You park it and it would not be there when you got back. Without alarm with motion sensors. Sometimes car thieves would follow you home, stealing at night right out of your driveway. Other things I just do not remember adding right now. I going to stick with 18,900 for me anyway.
As for 83 for sale. Way too much money even if it a 15th anniversary edition.

 

I think the factory water pumps across all years had closed impellers. It’s just the aftermarket rebuilders who cheaped out and used the stamped steel ones, which by the way appear to cool just fine in Phoenix 110+ summer heat with the AC on in stop-n-go traffic.

 

I'm with Joe... I could never own a car like this. While it's probably the best one in existence, you can't drive it without killing the value of the car. As far as I'm concerned this car might as well be an $80K paperweight. I buy mine to drive. Since I paid for the car, the maintenance, the insurance, and the taxes, I have to drive it. I use them for their intended purpose, transportation from point A to point B. I go to as many shows and cruise-ins as I can and also run some local errands every so often when the weather is good.

 

Even over the counter GM NOS water pumps with the same p/n came with both types of impellers. So I'm not sure who was cheaping out first, GM or the aftermarket. Still beyond me what the difference between V03 and V08 was on a Cutlass. Whatever it was reduced the coolant volume a couple of ounces. Looking back, it appears Olds A/C V8 cars got V08 as a required option. It was eventually included with the 442 package by 1987.

 

You’re right, it was probably GM and the aftermarket sourced the same impellers.

 

Buick had the GM crown for this era IMO

 

Yep. Too bad they didn’t come with a posi as standard equipment. My buddy had an ‘86 and the peg leg really hurt the launch.

 

GNX was the only 78-88 A/G-body to have G80 standard. Also, if you wanted a regular GN, you just went to the local Buick dealer and got one. They laid up all over the lots in Charleston, SC area. The Buick/GMC dealer in Summerville was 3 blocks away from where I lived and I counted 5 in stock one day going to look at a GMC truck. In certain areas in the mid-west, even 84 H/Os weren't selling. Mine didn't sell to the original owner until May 84, 6 months after it was built, and I test drove two at a southern IL dealership in December of 84. I was also lucky to test drive a new 85 442 they just got in. Considering the H/O production had stopped by March 84, that was a long time for those cars to sit. Probably had nothing to do with the inflation and sky-high interest rates at the time.

 

You do remember there was also a recession going on and certain areas of the country were hit even harder by layoffs and unemployment. Nothing shuts down car sales faster than layoffs and a recession.

 

Well, of course. Note my smilie in the last line. I was being sarcastic. "Probably had nothing to do with the inflation and sky-high interest rates at the time. "

 

This almost looks like a deal compared to the other one they have.
Dustin