Early hurst history - trivia

Appreciate the compliments send me a pm one unique item I have in the works involves GTO tri-power lids which Olds also used for a few years. This unique item will definately interest your customer base since it involves Linda Vaugh.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
This is the first artwork in a series of original artwork I have from the early days at Hurst. This first piece is quite unique. If you can read the small print at the bottom it says it measured 20 foot by 30 foot for the Hurst display at the New Yorks Worlds Fair. In other words this was the original "mock up" I assume for what was part of that display.
I believe that Worlds Fair in New York was in the early 1960s? As you look closely the last shifter in this format is the dual gate showing the two piece yo yo style knob which dates it back then.
This and the next group of original artwork I have is in very nice condition as I still have it in the original unique box that I got it all in from Bob the art director. Some of what is to come is actual overlays and some I have is incomplete work.
Obviousily what you are seeing is definately one of a kind related to Hurst and probably has not seen the light of day for many years.
Enjoy.......you can see how Hurst was miles ahead in promotion above all other shifters back in the day.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
comments/questions always welcomed

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Taking a break from my subject matter:
My son and grand daughter created this master piece of a catamaran boat using the massive snow fall we just got last weekend. They are pictured in the second photo. Overall length is over 40 feet long. This is the real deal not photo shop. He used his painting skills to paint the boat.
While others do snowman and snow angels..........
enjoy

 

¢ If you hold down the "alt" button while you type 155 you can print ¢ instead of typing out the word "cent".Thought I would pass this on because I am lazy and some of you may be also.

 

Dennis,
Any shots from the 64 worlds fair? I remember the Ford Mustang display. Thanks. Richard

 

Sorry nothing on NY Worlds Fair I did not even realize until I opened the box that this art work referred to the Worlds Fair.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Here is another early Hurst art board. By early I mean judging from the shifter knob it is really two halves screwed to the chrome handle that comes up between the 2 plastic halves. That puts the time frame in the very early 1960s. Several interesting things about this. You can see some notes toward the rite of the art work. What you can't see is the actual shifter to the far rite in color is an overlay on the background.
The brilliant colors for being 45-55 years old have really held up well. Any company back in that era would be lucky to have such a talented artist doing their work. I probably said it before but Bob Held who did this fine work we feature, was not a car person per say. Actually, when he first got the job he never invisioned it lasting but a few years.
Again this is an original piece.
Enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Somewhere in my collection I have artwork he did when he attended art school...will post that at some point. That time period would be 1937-1939......prior to World War II.

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Again from the work of Bob Held. This hung in the Hurst Building in one of the offices from what I remember. Notice the rear license plate on the back. That plate would be quite rare as I don't even have one in my collection.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
This is an unusual piece of artwork I have in my collection. It appears to be incomplete and features several different forms of promotion that Hurst did during the 1960s time frame. Probably the most sought after display outside of the Linda Vaughn cardboard stand up was the race track Christmas Tree light set up shown as one of the displays in this artwork. Hurst made two versions of the race track Christmas Tree. This is the later version as the earlier version had a Hurst wheel on it.
One of the stupid mistakes I made many years ago, was I sold the only two Hurst Christmas Tree displays I had. Something I have always regretted.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Taking a break from the subject matter. My son and my grand daughter turned their skills up a notch the other day at a friends house and created this life size Bobcat on the front lawn working with 15-18 inches of available snow. That and a few cans of spray paint!
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Here is an example of an unfinished piece from Hurst. Judging from the Hurst Olds I would put the time frame around 1970-1972 vintage. Ashame it was never completed.
Interesting some of this art work would have made nice posters that Hurst could have marketed especially ones that featured cars with Hurst wheels or Hurst Olds or the Hemi Under Glass car.
I doubt anyone has seen this before since it is unfinished amazing that it never got tossed in the trash.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

Here is something i picked up awhile back i havent seen another one. I think it was experimental .
I have allwase wondered how many they made?
Also it has a heat treated Aluminum stick and a black ball knob with no markings.

 

What you got is real early I had somethng like this in my 1949 olds club coupe had a 57 Olds engine and 53 4 speed hydromatic trans in it.

Seeing it was packaged and came wit directions etc it was probably marketed but not in big numbers. Should have some sort of date on it....best bet is early 1960s...I have one aluminum stick in my collection that in itself is quite rare.

Logo reading hurst-campbell put it before 1969 for sure.

Just my opinions on what I can see in the photos.

enjoy

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

The paper work is dated 1966 . i think hydros were starting to lose favor for raceing shortly after that . im sure it was short lived. I did notice it says "Limited Production Competion Performance Kit" on the front of the box . Was this common for them to put this on packages?

 

I did not really get involved with Hurst on a almost daily basis until early 1970s after getting out of the military. Prior to that I as a high school student I would stop at their one small shop in Glenside in the early 1960s to get some decals etc as they were around the corner from my Dads company.

The Olds I had was around 1971-73 and I remember going to their shop and having a stick custom made for the 4 speed hydra in my car to clear thee T-bird bucket seats. You are rite the shifter for the hydro was not very popular or sold many by the late 1960s....it probably fell out of favor several years before that.
As to limited production I never saw that but no doubt its true...I have seen and have those decals somewhere that you show.

By 1966 they were experiencing some great years with the Pontiac contract as 1966 represented the best sale years for the GTO which increased their sales. In 1967 GTO switched to the 3 speed transmission so in 1966 they were working on the new dual gate set up to sell to Pontiac as an option in the GTO.

The thing with Hurst beside that shifter is they did record albums also that were short lived...Hurst never dumped their products on the market at reduced prices instead simply destroyed product that fell out of favor. Again this is what I remember. Same fate happened the the Hurst wheel when that came to an end.

What you got is rare....that trans was the hardest shifting transmission I ever had in any of my cars with an automatic....loved it.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

I found these nifty Hurst Dual/Duty shocks for sale on the net the other day. Never seen anything like them.

 

I remember them actually were popular at the time. Time frame mid 1970s I believe.....

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

I still have a pair of them on the front of my 67 4-4-2 Super/Pro car and had a set of the Hurst air shocks on the rear back when it was a street car. The Dual/Duty shocks were made by Gabriel - I'm not sure who made their air shocks.

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Here is another piece of original Hurst art work. Time frame probably mid 1960s since it features a round screw on ball. Bucket seat format seems to be Pontiac style. Note the attention to detail on the chrome stick.
I have no idea if this was ever used in a magazine ad or not. Another piece of Hurst History. Enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

Wow a 1949 Olds Club Coupe with a 371 and a Hurst shifted Hydro!!!!
Yoy got my blood pumpin thinkin of the car you had in the 70's
That is what Dreams are made of.......Sigh...
One of my dream cars

 

Here's an ad from 64.....great thread.

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Here is a very unique item that has survived since 1964. We will post a few other photos of this as well. This is the actual blue print for the Hurst building the building they opened in 1965. It was their first building that finally put the entire operation under one roof. My wife worked in this building in 1969.
The colored in portion is the front facade of the actual building. Today this building is twice as wide across the front and you have to look real close to see the shadow outline of the word Hurst-Campbell. Campbell name was removed around 1969 so it said Hurst until Mr Gasket moved the operation to Brook Park back around 1987-1989.
Course now today B & M owns Hurst.
Keep in mind the dates I quote are approximate and going by memory.
Just another "History" lesson!
enjoy.....
funny part is today our company gets 6-speed shifters made for the C5 and C6 Corvette mainly for Calloway.



denniskirban@yahoo.com[/EMAIL]

 

kirban 2 cents worth
You are viewing here the entire Hurst blue print for the new building that opened in 1965. I actually gave a copy of this to the current owner of the building so they had a keep sake!
Pretty good detail even down to the signs they were going to put on the grounds.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth

That is an old ad....one I never seen before!

Appreciate the compliments. Could not do this without the great help of MR AMC posting my photos. Glad he knows its not a paying job!

More to come.....

denniskirban@yahoo.com

One side note...concerning the buildng blue prints....the actual individual letters that they did put on the front facade were red not black. Again going by memory.

I know they were not black.....

 

kirban 2 cents worth
here is a close up of the actual blue print note the date in 1964. This was a huge step and investment for Hurst. Had to be the best of times having secured the Pontiac account prior to this and finally getting everything under one roof. Too bad we all can't turn back the clock......
I member in high school they would tell us these are the best of times and most of us could not wait til we were out of school for good...
I still remember the exact time school was out 2:31 every day.......
enjoy

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Again referring to the actual blue print I have of the Hurst building here is a close up of the format for one of the outside signs. I am not exactly sure what year my friend Bob started with Hurst as the art director but this had to be a huge undertaking for him doing the actual format for the blue print. I do remember when he was alive he did tell me he actually did pick out the special color bricks they used for the front. They simulate to some degree the color gold which as you know was one of the colors Hurst used throughout their marketing.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com
still more to come...

 

kirban 2 cents worth
Here is something that in most cases would have simply been tossed away after the event. Some of you sharp guys can figure out the year since its the 12th annual event for that event.
My guess is around 1960s?
Looks like some sort of planned layout Hurst had. Hurst was big on helping racers etc.....big budget for on sight PR besides the printed magazine ads.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

kirban 2 cents worth
You are viewing another original piece of Hurst artwork also unfinished. Looks like plans for a Hurst display probably for speed shops etc. Vintage 1970s time frame maybe?
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com
I know I have been rather laxed lately....been getting busy on other projects...

 

kirban 2 cents worth
You are viewing another piece of original Hurst art work. This is promoting a new product for Hurst transmission fluid. Time period my guess is late 1970s. To my knowledge this product never saw or got into production. I do recall seeing some promo label cans. This was undoubtedily a tough time for Hurst as performance cars had gone away by the late 1970s especially manual shifter cars.
I guess one of their biggest products in the late 1970s, would have been the Hurst Hatch roof panels also known as T-Tops. Not exactly everyones cup of tea removing 75% of your roof structure! Just my thoughts.
enjoy
denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

This thread is holding me hostage!!!!!!!