In Part I, we talked about the partnership between George Hurst and Bill Campbell that changed the course of Mopar_® vehicles forever. Next we visit some of the great products that have come out of this genius partnership.

– Hurst Chrysler 300-H comes in 1969
– Iconic Pistol Grip Mopar Shifter debuts for 1970 production
– Hurst-themed Dodge Challengers are built and have become highly desirable Mopar vehicles

CHRYSLER 300H

The Chrysler brand teamed up with Hurst to produce the largest vehicle ever to bear the Hurst name, the 1970 Chrysler 300-Hurst. This beast was massive, 224.7 inches in overall length, rolling on its 124-inch wheelbase, power from the “TNT” 440-cid big block engine. The Chrysler 300-H was introduced at the February 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Here’s how it was introduced in the factory press materials postmarked Detroit:

“The new Chrysler 300, reminiscent of the famed Chrysler ‘letter cars’ of the late 1950s and early 1960s, has been announced by Chrysler-Plymouth Division. The new Chrysler — the 300H — combines the flair of the letter car series cars with the distinctive luxury and ride that is inherent in the Chrysler line,” stated Glenn E. White, Chrysler-Plymouth Division general manager. The car had a very distinctive color combination, Spinnaker White with Satin Tan color accents, and Medium Brown pinstriping. The 15 x 6-inch wheels were done in Saturn Iridescent paint, wrapped with H70 – 15 Goodyear Polyglas rubber. All cars were TorqueFlite^®-equipped and coupled to 3.23 rear gearing.

Each 300-H was equipped with a special fiberglass hood which incorporated a “power bulge” center section, complete with rear-mounted fresh air intake … not for the engine but rather for the passenger compartment.

Up front, the exterior treatment also featured two rotary hood latches were depressed into the fiberglass hood. Interior was crafted with Brown Tone Leather and the arm-chair size front seats were Imperial items.

The decklid, also made in fiberglass, was a custom-designed item with recessed air foil integrated with rear fender extensions.

(The 1970 Chrysler 300-H is also referred to as the 300-Hurst and it could have been confusing to some as there actually was a previous Chrysler 300-H production letter car from 1962.)

300-H CONVERTIBLE

It’s photographically well-documented that there is a 1970 Chrysler 300-Hurst car that was built for appearances on race tracks with a giant Hurst Shifter / T-handle mounted on a decklid platform. And there’s no shortages of pictures of Linda Vaughn standing on it! Records show it was built by Chrysler for Hurst public relations, and it rolled on a set of Cragar S/S wheels. Legend has it there was also a second factory-built 300-Hurst convertible, and the story long circulated it was totaled in an accident early on, and with just a few hundred miles on it, ending up in a Philadelphia-area junkyard.

PISTOL GRIP ARRIVES FOR 1970

The Hurst “Pistol Grip” 4-speed shifter debuted for the 1970 model year (E-body, B-body) and it did much in further making Mopar vehicles cool with such an iconic feature. With simulated wood grain on Pistol Grip sides, it provided a natural feel when shifting gears, all the while having an aggressive appearance when viewed … it’s a “Mopar Thing!” There’s broad availability of replacement Hurst Pistol Grip handles in short-, medium- and full-length sizes, which covers A-, B- and E-body cars as well as custom/race applications.

FUZZY T-HANDLES

Hurst’s T-handle was a major hit and to further augment sales, they added a colorful line of “velvet glove” T-handles, being the standard aluminum diecast handles but coated with a nylon fiber material, in Gold, Black, Red and Blue colors.

DYNATORQUER: TWIN 440 MOPAR WEDGES

Built for testing of the Hurst products of Schiefer Clutches and Hurst/Airheart disc brakes, it’s the “Dynatorquer” testing instrument, with George Hurst himself posing for the pic in this 1971 image. In order to generate gobs of power and torque to put their products to the ultimate test, including u-joints and flywheels, twin 440-cid Mopar big block engines and an 8 3/4-inch differential were incorporated into the design. It was said to produce 1,000 horsepower and 800 lb-ft of torque and it used a 1:2 ratio gearbox.

LENCO LEVERS

Circa late 1972, the introduction of a special 4-speed racing transmission from a company called Lenco, based in Lemon Grove, CA, totally changed the game in NHRA Pro Stock competition. It featured a planetary design and it had an effect of making drivers who were “bad” at shifting the manual 4-speed transmission much better (quicker times, more consistent). Even though Lenco supplied their transmissions to racers with shifting lever that they designed, in time Hurst developed a shifter assembly of their own for use with the Lenco, incorporating their “Lightning Rods” adjustable design and exclusive F/N/R positive detent gate with squeeze handle.

SPEED SHOP DEMO

Hurst came up with a “Silent Demonstrator” as they called it, where speed shop customers inside the shop could manhandle Hurst shifters that were fitted to mockup transmissions. It wasn’t exactly “silent” in reality when people would practice speed shifting and truly slamming through the gear changes as forcefully as possible! The demo did show in real time just how sturdy their shifters were, and in effect did help promote sales of Hurst shifters.

BUTCH LEAL: MAN IN MOTION

This 1971 Hurst full-page magazine ad showcasing the RAM ROD, Super/Shifter 2 and Competition Plus shifters, features a wheels-up launch shot of Butch “California Flash” Leal’s HEMI® engine-powered Duster Pro Stocker.

RECREATION

Bob Riggle had a pretty bad wheelstanding accident in 1974 and after that experience, he retired from exhibition driving and ran an automotive/motorcycle repair shop. Everything changed in late 1991 when walking the isles of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, when he approached the Mr. Gasket booth! There sat Linda Vaughn signing autographs and when her eyes locked with Riggle, she immediately said: “Bobby, let’s do it again!” He knew exactly the wheelstander is what she meant, and his reply was: “OK! It’s a deal.” Mr. Gasket’s Joe Hrudka was in the booth and he wanted to be a part of it, the re-creation of a Barracuda. It all started with that SEMA Show floor conversation!

Riggle was able to obtain a nice 1966 donor car and got to work gathering up all the parts and pieces to get a HEMI Under Glass back on the track, and with support from Hurst, which was at the time part of the Mr. Gasket group of brands. An Alston subframe, custom 14-point protective roll cage and all-steel body was part of the build. A trick he had learned from past HUG cars was the use of 90/10 front shocks, which helps get the front end up in the air as quickly and effortlessly as possible. All the hard work came from Bob, his brother Dale, his son Jeff and talented crew member Max Merritt.

The goal was to get the re-popped HUG at the NHRA US Nationals and did some 2-wheel “testing” on a service road near his residence in Arizona, and with that, headed to the event. Everyone loved the car! It made its first public pass at that year’s Bakersfield Hot Rod Reunion event in California and from there it was a big hit at all the events it participated in. Folks that had seen the original cars hug it, newbies saw it with amazement!

HUG DIECAST

Highway 61 did a 1:18 scale 1966 Hurst HEMI Under Glass metal diecast and it’s an accurate model of the recreated version, and still available from Desktop Muscle Cars Inc.

RE-POPED ’68 HUG

1995 saw the 1968 HUG also re-created and the 426-cid HEMI supercharged (from Blower Drive Service) Barracuda sported zoomie headers and the first ’68 car debuted the use of a simplified single lever to control the individual rear brakes (replacing a double lever system). It also now featured a dropped front axle (from a Dodge truck) rather than the traditional IFS torsion bar arrangement. A fast and entertaining exhibition machine!

SECRET TO SPARKS

Anyone who has witnessed a HEMI Under Glass perform on a drag strip has seen the amazing sparks that fly off the back of it with the front end up in the air and blasting down the track! The reason? The use of titanium pads, which give off a great deal of sparks. While it’s a non-ferrous metal, these sparks are easily distinguishable from ferrous metals, sparking a very brilliant, blinding white color. All part of the entertainment value!

FOUND! ORIGINAL 1967 HUG

After a special exhibition appearance prior to the Mexican Formula One Grand Prix held in Mexico City, at the end of 1967 Hurst decided to again build a new HEMI Under Glass Barracuda for the ’68 season, and put the ’67 car on the show circuit. Eventually it faded away and out of the limelight; however, in the mid-1990s, Bob Riggle had heard this car had survived, albeit having fallen to neglect. After seeing photos of the car, which was now located in Montreal, Canada, Riggle made an offer and next the famous Barracuda wheelstander was in his Arizona shop for a total and authentic restoration. After 8 years of painstaking work with special attention to details, Riggle stated: “I’m real proud of what we did and how we got it done.” The car has always been well-received by the public at events, especially those that actually saw it back in the day.

THE 1969 HUG

While taping the episode of Jay Leno’s Garage at the Irwindale Speedway on June 26, 2016, the 1969-bodied HEMI Under Glass experienced a nasty roll-over, and with Leno strapped in the passenger’s seat. Luckily, thanks to the sturdy rollcage, neither Riggle nor Leno was injured. Since that unfortunate incident, the car was repaired back to its former glory.

Weeks later, after that highly publicized crash, Riggle did make it to the “Mopars at The Strip” event in Las Vegas and made a final retirement wheels-up run down the quarter-mile track. At that time, he did announce that Mike Mantel, of New Braunfels, TX, would take over ownership and driving duties of the car. “He is a talented driver who will take the brand into the future and entertain generations to come,” he said. Robert E. “Bob” Riggle passed away at age 88 September 8, 2023, a man who entertained thousands and thousands of spectators at drag strips around the world.

2009 HURST PERFORMANCE VEHICLES

First shown at the 2008 SEMA Show, the new Hurst Performance Vehicles Dodge Challenger was a whole new era for the company, returning to the building of complete cars. Hurst program director Ron Flint had stated the company was currently looking to find individual Dodge dealerships through which to sell the cars. He claimed the modified Challengers were just the first step to reintroducing Hurst to the performance mix.“The Hurst brand has been kind of dormant for a few years,” Flint said. The announcement included their plans for a “Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4” lineup of modified Challengers with the cars shipped from Hurst’s Orange County, CA, facility (Irvine) to be available through selected Dodge dealerships.

And, of course, inside the cabin of the Hurst-built Challengers was a Hurst shifter, this one called the “Hurst Hard Drive” which was also made available to all Challenger owners in two different lengths and three different finishes (Brushed, Titanium and Black Delrin).

Full-page 2010 advertisement listing the first seven Chrysler-brand dealers from across the country that had signed up to sell the Hurst Challenger specialty cars.

HURST V10 VIPER

For 2009, Hurst also got into the Dodge Viper world and with a lot of initial splash, the very first was sold at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, AZ, auction, this example done up in a special Flat Hurst Gold paint. They came with Moton adjustable shock absorbers, Corsa exhaust, Hurst Black-Chrome forged aluminum wheels, Hurst Charcoal Black leather interior with Gold top-stitching and logos, Hurst Hard-Drive gold anodized shifter, Hurst Limited Edition dash plaque and black racing stripes. These were the very last Hurst Performance Vehicles to roll out of their Irvine, CA, facility.

HURST TRUCK

Yes, just when you thought Hurst Heritage vehicles were just for passenger cars, here comes the Mr. Norm’s Hurst Heritage GSS Ram 1500. Basically, a styling package with big rollers (22-inch diameter Hurst Stunners) and with Ground Force lowering springs and shocks, it is something of a Mopar Sport Truck with eye-candy galore!

HURST HEMI CLASSIC CHALLENGER

Inspired by Gold and Black paint treatment on the original HEMI Under Glass Barracuda, this “Hurst HEMI Classic GSS” Challengers has an “A12” style hood scoop added, Hellcat intake, Flowmaster Outlaw exhaust and inside a Katzkin leather interior. 20-inch diameter Hurst “Stunner” wheels with Hellcat spec rubber added as well. One of the added styling cues was the addition of the rocker panel “gills” from a 1970 ‘Cuda and 1971 ‘Cuda front fender gills (the four vents inserted into the Challenger’s fenders). F&R GSS spoilers round out the mods.

HURST SUPERCAT GSS

The Supercar GSS Challenger was a limited-edition 2018 model year vehicle as part of the Hurst Heritage by GSS, available fitted with a Kenne Bell supercharger (up to 650 horsepower). Said to be priced below an SRT^® Hellcat model, it was chock full of accessories all inspired by Hurst and GSS heritage.

The far reach of the Hurst-themed Challengers extended all the way to Japan, as seen here in a Japanese promotion featuring complete vehicle, as well as individual Hurst-branded products.

HURST CHRYSLER 300

This one was also from GSS Supercars, a 2018 Chrysler 300 as an “H” model that was marketed as a muscle sedan that was “The Gentleman’s Hot Rod” with functional SRT Hellcat-style hood and Flowmaster Della Force functional air intake scoop. Nitto rubber, 20-inch Hurst Stunner wheels, Hurst Stage One lowering kit and all the cosmetics to give it the “look!”

HURST HERITAGE BY GSS

Widebody versions also marketed by the GSS organization, this 2018 50th Anniversary SRT Hellcat Challenger, Hurst products inside and out with a throw-back Hurst Silver with Black paint scheme. There’s no question that a GSS-built Dodge Challenger is a blending of old school nostalgia with modern go-fast performance.

PISTOL HURST FOR MODERN MOPARS

Hurst Pistol Grip shifters are not just for the early Mopar muscle machines, there’s modernized short throw versions available in a variety of finishes.

HURST WHEELS

In more recent years, there has been a limited run of “Hurst” wheels, available in 15-,17-, 20- and 22-inch diameters, and three different five-spoke styles – Dazzler, Shaker and Stunner (pictured) – and they’re a particular favorite for new-generation Challengers!

Author: James Maxwell

Tag: Challenger

Tag:
Challenger