1968 Hurst/Olds Barn Find Drag Races Mint-Condition 1969 Olds W31. And Wins!

This quarter-mile showcase brings together a pair of Oldsmobiles from the golden era. They're not identical, but they're very similar because they were built only one model year apart. Specifically, we have a 1968 Hurst/Olds and a 1969 Cutlass W-31.

There's no info as to whether these coupes are still stock under the hood, but we might as well look at the factory specs before anything else.

If you're not familiar with the W-31, it was a package that Oldsmobile offered for only a couple of years. In the 1969 Cutlass, the optional bundle also included a four-barrel 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) V8 rated at 325 horsepower and 360 pound-feet (488 Nm) of torque. It wasn't the most powerful V8 out there, but the mill also came with lots of extra goodies, including a higher compression ratio and an upgraded cooling system.

The Hurst/Olds is arguably the more iconic of the two. First introduced in 1968, this Hurst-dressed muscle car shared its body with the regular Cutlass and 442, but came in a unique livery combining Peruvian Silver and black "hockey stripes." Hurst switched to a white/gold combo in 1969.

Under the hood, the Hurst/Olds carried a larger 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) Rocket V8 paired to a four-barrel Rochester Quadrajet carburetor. As a result, it was notably more powerful than the W-31, spinning the rear wheels to the tune of 390 horsepower. Torque was even more impressive at a whopping 500 pound-feet (678 Nm).

Come 2022, and both cars are quite rare. Oldsmobile made only 515 Hursts in 1968 and sold only 913 cars equipped with the W-31 package in 1969. And I'm not even going to break these numbers down to body styles. So the chances to see these cars going against each other at the drag strip are pretty slim. Yet it happened.

But that's not the most intriguing thing about this encounter. While the 1969 W-31 is a mint-condition classic (in a cool Powder Blue paint), the 1968 Hurst/Olds looks like it just came out of a barn. But it's one of those instances when looks are deceiving because the worn-out Hurst muscle car goes on to win the quarter-mile duel.

The 1968 beater covers the distance in 12.87 seconds, while the perfectly restored W-31 crosses the finish line more than a second behind, stopping the clock at 14.52 clicks. Well, it seems a seemingly rusty body doesn't always hide a tired engine. But that shouldn't be a surprise to folks accustomed to the rat rod scene.

There's no info as to where this duel took place, but it's worth noting that the W-31 wears the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race logo on its license plate. Dedicated to factory-built muscle cars from 1955 to 1979, the series allows certain modifications to the drivetrain. So while these cars look stock, they usually pack some extra punch.