Among the curiosities of the American automobile industry, we find the Hurst triple gear lever that appeared in 1983 on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of collaboration with Oldsmobile.
The final version of the Hurst/Olds remained in production for two years in 1983 (Black on Silver color) and 1984 (Silver on Black). The only engine offered was the 5-liter LG8 V8. The most astonishing was the new and very complex Hurst gear change mechanism, the Lightning Rods Shifter, made up of three levers. The model was sold in 3,001 units in 1983 and for its last year in 1984 in 3,500 units.
Are you wondering how to operate these 3 levers?
Here is the answer, the 3 levers allow you to manually change each of the 3 gears (the 1st gear being located on the far right, followed by the second then the third starting towards the left). The third lever also allows access to the classic "PRND" in its highest positions. As soon as a lever is in the low position, it blocks the gear concerned. It must then be moved to the high position to engage the gear. By leaving the first two levers in the high position and the third in D, the gearbox reacts like any classic automatic gearbox, the gears changing automatically.
A mechanism that may not be of much use, but which has inspired others, particularly in Dragracing where we can better see its usefulness and its particular hidden purpose.
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